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Tuesday, September 17, 2024, 6.00 pm
Soirée at the Bořislavka Centre

Ticket prices

200 Kč

Programme

Fryderyk Chopin: Scherzo No. 2 in B flat Minor, Op. 31 (Semjon Yakimov)Semjon Yakimov: Impressions (selection): 1. Anxiety, 5. Confidence (Semjon Yakimov)Sergei Rachmaninoff: Prelude in B flat Major, Op. 23, No. 2 (Semjon Yakimov)Johann Sebastian Bach: French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816 (Allemande, Gigue) (Jaroslav Skalka)Fryderyk Chopin: Fantasie-Impromptu in C sharp Minor, Op. posth. 66 (Jaroslav Skalka)Francis Poulenc: Trois pièces (Pastorale – Hymne – Toccata) (Jaroslav Skalka)Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in D Minor, K. 9 (Denis Stefanov)Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in D Minor, K. 141 (Denis Stefanov)Fryderyk Chopin: Nocturne in D flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2 (Denis Stefanov)Alexander Scriabin: Sonate-Fantaisie No. 2 in G sharp Minor, Op. 19 (Denis Stefanov)

Music at its highest level is sometimes compared to elite athletics, and that is true at least with respect to rising standards of performance. Today’s generation of teenagers is playing a repertoire that was the pride of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. Therefore, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Bach will be heard at the Bořislávka Centre in energetic renditions played by three pianists who have not yet reached the age of 20. 

Semjon Yakimov at The Bach Journey competitionPlay
Denis Stefanov in the final round of Concertino Praga 2023Play
  • Dress code: casual
  • End of concert: 6.50 pm

Artists

Semjon Yakimov

Beginning in 2012, he studied at the Music School of the City of Prague, and since 2018, he has been a student of the Secondary Grammar and Music School of the City of Prague in a class taught by Doc. MgA. Libuše Tiché, PhD.

He has achieved artistic success (mostly first prizes) in a number of piano competitions: e.g. Prague Junior Note, Young Pianists on Steinway Piano, Beethoven's Teplice, Virtuosi per musica di pianoforte, Broumovská klávesa, International Novák Competition in Kamenice nad Lipou, and Young Piano of the Prague Conservatory.


He has participated in master classes under renowned pianists such as Ivan Klánský, Martin Kasík, Ivo Kahánek, and Avedis Kouyoumdjian. In the 2022/23 season, he was a scholarship holder of the MenART Academy in Ivo Kahánek’s class. At the Music Academy of Performing Arts, he participates as a model in the Teaching Practice course under the guidance of Prof. Alena Vlasáková. 

In a trio with his parents, he has performed at concerts around the Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, the Netherlands, France, and Israel. With the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, he performed Ilya Hurnik’s Concertino.

In addition to piano, he is also studying organ with Vladimír Kopáček. Since 2021, he has played the organ at masses in the Church of St. Remigius in Prague-Čakovice and in the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Prague-Vinoř. He also accompanies singers on the organ and has worked with the Lux Iuvenes Praga String Orchestra.

Yakimov is also a composer – he has written pieces for piano, chamber ensembles, theatre performances, and the director's cut of the film Lorik (2022). In 2021, he received 3rd prize at the Jakub Jan Ryba Composition Competition and in 2022, he was the overall winner of the Music Olympiad of the Czech Republic (he placed third at the International Music Olympiad held in Slovenia).

His non-musical interests are mainly languages (English, German, Irish, and Italian). 

Semjon Yakimov - piano

Jaroslav Skalka

Jaroslav Skalka (*2010) started playing the piano at the age of five and a little later, he added the cello - both instruments under the guidance of his parents. He regularly participates at music competitions, where he has already won many awards. Among the very first competitions was the Prague junior note (2nd prize 2020, 2021) 1st prize at the Karlovy Vary Rose Piano Competition (2022), 1st prize at the Young Pianists Playing Steinway & Sons Piano Competition, Beethoven's Teplice (2022), and winning the international competitions Broumovská klávesa (2023) and Virtuosi per musica di pianoforte in Ústí nad Labem (2023).


With regard to the cello, in particular, he won 1st place at the Jan Vychytil International Competition (2018) and 1st place in the national round of the Accordquint Competition (2021). His most recent notable musical experiences include performances at charitable concerts to support the Piano to Schools 2023 project.

He is a pupil of the F. Chopin Primary School of Arts and a student of the Grammar School in Mariánské Lázně.

Since autumn 2023, he has been a scholarship recipient of the MenArt Academy (a scholarship programme for children and students in artistic fields), where his mentor is pianist Ivo Kahánek. 

Jaroslav Skalka - piano

Denis Stefanov

Denis Stefanov (born in 2007 in Prague) has been a student of the Prague Music School since 2013, where he studies piano with Professor Peter Toperczer.

Throughout his studies, he has taken part in a number of piano competitions where he has received many first prizes: the Karlovarská růžička competition (2015), Prague Junior Note (2016, 2018, 2021, 2022), Amadeus (2015, 2018, 2021), where in 2018 and 2021 he received the Brno Mayor's Award for the best interpretation of W. A. Mozart, Young Pianists on Steinway Piano (2014, 2016, 2018), Central Round of the Arts School Piano Competition (2017), Broumovská klávesa (2022), and the Smetana Piano Competition in Pilsen (2023).


He has been declared the overall winner of several competitions: the Karlovarská růžička Competition, Prague Junior Note, the Regional Round of the School Arts Piano Competition (2017), Amadeus (2021). In the autumn of 2019, he also won the title of Young Piano at the international competition Young Piano of the Prague Conservatory.

In 2016, as a member of a chamber ensemble (Baroque quartet), he won first prize in the Regional Round of the Arts School Competition for chamber ensembles with a predominance of string instruments and played in the winners' concert on an authentic harpsichord in Suk Hall at the Rudolfinum.

He has attended several piano courses in Mikulov (2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023), Český Krumlov (2019, 2022, 2023), and the Prague Conservatory International Summer Piano Courses (2020).

In the 2021/2022 school year, he participated in the Menart scholarship programme thanks to which he performed at the Prague Spring and Smetana Litomyšl festivals.

In 2019 and 2023, he performed with the FOK Orchestra at the Municipal House in Prague as part of the Young Talents for Jozef Suk series. In 2023, he participated in the Concertino Praga competition, thanks to which he played with the Prague Radio Symphonic Orchestra in the finals at the , where he received honorary mention of the 1st degree. In 2019 and 2022, he participated in the Young Talents Concert at the International Chopin Festival in Mariánské Lázně. Yakimov is currently a student at the Music Secondary Grammar School of the Capital City of Prague. 

Denis Stefanov - piano

Artium by KKCG, Bořislavka Centre

Artium by KKCG is a publicly accessible space for art of all genres, breathing artistic life into Bořislavka and enriching the cultural offerings in Prague 6 and the capital more generally. Artium regularly holds exhibitions, concerts, and other cultural events, and the unconventional space allows visitors to explore art across different genres, often intertwined to create a unique experience. During this year’s Dvořák Prague International Music Festival’s concerts at Artium, spectators can also enjoy an extensive exhibition of photographic installations by Jarmila Štuková titled "Us and the Others.

The concerts presented here as part of the Dvořák Prague Festival are organized for a good cause, with all proceeds supporting talented, young musicians.