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Josef
Špaček

 

ABOUT

 
ENGLISH BIOGRAPHY

Praised for his remarkable range of colours, his confident and concentrated stage presence, his virtuosity and technical poise as well as the beauty of his tone Josef Špaček has gradually emerged as one of the leading violinists of his generation. His performances of a wide range of repertoire demonstrate his “astonishing articulation and athleticism” (The Scotsman) and  “a richness and piquancy of timbre.” (The Telegraph).

He appears with orchestras including the Orchestre de Paris, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Bamberger Symphoniker, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Capitole de Toulouse, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI Torino, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen and the Kammerakademie Potsdam.

Josef Špaček collaborates with eminent conductors such as Jakub Hrůša, Semyon Bychkov, Manfred Honeck, Valery Gergiev, Thomas Adès, Krzysztof Urbański, James Gaffigan, James Conlon, Maxim Emelyanchev, Jiří Bělohlávek, Thomas Søndergård, Cornelius Meister, Michael Sanderling, David Zinman, Eliahu Inbal, Tomáš Netopil, Marc Albrecht, Aziz Shokhakimov, Christian Vasquez and Lio Kuokman.

He equally enjoys giving recitals and playing chamber music and is a regular guest at festivals and in concert halls throughout Europe (among others at the Rudolfinum in Prague, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam, the Kronberg Academy, the Evian Festival, the Kaposfest and at Schloß Elmau), Asia and the USA (among others at Kennedy Center, Washington D.C., 92Y in New York,  La Jolla in San Diego, the ChamberFest Cleveland and the Nevada Chamber Music Festival).

His chamber music partners include Gil Shaham, Kian Soltani, James Ehnes, Clemens Hagen, Yuja Wang, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Máté Szücs, Miroslav Sekera, Tomáš Jamník, Suzana Bartal, Kristóf Baráti and Sharon Kam.

Supraphon released a highly praised recording of the violin concertos of Dvořák and Janáček, coupled with the Fantasy of Suk, with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek. The Sunday Times wrote: “The violinist’s individual, deeply considered and virtuosic account of Dvorak’s solo part is the highlight of this keenly conceived programme”, adding that “in this repertoire, Špaček is second to none today.” It was the “Recording of the week” of The Sunday Times, “Recording of the month & of the year” of MusicWeb International and it received 5* in Diapason. Other recordings to date are a recital disc with works for violin and piano by Smetana, Janáček and Prokofiev with pianist Miroslav Sekera (Supraphon), works for violin solo and violin and piano by H.W. Ernst (Naxos) and an early CD with the complete Sonatas for Solo Violin by Eugène Ysaÿe.

Josef Špaček studied with Itzhak Perlman at The Juilliard School in New York, Ida Kavafian and Jaime Laredo at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and with Jaroslav Foltýn at the Prague Conservatory. He was laureate of the International Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, and won top prizes at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand, the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition in Denmark and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York.

He has served as concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the youngest in its history. The orchestra named him “Associate Artist” as of January 2016. He left this post at the end of the 2019/20 season to devote himself exclusively to his solo career.

Josef Špaček performs on the ca. 1732 “LeBrun; Bouthillard” Guarneri del Gesù violin, generously on loan from Ingles & Hayday.

He lives in Prague with his wife and their three children. In his spare time he enjoys cycling.



životopis CZ

Mladý český houslista Josef Špaček (1986) se rychle etabluje jako jeden z nejlepších houslistů své generace. Pracoval pod vedením renomovaných pedagogů, například Idy Kavafianové a Jaime Lareda působících na Curtisově hudebním institutu ve Filadelfii či Itzhaka Perlmana z newyorské Juilliard School. V květnu roku 2012 se stal jedním z finalistů Mezinárodní soutěže královny Alžběty v Bruselu; v roce 2009 zvítězil v mezinárodní houslové soutěži Michaela Hilla (Nový Zéland) a v roce 2008 získal třetí cenu a cenu poroty mladých na mezinárodní houslové soutěži Carla Nielsena (Dánsko). V roce 2011 získal druhou cenu v prestižním klání Young Concert Artists International Auditions v New Yorku. V současné době kombinuje úspěšnou sólovou dráhu s kariérou koncertního mistra České filharmonie.

Z jeho nadcházejících sólových koncertů lze uvést návraty k orchestrům Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI v Turíně pod taktovkou Jamese Conlona a Nizozemskou filharmonií s Marcem Albrechtem. A dále debuty s orchestry Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Orchestre Philharmonique du Capitole de Toulouse pod vedením Thomase Søndergårda, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra pod taktovkou Christiana Vasqueze, Sønderjylland Symphony Orchestra s Johannesem Wildnerem a Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen s Adrienem Perruchonem. S Českou filharmonií sólově vystoupí po boku Jiřího Bělohlávka a Semjona Byčkova.

Významná sólová vystoupení v roce 2016 zahrnovala abonentní koncerty s Českou filharmonii pod vedením Valerije Gergijeva. debut s Rotterdamskou filharmonií a Jiřím Bělohlávkem, Berlínský debut s Konzerthaus orchestrem Berlín a Thomasem Sanderlingem, Amsterdamský debut v Concertgebouw s Nizozemskou filharmonii a Thomasem Søndergårdem, Tokijský debut s Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra a Jakubem Hrůšou a debut v Padově s orchestrem di Padova e del Veneto pod taktovkou Gerarda Korstena. Mimo to debutoval v recitálech v Kennedyho Centru ve Washingtonu a v La Jolle v San Diegu. Také jako sólista koncertoval na turné v Asii s Českou filharmonií.

Dále sólově vystupuje v Evropě, USA a Asii s orchestry Philadelphia Orchestra, PKF – Prague Philharmonia, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Essener Philharmoniker, Tonkünstlerorchester Niederösterreich, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI Torino, Orchestre National de Belgique, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony and Queensland Symphony Orchestra a spolupracuje s dirigenty jako jsou Jiří Bělohlávek, Jakub Hrůša, Valery Gergiev, Christoph Eschenbach, Manfred Honeck, Semyon Bychkov, Asher Fisch, Roy Goodman, Eliahu Inbal, Jun Märkl, Thomas Søndergård, Thomas Sanderling, Giordano Bellincampi, Tomáš Netopil, Marco Angius a Rossen Milanov.

Josef Špaček se věnuje rovněž recitálům, a to jak na evropských pódiích (mj. v pražském Rudolfinu, vídeňském Konzerthausu či lázních Schloβ Elmau), tak v Asii a ve Spojených státech.

V Roce 2015 natočil pro vydavatelství Supraphon houslové koncerty Dvořáka, Janáčka a Sukovu Fantazii s Českou filharmonií a Jiřím Bělohlávkem. Snímek získal hned několik uznání mimo jiné “Recording of the week” od The Sunday Times a “Recording of the month and of the year” od MusicWeb International. V roce 2013 natočil pro stejnou firmu svoji debutovou nahrávku, která obsahuje díla Smetany, Janáčka a Prokofjeva. V roce 2010 nahrál pro Naxos díla H. W. Ernsta a jeho první CD, vydané v roce 2006 firmou Artesmon, obsahuje kompletní Sonáty pro sólové housle Eugèna Ysaÿe.

Česká mutace časopisu Forbes zahrnula Josefa Špačka mezi nejvýznamnější mladé české osobnosti v anketě „30 pod 30“.

Josef Špaček hraje na housle “LeBrun; Bouthillard” Guarneri del Gesù cca. 1732 zapůjčené od společnosti Ingles & Hayday.

 
“ He played with sweet tone, deliberate phrasing and vigor ... “
— THE NEW YORK TIMES

MEDIA

 
“ ... his high-charisma playing was fueled by priceless musical comprehension. “
— Philadelphia Inquirer
 
“ With pure tone and a gutsy lower register, the cooly contained Špaček combined fluent technique with expressive finesse ... “
— The Guardian

CONCERTS

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CONTACT

 

CONTACT JOSEF

General management

Jeroen Tersteeg
Nymus Artists
Phone: +32 3 372 3005
E-mail: jt@nymusartists.com
nymusartists.com

Czechia & Slovakia

Martina Výrková
Agentura Makropulos
Phone: +420 739 372 309
E-mail: martina@makropulosmusic.cz
makropulosmusic.cz

Germany, Austria & Switzerland

Dennis Gerlach
Intermusica
Phone: +49 89 4448879-4
E-mail: dgerlach@intermusica.co.uk
intermusica.co.uk

Japan

Shohei Abe
Amati Inc.
Phone: +81 3 3560 3007
E-mail: shohei.abe@amati-tokyo.com
amati-tokyo.com

China

Evita Zhang
Armstrong Music & Arts
Phone: +86 186 0015 5317
E-mail: evita.zhang@armstrongmusic.com
armstrongmusic.com