Lukáš Dittrich

Biography

“I love diverse genres."

“My dad introduced me to music, and I’ve known what I want to devote my life to since I was little”, says Czech Philharmonic principal clarinettist Lukáš Dittrich, who also enjoys playing the saxophone. He completed his studies at the Brno Conservatoire under Lubomír Bartoň and at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts under Vít Spilka and Milan Polák. From an early age, he was drawn not only to classical music, but also to jazz and funk. “That has stayed with me to this day. I like diverse genres, and I enjoy following musical developments”, says the winner of several competitions. Besides earning the title of laureate at Czech and international competitions including the Leoš Janáček International Competition and representing the Czech Republic at Eurovision Young Musicians 2010, he also won scholarships from the Leoš Janáček Foundation and the Foundation of the Czech Music Fund.

From 2012 to 2014, he was a member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestral Academy. “That was such an enriching experience that I told myself, one day I would like to be there permanently. And I managed it ten years later”, he recalls. Before joining the Czech Philharmonic in 2023, he was gathering experience as the principal clarinettist of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has appeared on Czech Television and Czech Radio and has made recordings for them, and he has performed as a soloist with the Czech Philharmonic, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Brno Philharmonic. He also plays in the Czech Radio Trio, which focuses on promoting music by Czech composers.

He is most inspired by the music of Antonín Dvořák, a composer he regards as an especially ingenious orchestrator. He also admires Miles Davis, who “was always at the forefront of innovation in jazz and pop music of the 20th century”. More than anything, he would love to play with Snoop Dogg or Bruno Mars.

He is highly experienced at experimenting with various musical genres. At just 13 years of age, he appeared with the jazz trumpetist Laco Déczi and his band Jazz Celula New York, an experience he still calls unforgettable. He also played in the Czech Philharmonic Jazz Band for Bobby McFerrin’s Prague concert. He makes regular guest appearances in DJ Alegs’s projects, and he creates projects with his own music in a style combining jazz, funk, and electro.

His hobbies include travelling abroad, especially to the Nordic countries recently.