Clélia Iruzun studied initially at the School of Music in Rio de Janeiro before becoming an advanced student at London’s Royal Academy of Music, where she won the Recital Diploma and a number of major prizes. She has subsequently worked with Nelson Freire, Jacques Klein, Stephen Kovacevich and Fou Ts’Ong, among other international artists, and many important composers have written works for her including Francisco Mignone, Marlos Nobre. Mario Ferraro, Beetholven Cunha, Alexandre Rachid and Nimrod Borenstein.
Clélia’s busy life embraces frequent appearances across Europe, the Americas and Asia. She has performed widely on television and radio, including frequent broadcasts for BBC Radio 3.
Clélia has recorded successful albums ranging from Latin American composers to concertos by Mendelssohn and the British composer Elizabeth Maconchy. Her SOMM recordings include the International Classical Music Award-nominated Piano Concertos of Albéniz and Mignone with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jac van Steen. Concertos by Henrique Oswald and Saint-Saëns (No.5, Egyptian), also with the RPO and Steen, received excellent reviews such as: “Brazilian pianist Clélia Iruzun in a stunning performance” (Musical Notes Best of 2020) and “impressively executed… another rewarding disc from this team and this label” (Gramophone). Her recent CDs of Nimrod Borenstein’s Piano Concerto (dedicated to Clélia), Piano Quintet and the piano cycle Shirim and the third volume of “Treasures from the New World” have been receiving outstanding reviews.