Josef Špaček

Born in the Czech Republic, virtuoso Josef Špaček’s recent appointment as the youngest ever concert master of the Czech Philharmonic is a testament to his incredible talent. The 25 year-old balances the prestigious role with his flourishing solo career. In 2009, Josef won the Michael Hill International Violin Competition and both Third Prize and the Young People’s Jury Prize in the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition in 2008. Josef has been guided by some of the most highly regarded pedagogues, including Ida Kavafian and Jaime Laredo at the Curtis Institute of Music and Itzhak Perlman at the Juilliard School. As a soloist, Josef has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Czech Chamber Orchestra, Brno Philharmonic, Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic and the Russian Chamber Philharmonic. He has soloed under conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Manfred Honeck, Asher Fisch, Jiří Bělohlávek, Roy Goodman, Jakub Hrůša, Aleksandar Markovic, Rossen Milanov and Theodore Kuchar. A regular at music festivals, Josef has performed at the Dvořák Prague Festival, Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Bohuslav Martinů Festival and the Moravian Autumn Music Festival. Josef released his debut CD featuring the complete Eugene Ysaye sonatas for solo violin in August 2006. His next recording features the works of H.W. Ernst, released by Naxos in May 2012, whilst in the summer 2012 he recorded a CD with the celebrated pianist Lukáš Vondráček.