21st Gdańsk Pianist Autumn — Jan Páleníček, Jitka Čechová

Jan Páleníček — celloJitka Čechová — piano

Hosted by: Dominika Glapiak

Programa:

Pyotr Tchaikovsky — Sentimental Waltz Op. 51 No. 6 [5'] Sergei Rachmaninov — Sonata in G minor Op. 19 [38']

Slow. Allegro moderato — Allegro scherzando — Andante — Allegro mosso

Break [20']

Enrique Granados — Spanish Dance (details coming soon) Claude Debussy — Beau soir [3'] Gabriel Fauré — Après un rêve [4'] Maurice Ravel — Pièce en forme de Habanera [3'] Bohuslav Martinů — Variations on the Slovak theme H. 378 [11']

Jan Páleníček The cellist Jan Palenicek, as soloist and chamber musician, is the heir to the great musical tradition of the family, which was started by his father Josef Palenicek, pianist, world-renowned interpreter Janáček and founder of the first Smetana Trio. Jan Palenicek was a student of the greatest Czech cellists of his generation, Sasha Večtomov and Miloš Sádlo, and also studied chamber music with Prof. Josef Vlach. His meeting with Paul Tortelier, a world-famous French cellist, was the culmination of his artistic education. His early participation in competitions brought him numerous awards and recognitions.He has recorded more than 20 CDs for national and international labels, of which the concerts of Dvořák, Tchaikovsky, Haydn, Beethoven, Brahms and complete cello pieces by Brahms, Martin and Rachmaninov stand out. Chamber music is closest to Jan Páleníček's heart. After all, he grew up in the chamber music environment par excellence. He is a member of the world-famous Smetana Trio, along with violinist Jan Talich and pianist Jitka Čechova. For several years he taught at the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts. He is also a well-known artistic director and organizer of cultural events. Jan Páleníček plays a unique French instrument made by F. Delanoy in 1829.

janpalenicek.cz

Jitka Čechova studied piano at the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Her innate musical skills blossomed during her postgraduate studies with Eugene Indjic in Paris and Vitali Berzon in Freiburg. She also honed her craft during master classes led by Rudolf Kehrer and Eugene Indjic and Lazar Berman. The pianist is a laureate of many international competitions. As a soloist, she enjoys special recognition in most European countries, as well as in South Africa, North and South America and Japan, where she collaborates with prominent orchestras and conductors, and also performs as a chamber musician. She is regularly invited to prestigious concert halls and major festivals (e.g. Prague Spring, Graz, Paris, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Baden-Baden, Bodensee Festival, Edinburgh, Bamberg, Ticino Musica) .Jitka Čechová is extremely devoted to the work of Czech composers — Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček and Martinů. She has made more than 25 recordings for Supraphon, Intercord, BMG, Lotos and Cube. In 2014, she completed the recording of all Bedřich Smetana's works for Supraphon consisting of 8 CDs, which won the praise of the most important music critics and magazines in Poland and abroad — Diapason, Répertoire, International Record Review and Harmonie. She also recorded all three piano and concertino concertos by Josef Palenick with the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. She has taught master classes in Prague, London, the Northern College of Music in Manchester, Brasilia and Campos do Jordao, Colburn School University in Los Angeles, Eau Claire in Wisconsin and in Luxembourg.

jitkacechova.com

All upcoming festival concerts HERE

The project is co-financed by the City of Gdańsk.