As a performer of unusual emotional power and depth, Ivo Kahánek has earned a reputation as one of the most impressive artists of his generation. He takes ample advantage of his talent to establish instant emotional ties with the public in works ranging from the Baroque to the modern eras, with the Romantic era representing the bulk of his repertoire. Abroad, he is also regarded as a specialist in the interpretation of Czech music.

In 2004, he was the overall winner of the Prague Spring International Music Competition, and before that he had already won many important competition prizes at both home and abroad (the Maria Canals Piano Competition in Barcelona, the Vendome Prize in Vienna, the Stiftung Tomassoni Wettbewerb in Cologne, the Fryderyk Chopin International Competition in Mariánské Lázně, Concertino Praga etc.).

Following successful debuts at the Beethovenfest in Bonn and at the Prague Spring Festival, he received an invitation from the BBC Symphony Orchestra to appear at London’s BBC Proms in Royal Albert Hall, where in August 2007 he played Bohuslav Martinů’s Fourth Piano Concerto (“Incantation”) under the baton of Jiří Bělohlávek, which was broadcast live by BBC television and radio and by Czech Radio Vltava. That critically acclaimed debut is available from the German label Deutsche Grammophon as a digital download. It is no wonder that Sir Simon Rattle chose Ivo Kahánek for two appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic in November 2014, which were enthusiastically received by music critics and the general public. The young pianist became just the second Czech pianist (after Rudolf Firkušný) to appear with that world-famous orchestra in its history. Ivo Kahánek also performs regularly with the Czech Philharmonic, and he has made successful appearances with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in Glasgow, the Essener Philharmoniker, the WDR Orchestra in Cologne, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Philharmonia, the Brno Philharmonic, and many other orchestras. Just a few of the other artists with whom he has collaborated include conductors Semyon Bychkov, John Eliot Gardiner, Jakub Hrůša, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Rafael Payare, Pinchas Steinberg, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Tomáš Netopil, Andrey Boreyko, Libor Pešek, and Zdeněk Mácal, violinist Daniel Hope, cellist Alissu Weilerstein, violist Paul Neubauer, the Pavel Haas Quartet, the Tetzlaff Quartet, soprano Martina Janková, and tenor Pavel Černoch. In 2018, he won the Classic Prague Award for solo performance of the year.

In 2007, Ivo Kahánek signed an exclusive contract with the label Supraphon Music, and since then he has recorded 15 CDs of music by such composers as Frédéric Chopin, Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček, Bohuslav Martinů, Gideon Klein, Miloslav Kabeláč, Jean Francaix, and Jacques Ibert. For his recording of piano concertos by Antonín Dvořák and Bohuslav Martinů accompanied by the Bamberg Symphony under the baton of Jakub Hrůša, he earned the prestigious BBC Music Magazine Award. That CD also won other important honours: recording of the month of the BBC Music Magazine, Choix de Classique HD, recording of the week on BBC Radio 3, an Angel Award in the Classical category, and a nomination from the International Classical Music Awards. For his album of songs by Bohuslav Martinů with Martina Janková and Tomáš Král, Ivo Kahánek also won a coveted Diapason d’Or from the French music journal Diapason and was named the choice of the month by the journals Opernwelt and Opera News. His latest important recording is the complete piano works of Antonín Dvořák on 4 CDs, which also received an International Classical Music Awards nomination in late 2021, earned the highest rating in the journals Gramophone and Diapason, and like his previous CD, won an Angel Award in the Classical category. He also makes recordings for Czech Radio, Czech Television, and the television station Mezzo.

Ivo Kahánek is a graduate of the Janáček Conservatoire in Ostrava and of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He also made a study visit to London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama and has taken part in masterclasses led by Karl-Heinze Kämmerling, Christian Zacharias, Alicia de Larrocha, Imogen Cooper, Peter Frankl, and other instructors. At present he is teaching at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and is leading piano masterclasses at the Summer Music Academy in Kroměříž and at the Prague Conservatoire Piano Courses.

He has been attracting attention since his childhood and celebrated success in numerous competitions – Kocian Violin Competition, Concertino Praga, Tribune of Young Artists UNESCO, Bohuslav Martinů Competition and Beethoven’s Hradec. In 2004, he became the concertmaster of PKF – Prague Philharmonia. As a guest concertmaster, he has appeared with BBC Symphony Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker – Bayerische Staatsphilharmonie and Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern. He also collaborates with numerous orchestras as a soloist and has performed with PKF – Prague Philharmonia, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Zlín, North Bohemian Philharmonic Teplice and Slovak State Philharmonic Košice. His solo concerts include appearances at music festivals in Switzerland (Murten Classics), Spain (Pau Casals International Music Festival) and the USA (Brevard Music Festival). He is also an active chamber musician. He plays alongside pianist Ivo Kahánek and cellist Tomáš Jamník in Dvořák Trio, one of the best Czech chamber ensembles. The Trio has excelled in competitions (Beethoven’s Hradec, Bohuslav Martinů Competition) and on concert stages both in the Czech Republic and abroad. The ensemble has appeared at festivals including Styriarte Graz, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Mainzer Musiksommer and in renowned concert halls of Berliner Philharmoniker and in Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg.

Outside the Czech Republic, he has performed in Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Italy, France, Poland, Japan and the USA. He records music for TV and radio and took part in recording the CD “Tribute to Jaroslav Kocian” to mark the 40th anniversary of the Kocian International Violin Competition as one of the laureates. He mentors at the MenArt scholarship academy and is also an active teacher. He regularly teaches at music courses such as the Ševčík Academy in Horažďovice, Music Academy in Telč, Music Connexions in Soběslav. His first violin teacher was Hana Metelková and he later studied with Jaroslav Foltýn at the Prague Conservatory. In 2003, he graduated at the Carnegie Mellon University – School of Music, USA, having studied with Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Andrés J. Cárdenes. He has broadened his musical education at various masterclass courses, such as in Semmering, Bonn or at the Meadowmount School of Music (founded in 1944 by Ivan Galamian), where he studied with Stephen B. Shipps. He also took part in masterclass courses with Pinchas Zukerman, Gil Shaham and Joseph Silverstein. He plays French violin from early 19th century ascribed to violin maker Francois Louis Pique, kindly lent by Fidula Foundation.