ROMANIA
October 25, 1998
Cornelius Zirbo was born in Cluj-Napoca, where he began his musical studies at the age of 9. He continued his studies in Bucharest with Professors Octavian Lup and Marin Cazacu and in Paris with Gautier Capuçon at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.
He is an alumnus of the Verbier Festival Summer Academy Soloists & Ensembles, the masterclasses of the Kronberg Academy, the Barenboim-Said Akademie, the George Enescu International Festival (2019) and the Verão Classico Festival (2021).
Cornelius Zirbo is a laureate of many competitions in his home country and abroad, such as the 1st prize at the StreichWerk International String Competition in Berlin, the Concertino Praga International Competition or the ProArt International Cello Competition in Ukraine, where he won the 2nd prize, and also the Antonio Janigro International Cello Competition in Croatia, where he won the 3rd prize.
In October 2020, his recording of the Cello Sonatas by Claude Debussy and George Enescu, together with the pianist Gabriel Gîţan, received the highest mark from Radio Romania Music and was included in its Golden Audio Archive.
