A Tribute to the Schumanns & Gilgamesh

In 1994, the world-renowned conductor Jiří Bělohlávek, together with a group of talented young musicians, founded the Prague Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra. Its successes abroad and expanding repertoire led the orchestra to first change its name to PKF–Prague Philharmonia, and now, in the 2024/2025 season, it presents itself as the Prague Philharmonia.

Over the past 30 years, the orchestra has earned recognition across the musical world for its distinctive sound and its focused repertoire, which centres on the works of Joseph Haydn, W. A. Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Its core repertoire also includes music by Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, and their successors, as well as French and German composers ranging from Robert Schumann to Johannes Brahms and Maurice Ravel. Twentieth-century compositions and contemporary works are also an integral part of its programming. The Prague Philharmonia retains its chamber character, as well as its passionate commitment and attention to detail, yet today it stands between a chamber ensemble and a small symphony orchestra in terms of size.

Since its founding, the orchestra has been led by a number of renowned chief conductors, each of whom has contributed in his own way to the development of the Prague Philharmonia’s distinctive sound. Following Jiří Bělohlávek, Kaspar Zehnder took over as chief conductor in 2005, followed by Jakub Hrůša in 2008. Since the beginning of the 2015/2016 season, the orchestra has been under the leadership of French conductor Emmanuel Villaume.

The Prague Philharmonia has performed with internationally acclaimed soloists, including Julian Rachlin, Martha Argerich, Yefim Bronfman, András Schiff, Gil Shaham, Isabelle Faust, Emmanuel Pahud, Luciano Pavarotti, Diana Damrau, Anna Netrebko, Plácido Domingo, Gautier Capuçon, Maxim Vengerov, Mischa Maisky, Juan Diego Flórez, Jonas Kaufmann, and many others.

The orchestra is regularly invited to prestigious international music festivals, such as the BBC Proms, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, MITO Settembre Musica, Prague Spring, and Festspielhaus Baden-Baden. It has performed at renowned concert venues, including the Berliner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Gasteig Munich, Tokyo Suntory Hall, Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre in Kuwait, Seoul Arts Center, Musikverein Vienna, and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, among others.

The Prague Philharmonia's discography includes more than 90 recordings for prestigious international and Czech music labels, such as Deutsche Grammophon, Warner Classics, Sony Classical, Decca, EMI, Harmonia Mundi, and Supraphon. Its recordings have garnered numerous awards, including the Gold Record RAC Canada in 2000, the Harmonie Award in 2001, and the Diapason d’Or in 2007. The album Héroïque with Bryan Hymel was nominated for the International Opera Award in 2016, while Bohemian Rhapsody with Gábor Boldoczki received a nomination for the International Classical Music Award (ICMA) in 2017. Its Ravel, Debussy & Bizet recording received outstanding reviews from The Sunday Times, Gramophone, and BBC Music Magazine, which included it in its top 10 recordings of the week. The orchestra's collaboration with acclaimed tenor Benjamin Bernheim for Deutsche Grammophon in November 2019 won the Opus Klassik Award and received multiple accolades in the international press, including the Diapason d’Or and Choc de Classica.

Most recently, the orchestra has toured Japan, Germany, Italy, Turkey, France, and Taiwan, and has performed at the Musikverein in Vienna. In 2023, it recorded an album for Deutsche Grammophon with tenor Jonathan Tetelman and a recording of works by Penderecki with flutist Stathis Karapanos for Warner Classics.

source: Prague Philharmonia

The Prague Philharmonic Choir (PPC) was founded in 1935 by choirmaster and teacher Jan Kühn. Now in its 91st season, it is the oldest professional choir in the Czech Republic. The choir is celebrated beyond Czech borders, especially for its interpretations of oratorios and cantatas. Lukáš Vasilek has served as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director since 2007, joined by Lukáš Kozubík as the choir’s Second Choirmaster.

Under Lukáš Vasilek’s leadership, the Prague Philharmonic Choir has established a reputation as a highly esteemed performing partner of leading international orchestras. At home, the ensemble collaborates regularly with the Czech Philharmonic and, for its own choral concerts, with the Prague Philharmonia. Internationally, the PPC has worked with ensembles such as the Berlin and Dresden Philharmonic Orchestras, Wiener Symphoniker, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.

The PPC has also gained extensive experience working with the world’s top conductors, including Semyon Bychkov, Jakub Hrůša, and Sir Simon Rattle. The choir regularly appears at the Czech Republic’s most renowned festivals, such as Smetana’s Litomyšl, Prague Spring, Dvořák Prague, and Days of Bohuslav Martinů. Since 2010, the PPC has served as Choir in Residence at the Bregenzer Festspiele.

In its 91st season, the Prague Philharmonic Choir will embark on further exciting collaborations with world-renowned conductors, including Zubin Mehta, Antonio Pappano, and Giovanni Antonini.

Alongside its performances, the PPC engages in numerous educational projects. Every season, it presents a cycle of educational concerts for children, catering to both school groups and families. These programs emphasize fun and active engagement with young listeners. The PPC Choral Academy in Honour of Soňa Červená offers singing students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a professional ensemble, participate in large-scale musical projects, and learn from collaborations with leading artists.

The choir’s artistic excellence is further demonstrated through its rich recording archive, which continues to expand each season. The PPC has appeared on releases from PENTATONE, Decca Classics, Sony Classical, and Supraphon. Its recordings have earned numerous international accolades, including awards from Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and the prestigious Diapason d’Or de l’Année. The PPC’s very first recording, made in 1952, featured Dvořák’s oratorio Stabat Mater conducted by Václav Talich. Its most recent release, Stravinsky, Janáček, Bartók: Village Stories, explores the magic of folk songs and traditional rituals in the music of three 20th-century masters.

The Prague Philharmonic Choir is a laureate of the 2018 Classic Prague Award for Best Vocal Concert, Czech Television’s Classical Music of the Year Award, and the 2022 Antonín Dvořák Prize for exceptional artistic achievements and the promotion of Czech music. The album Village Stories received the Choc de Classica award in May 2024.

source: Pražský filharmonický sbor

Robert Kružík is among the youngest generation of Czech conductors. He currently serves as chief conductor of the Zlín Philharmonic (since the 2021/2022 season), permanent conductor of the Janáček Opera at the National Theatre Brno (since 2015/2016), and permanent guest conductor of the Brno Philharmonic (since 2018/2019). Starting in the 2025/2026 season, he will become the new chief conductor of the Janáček Opera in Brno. He has also held the position of conductor at the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava. Kružík is a laureate of the Jiří Bělohlávek Award, which is granted to outstanding Czech artists under the age of thirty who have achieved exceptional success in their field and contribute to the promotion of Czech music both at home and abroad.

In March 2023, he made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic at Prague’s Rudolfinum. He first conducted the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Prague Spring Festival in 2020. Kružík has collaborated with renowned soloists, including violinists Esther Yoo, Josef Špaček, Jan Mráček, and Jiří Vodička, cellists Raphael Wallfisch and Andrei Ionițǎ, as well as Grammy Award winner Sumi Jo, Kateřina Kněžíková, Sung Kiu Park, and the phenomenal trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich, among others. As a conductor, he has appeared at major domestic and international festivals, including Prague Spring, Smetana’s Litomyšl, the St. Wenceslas Music Festival, the Leoš Janáček International Music Festival, and the Festiwal Eufonie in Warsaw.

He collaborates with numerous symphony orchestras, including the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, Czech Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia, Brno Philharmonic, Prague Philharmonia, Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic, Košice State Philharmonic, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Moravian Philharmonic Olomouc, Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice, and the South Bohemian Chamber Philharmonic.

At the National Theatre Brno, he has conducted productions including Rossini’s Le comte Ory, Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades and Eugene Onegin, Smetana’s Libuše—performed for the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia—Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, and Verdi’s Otello. His extensive opera repertoire includes works by Mozart, Smetana, Dvořák, Martinů, Janáček, Donizetti, Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Bizet, Verdi, Puccini, and others.

A native of Brno, he began his musical journey as a cellist. He graduated from the Brno Conservatory, where he studied both cello (under Miroslav Zicha) and conducting (under Stanislav Kummer). He achieved success in several cello competitions, including Prague Spring, the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Competition, and the Leoš Janáček International Competition in Brno. He also completed a study program at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste in Switzerland. He further honed his skills in conducting masterclasses with Norbert Baxa, Johannes Schlaefli, and David Zinman.

source: Arte Visio

This season marks Lukáš Vasilek’s 18th year as the Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Prague Philharmonic Choir (PPC). Whether conducting a cappella repertoire or large-scale cantatas and oratorios with orchestra, Vasilek brings his deep understanding of choral music to every performance. Under his leadership, the PPC regularly collaborates with leading Czech and international orchestras and conductors.

Vasilek has received particular recognition for his outstanding interpretations of the great choral works of Mahler, Dvořák, and Janáček. Notable highlights include Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, Francis Poulenc’s Stabat Mater, and Arthur Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher. He is also known for his adventurous programming, incorporating jazz and spirituals into the PPC’s repertoire.

Lukáš Vasilek studied conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and musicology at Charles University. He occasionally returns to his orchestral conducting roots, working closely with the Prague Philharmonia on their choral concert cycle in collaboration with the PPC, a partnership now in its fourth year. He has also conducted musicians of the Czech Philharmonic and the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra.

Vasilek’s first experience with choral singing came as a member of the Boni Pueri boys’ choir. He later served as choirmaster of the Foerster Chamber Choir and the Prague National Theatre Choir. In 2022, he was a guest conductor for the French ensemble Accentus. In addition to his work with the PPC, he is the founder and conductor of the vocal ensemble Martinů Voices, established in 2010, focusing on chamber choral music from the 19th to 21st centuries. Until recently, he also taught choral conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts.

Lukáš Vasilek’s choral and orchestral work is featured on numerous recordings for Decca Classics and Supraphon. His recent recordings of Bohuslav Martinů’s choral works have earned international acclaim, winning awards from Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, and Diapason.

source: Pražský filharmonický sbor

British cellist Steven Isserlis CBE enjoys an international career as a soloist, chamber musician, author, educator, and broadcaster. Equally at home in music from the Baroque to the present day, he performs with many of the world’s greatest orchestras, including period ensembles, and has given numerous world premieres. These include Sir John Tavener’s The Protecting Veil, Thomas Adès’s Lieux retrouvés, four solo cello works by György Kurtág, as well as pieces by Heinz Holliger, Jörg Widmann, Olli Mustonen, Mikhail Pletnev, and many others.

His extensive, award-winning discography spans much of the cello repertoire, including J.S. Bach’s Cello Suites, Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano, and Brahms’ Double Concerto with Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. His latest recording, Mendelssohn Piano Trios, with Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk, was released in October 2024.

As an author, his latest book is a critically acclaimed companion to Bach’s Cello Suites, while his two books for children about music are among the most popular ever written in the genre and have been translated into multiple languages. He has also authored a commentary on Schumann’s Advice for Young Musicians. As a broadcaster, he has written and presented two in-depth documentaries for BBC Radio, exploring the lives and music of Robert Schumann and Harpo Marx.

In 1998, he was awarded a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his services to music. He has received international accolades including the Piatigorsky Prize (USA) and the Glashütte Original Music Festival Award (Germany). Since 1997, he has served as Artistic Director of the International Musicians Seminar at Prussia Cove in Cornwall.

Steven Isserlis plays the 1726 Marquis de Corberon Stradivarius, on loan from the Royal Academy of Music.

source: IMG Artists

Born into a musical family, Lithuanian pianist Onutė Gražinytė began her education at the age of five and was soon admitted to the renowned National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Arts in Vilnius. She later continued her studies at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien in Hanover, as well as at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin in the class of Prof. Kirill Gerstein.

Despite her young age, she has already performed extensively in Lithuania and internationally, appearing with ensembles such as the Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra, Kaunas Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Alicante Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, and Orchestre National de Lyon.

In addition to her solo and orchestral projects, Onutė is also a distinguished and enthusiastic chamber musician.

Recent and upcoming highlights include performances alongside her sister, conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, featuring Alexander Scriabin's Piano Concerto with the Sinfonieorchester Basel, as well as concerts with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra performing works by Mieczysław Weinberg and Vakhtang Kakhidze. She will also appear at the Moravian Autumn Festival with Kremerata Baltica and has been invited to the prestigious KlavierOlymp Bad Kissingen 2024.

In 2020, Onutė collaborated with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and released her debut CD, Lamentate, featuring works by Arvo Pärt. The album received high praise from international critics, including BBC Music Magazine, Pizzicato, Diapason d'Or, and Diapason d'Or Arte.

Arvo Pärt himself expressed his admiration for Onutė Gražinytė, stating: "[She] is a pianist who, despite her young age, has already reached a remarkable musical maturity. I appreciate her musical sensitivity in performing my works."

source: Künstleragentur Dr. Raab & Dr. Böhm

Born in Staffordshire, Lucy Crowe studied at the Royal Academy of Music, where she is a Fellow. She is widely regarded as one of the most versatile and accomplished singers of her generation and was appointed an OBE in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours.

With a repertoire spanning from Purcell, Handel, and Mozart to Donizetti’s Adina, Verdi’s Gilda, and Janáček’s Vixen, she has performed with leading opera companies worldwide, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Glyndebourne Festival, English National Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, and the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Recent opera highlights include Musetta (La Bohème) and Poppea (Agrippina) at the Royal Opera House, Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) at the Metropolitan Opera, and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) at the Liceu Barcelona.

Globally renowned for her interpretations of Handel’s heroines, last season Lucy performed the title role in Rodelinda with The English Concert and Harry Bicket on tour in Asia and the US, culminating in a stunning performance at Carnegie Hall. Having sung staged performances of the role in Madrid, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam, she will revive Rodelinda at the Garsington Festival in 2025.

Elsewhere, she performed arias by Haydn and Weber with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Maxim Emelyanychev, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and András Schiff, and made her role debut as Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Garsington Festival. In the 2024/25 season, she makes her role debut as Malinka/Etherea/Kunka in Janáček’s The Excursions of Mr. Brouček at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, as well as in concert with the LSO and Sir Simon Rattle. She will also perform Mozart arias with the San Francisco Symphony and Bernard Labadie, and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Rattle.

In concert, she has collaborated with many of the world’s finest conductors and orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic (Harding, Haïm, and Nelsons), Vienna Philharmonic (Nelsons), City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Haïm, Oramo, and Nelsons), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Egarr), Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Nézet-Séguin), Monteverdi Orchestra (Gardiner), Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Pappano), Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (Rattle), London Symphony Orchestra (Rattle), Cleveland Orchestra (Labadie), and Los Angeles Philharmonic (Dudamel).

A dedicated recitalist, she has performed at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, New York’s Carnegie Hall, and at the Aldeburgh, Edinburgh, Mostly Mozart, and Salzburg Festivals. She is a regular guest at the BBC Proms and Wigmore Hall, where she will appear six times in a special focus series during the 2024/25 season.

Her discography includes Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang with the LSO/Gardner; Handel’s Il Pastor Fido and Handel & Vivaldi with La Nuova Musica/David Bates for Harmonia Mundi; works by Lutosławski with the BBC Symphony Orchestra/Gardner; Handel’s Alceste with the Early Opera Company/Curnyn; and Eccles’ The Judgement of Paris, all for Chandos. She has also released a solo Handel album, Il Caro Sassone, as well as recordings of Rodelinda and La Resurrezione with The English Concert/Bicket, Handel’s Queens with London Early Opera, and MacMillan’s Christmas Oratorio with the London Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Mark Elder. Her debut recital album, featuring songs by Berg, Strauss, and Schoenberg, was released by Linn Records in August 2021. She received a Grammy nomination in 2021 for Best Opera Recording for Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle.

source: Askonas Holt

American tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven, a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Grand Finals, is a rising star in the Wagnerian repertoire. The New York Times praises him for possessing a “gleaming, potent” instrument with a “steady, burnished sound.” Reviewing a concert performance with the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Chronicle raved: “The title character’s prayer from the final act of Wagner’s Rienzi elicited a gleaming, potent performance from tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven, marked by suave phrasing and tonal freshness.”

Last season, van Schoonhoven returned to San Francisco Opera to cover the title role in Lohengrin and to the Metropolitan Opera as Walther in Tannhäuser. He also made his debut at Teatro Real Madrid, singing Eisslinger and covering Walther in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. This season, he will perform Porcus in Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher with the Czech Philharmonic and will join the Fort Worth Symphony as Erik in Der fliegende Holländer. Additionally, he will return to Carnegie Hall to sing with the Prague Philharmonic Choir in a concert of Janáček’s Our Father.

In previous seasons, van Schoonhoven returned to the Metropolitan Opera as the Messenger in Aida and appeared in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, covering Zinovy Ismailov. He performed Apollo in Strauss’ Daphne with the American Symphony Orchestra and Britten’s War Requiem with the Prague Philharmonic Choir in support of the crisis in Ukraine. He made his European debut with Opéra de Rouen as Laca in Jenůfa, performed Don José in The Tragedy of Carmen with Hawaii Opera Theatre, and joined the Bard Music Festival for Chausson’s rarely performed Le roi Arthus. At the Metropolitan Opera, he participated in Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice, covering Loud Stone, and sang in a Carnegie Hall concert performance of Die Walküre, covering Siegmund.

Other notable performances include Tchekalinsky (while covering Hermann) in The Queen of Spades with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos with Cincinnati Opera, the title role in Act III of Siegfried with the New York Repertory Orchestra, Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Livermore Valley Opera, and Songs of a Wayfarer with the Buffalo Philharmonic. His scheduled debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Tristan und Isolde, his first performances of Erik in Der fliegende Holländer for Opera Maine, an Asian tour with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and Samson et Dalila with Lyric Opera of Chicago were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier career highlights include his debut as Don José in Carmen with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the role of Hades in Julian Wachner’s Rev. 23 with the Prototype Festival, and Rodolfo in La Bohème with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. During his two-year tenure with the prestigious Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera, van Schoonhoven made his company debut as the Young Servant in Elektra. He also covered Froh in Das Rheingold, Siegmund in Die Walküre, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Aegisth in Elektra, and Uncle Billy/Billy Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life.

Van Schoonhoven is the recipient of a 2019 George London Award and has received the Nicolai Gedda Memorial Award. He was also a finalist in the 2016 Jensen Foundation Voice Competition. His additional repertoire includes the title role in Chandler Carter’s Bobby, Alfredo in La Traviata, Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oronte in Alcina, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Peter Fallow in Stefania de Kenessey’s Bonfire of the Vanities, and Genaro in the U.S. Russian-language premiere of Prokofiev’s Maddalena.

Van Schoonhoven holds a Master of Music degree from Westminster Choir College and a Bachelor of Music from Fredonia School of Music.

source: UIA Talent Agency

The Australian-born bass-baritone Derek Welton is recognized as one of the leading voices of his generation, with a repertoire spanning from Bach and Handel to contemporary works.

A regular guest at major opera houses and festivals, he has appeared with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna State Opera, the Bayreuth Festival, the Bavarian State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Hamburg, Opéra national de Paris, Teatro Real Madrid, Dutch National Opera, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. His roles include Wotan/Wanderer in Der Ring des Nibelungen, Amfortas and Klingsor in Parsifal, König Marke in Tristan und Isolde, Orest in Elektra, Voland in Der Meister und Margarita, Bluebeard in Bluebeard’s Castle, Pizarro in Fidelio, the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen, Prus in The Makropulos Case, Saint-Bris in Les Huguenots, Pandolfe in Cendrillon, and Mozart’s Figaro.

Welton has performed with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Academy of Ancient Music, the Hallé Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, and Concerto Köln. His concert repertoire includes Bach’s St Matthew Passion, St John Passion, and Mass in B minor, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s The Creation, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Tippett’s A Child of Our Time.

Following his return to the Bayreuth Festival in 2024 as Amfortas, Welton’s engagements for the 2024/2025 season include Pizarro in Fidelio at the Washington National Opera, König Marke in Tristan und Isolde, and his debut in the title role of Der fliegende Holländer at Deutsche Oper Berlin. He will also perform Wanderer in Siegfried with Concerto Köln and the Journalist in Otto Ketting’s Ithaka at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

His concert appearances will include Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Messiah at the Musikverein Wien, Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with the WDR Symphony Orchestra, and Bruckner’s Mass in F minor with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

Welton’s discography includes performances as Wotan in Das Rheingold (Naxos), Amfortas in Parsifal (Deutsche Grammophon), Orest in Elektra (Unitel Edition), Heerrufer in Lohengrin (Deutsche Grammophon), Creonte in Haydn’s L’anima del filosofo (Pinchgut Live), and the title role in Martinů’s The Epic of Gilgamesh (Supraphon Records). He has also recorded Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as a soloist (Ondine and Brattle Media) and a solo album of Vaughan Williams songs with Iain Burnside for Albion Records.

Derek Welton holds degrees in Linguistics and German from the University of Melbourne and in Music from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

source: www.derekwelton.com

Czech opera singer Jan Martiník (bass) has received several accolades throughout his career, including the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize in 2009.

For nearly a decade, Jan has been a soloist at Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, the oldest opera house in Germany. Audiences can hear him there in roles such as Stárek/Sacristan (Puccini: Tosca), Dr. Kolenatý (Janáček: The Makropulos Affair), Zuniga (Bizet: Carmen), The Voice of the Oracle (Mozart: Idomeneo), Daland (Wagner: The Flying Dutchman), The Innkeeper (Eötvös: Sleepless), and many others. He also collaborates with Komische Oper Berlin, the National Theatre in Prague, the Vienna Volksoper, and other opera houses.

He regularly performs with leading orchestras worldwide, including the Czech Philharmonic, Bamberger Symphoniker, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden, and many more.

He is frequently invited to collaborate with the world’s most distinguished conductors. He has sung under the baton of Daniel Barenboim, Jiří Bělohlávek, Semyon Bychkov, Manfred Honeck, Michael Sanderling, Jakub Hrůša, Fabio Luisi, Zubin Mehta, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and others.

Jan is also active as a recording artist. Among his latest recordings is Schubert’s Winterreise (Supraphon), which was awarded five Diapasons. With the Czech Philharmonic under Jiří Bělohlávek, he recorded Dvořák’s Biblical Songs (2020, Decca). With the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, he recorded and performed the dual role of the Priest/Badger in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen—a recording that was nominated for a Grammy in 2020

source: Arte Visio