Lilia Schulz-Bayrova

Lilia Schulz-Bayrova appeared on national and international concert stages at a very young age. She made her orchestral debut at the age of twelve with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Sofia, accompanied by her first recording. Shortly thereafter, she won the National Competition twice in succession with exceptional distinction. At the age of fourteen, she performed at the Vienna Konzerthaus together with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra—another significant milestone in her early career.

In 1989, she won the National Federal Competition “Jugend musiziert” and, as the first woman in Austria’s history, received the Special Prize of the Vienna Philharmonic. In the same year, she represented Austria at the International European Competition, where she was again awarded first prize. This was followed by numerous concert tours throughout Europe, North America and Korea, during which she collaborated with a wide range of renowned orchestras, including the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Vienna Chamber Philharmonic, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria, the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the Innsbruck Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as the philharmonic orchestras of Sofia, Ruse, Varna, Karlovy Vary, Pardubice, Maribor, Kraków and Warsaw, and the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra in the United States.

As a chamber musician, Lilia Schulz-Bayrova is also internationally highly regarded. She was a member of the Waldstein Trio and later the Waldstein Ensemble, and has performed with distinguished artists such as Julian Rachlin, Till Fellner, Gerhard Schulz, Christoph Berner, Sharon Kam, Hariolf Schlichtig, Thomas Kakuska, Noam Greenberg, Guy Ben-Ziony and Isabelle Carisius. She has also appeared with renowned ensembles including the Artis Quartet and the Auryn Quartet.

Her musical education began with her father, the cellist Prof. Jontscho Bayrov. She later continued her studies at the Mozarteum Salzburg with Heinrich Schiff and in Cologne with Boris Pergamenschikow. Further artistic inspiration came from distinguished musicians such as Daniil Shafran, Gerhard Schulz, Harvey Shapiro and Lynn Harrell.

Since 1999, Lilia Schulz-Bayrova has been teaching at the Music and Arts Private University of the City of Vienna (MUK), where she dedicates herself with great commitment to the education of young musicians. Many of her students have since become prizewinners and members of leading orchestras, including Harriet Krijgh, Katharina Steininger (RSO Vienna), Ji In Choi (principal cellist and winner of Prima la Musica), Brendan Goh, Michael Sotriffer (Academy member of the Tonkünstler Orchestra), Maria Njemjec, Sebastian Dozler (Tonkünstler Orchestra), Theodor Bratina (principal cellist of the Badner Theatre Orchestra in Germany), as well as Lilia Kehajova, Seongmin Jung, Daniela Dueñas and Miloš Stosiek, all of whom have won first prizes in various categories at Prima la Musica. Klara Avsič was also invited by Jeunesse as a young talent to perform in the pre-concert series at the Vienna Musikverein.