Violinist Milan Al-Ashhab has become the eighth recipient of the Jiří Bělohlávek Award, presented annually to outstanding musicians under the age of 35. He received the award during the Czech Philharmonic's Open Air Concert at Prague's Hradčany Square, which, under the baton of Alain Altinoglu, marked the close of the orchestra's 130th season.
Congratulations!
"I would like to express my sincere thanks to the expert jury, and especially to Mrs Fejérová, for awarding me the Jiří Bělohlávek Award, as well as to Jaroslava and Bohdan Wojnar for their generous support. I have always regarded Jiří Bělohlávek as the embodiment of the most essential artistic qualities: innate musicality and a profound understanding of music. To this day, I continue to be inspired by the thoughtfulness and spontaneity with which he approached every score. This makes the award all the more meaningful to me. I see the Jiří Bělohlávek Award not only as an encouragement to continue my artistic journey, but above all as a commitment to uphold, in my own work as a performer, the values that Jiří Bělohlávek embodied and passed on to us."
— Milan Al-Ashhab
Violinist Milan Al-Ashhab is one of the most outstanding talents of the younger generation of Czech violinists. He gained international recognition after winning the prestigious Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition in Vienna in 2018, followed a year later by becoming a laureate of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He has also received numerous other honours, including the Classic Prague Awards, the Josef Hlávka Award, and the Bauše Ruys Award.
As a soloist, Al-Ashhab has performed at some of the world's leading concert venues, including the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna's Musikverein, and Merkin Hall in New York. He has appeared with leading orchestras such as the Czech Philharmonic, the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Slovak Philharmonic. His repertoire spans music from the Baroque period to the present day, while chamber music also plays an important role in his artistic career.
The Jiří Bělohlávek Award includes an invitation to perform at next year's Czech Philharmonic Open Air concert, as well as a financial prize of CZK 50,000, generously donated by Czech Philharmonic patrons Jaroslava and Bohdan Wojnar. The award was presented on stage by Anna Fejérová, the widow of the late Chief Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic. In addition to the award, Milan Al-Ashhab received a diploma in the form of an original print by painter Jiří Voves, a close friend of Jiří Bělohlávek.
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