Czech Chamber Music Society • Concert for the 10th anniversary of the Chamber Music Academy

Czech Philharmonic concertmaster Jan Fišer already exhibited his obvious musical talent as a child, winning many competitions (Kocian Violin Competition, Concertino Praga, UNESCO Tribune of Young Musicians, Beethoven’s Hradec etc.). He comes from a musical family, quite literally a family of violinists—his father is one of the most respected violin teachers in this country, and his younger brother Jakub plays first violin in the Bennewitz Quartet. Jan Fišer took his first steps as a violinist under the guidance of Hana Metelková, and he later studied at the Prague Conservatoire under Jaroslav Foltýn. He went through the famed summer programme of the Meadowmount School of Music three times, where he also met his future teacher, the concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Andrés J. Cárdenes. It was in the studio of that important professor who continued the great Ysaÿe–Gingold–Cárdenes tradition of violin pedagogy that Fišer graduated from the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music in Pittsburgh in 2003.

Just when he was deciding whether to remain in the USA or to return to the Czech Republic, the Prague Philharmonia announced an audition for the position of concertmaster. Fišer won the job and stayed with the orchestra for a full sixteen years, until he left the first chair of the Prague Philharmonia for the same position with the Czech Philharmonic, where he remains to this day alongside Jan Mráček and Jiří Vodička. He has also appeared as a guest concertmaster with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony, and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern; he also collaborates with important Czech orchestras as a soloist (Prague Philharmonia, Janáček Philharmonic in Ostrava etc.). He has assumed the role of artistic director of the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. 

Besides engaging in a wealth of orchestral and solo activities, he also devotes himself actively to playing chamber music. With pianist Ivo Kahánek and cellist Tomáš Jamník, he belongs to the Dvořák Trio, which has already enjoyed many successes at competitions (such as the Bohuslav Martinů Competition) and on concert stages both at home and abroad. Jan Fišer has appeared at festivals abroad and in famed concert halls worldwide not only as a soloist, but also as a chamber music player. For example, the Dvořák Trio has made guest appearances at the Dresden Music Festival and at renowned concert halls like the Berlin Philharmonie and Hamburg’s Elbephilharmonie.

Fišer’s French violin from the early 19th century is attributed to the violinmaker François-Louis Pique; the instrument has also been heard in recording studios: Jan Fišer records for television and radio, and he was one of the five laureates to take part in recording the CD “A Tribute to Jaroslav Kocian” for the 40th anniversary of the Kocian International Violin Competition. He is also following in his father’s footsteps as a pedagogue, serving as one of the mentors for the MenART scholarship academy, and he regularly teaches at music courses including the Ševčík Academy in Horažďovice and the Telč Music Academy.

Po absolvování Konzervatoře Plzeň u Martina Koukolíka pokračoval Tomáš Karpíšek v Praze u Petra Riese, na HAMU ve třídě Jiřího Hudce a vysokoškolské studium zakončil magisterským diplomem na HfM Freiburg im Breisgau v prestižní kontrabasové třídě Boža Paradžika. Hudební vzdělání si dále prohloubil stáží na Royal Academy of Music v Londýně a na řadě mistrovských kurzů v zahraničí (Preis des Fördervereins der Carl Flesch Akademie). Je absolventem dvouleté orchestrální akademie České filharmonie a orchestrální zkušenosti získal i jako praktikant SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg. Po ukončení studií získal angažmá ve Vídni, kde téměř dva roky účinkoval ve Státní opeře a pravidelně hostoval s Vídeňskými filharmoniky. Držitel řady cen z mezinárodních soutěží se kromě sólového vystupování pravidelně objevuje i na samostatných recitálech. Aktivně se věnuje také komponování – jeho skladby již zazněly například na Dnech soudobé hudby či Smetanovských dnech a některé byly vydány britským nakladatelstvím Recital Music.

Theodor Ditrich began studying double bass at the Prague Secondary School of Music under Jakub Waldmann, from where he went on to study with Anton Schachenhofer at the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität in Linz, Austria. There, he successfully defended his bachelorʼs degree in 2023 and is currently completing his masterʼs degree at JAMU under Miloslav Jelínek. He has been gaining orchestral experience since 2015, when he began playing in the Czech Philharmonic Youth Orchestra. He also played in the South Czech Philharmonic for three seasons. This year, he completed a two-year internship with the Orchestral Academy of Czech Philharmonic and is now in his second year as a member of the National Theater Orchestra in Brno. He is also involved in chamber music projects, for example with the Chamber Academy Central Bohemia.

Double bassist Zdeněk Pazourek comes from Prague, where he completed his masterʼs degree at HAMU under the guidance of Jiří Hudec. Since 2021, he has been a member of the State Opera Orchestra, where he now holds the position of first deputy leader of the double bass section. He further developed his orchestral experience in the Czech Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO). As leader of the double bass section, he has also performed in various international projects, such as the San Diego Rotary Club Summer Orchestra in the United States and the European Music Campus Orchestra in Austria. He gained valuable experience by attending the Czech Philharmonic and Prague Philharmonia orchestra academies, among others. In addition to his orchestral activities, he also devotes himself to chamber music. From 2019 to 2023, he was a member of the Chamber Academy Central Bohemia.

Trio Incendio was founded in 2016 in Prague by three highly talented Czech musicians – Karolína Františová, Filip Zaykov and Vilém Petras. Since then, The trio has won several national and international competitions, e.g. Gianni Bergamo Classic Music Award in Lugano, Coop Music Awards in Cremona, Concorso Musicale “Marcello Pontillo” in Firenze, Kiejstut Bacewicz Competition in Lodz, Concorso “Massimiliano Antonelli” in Latina and Bohuslav Martinů Competition in Prague, where they also gained the Special Prize for the best interpretation of the work by Martinů. Trio Incendio performs both in the Czech Republic and abroad and participates regularly in master classes with distinguished artists and professors. The young ensemble has already given concerts in some of the most important European venues such as Philharmonie Berlin, Wigmore Hall or Rudolfinum in Prague and festivals like Ticino Musica. Their concerts are appreciated for their passion, stylistic clarity and the beauty of the sound.