Jan Mráček - 1st violin
Czech violinist Jan Mráček was born in 1991 in Pilsen and began studying violin at the age of 5, most recently under the guidance of the former Vienna Symphony concert master Jan Pospíchal.
As a teenager he enjoyed his first successes, winning numerous competitions, participating in the master classes of Maestro Václav Hudeček – the beginning of a long and fruitful association. He was the youngest Laureate of the Prague Spring International Festival competition in 2010, and in 2011 was the youngest soloist in the history of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2014 he took first prize at Vienna’s Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition at the Vienna Konzerthaus.
He has performed as soloist with the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra and Romanian Radio Symphony, both under Sascha Goetzel, Lappeenranta City Orchestra (Finland), Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK), Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra and almost all Czech regional orchestras.
Jan Mráček had the honour of being invited by Maestro Jiří Bělohlávek to guest lead the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in their three concert residency at Vienna’s Musikverein, and the European Youth Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda and Xian Zhang on their 2015 summer tour. He is a member of the Lobkowicz Piano Trio, which took first prize and the audience prize at the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Pörtschach (Austria) in 2014. His acclaimed recording of the Dvořák violin concerto and other works by the Czech composer under James Judd with the Czech National Symphony was released on the Onyx label, and most recently he recorded works of Milan Mihajlovic with Howard Griffiths and the Brandenburg State Symphony for the CPO label. He made his British debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins in London and other cities, his American debuts with the St Louis Symphony under Han-Na Chang and the Florida Symphony with James Judd, debuts in Dubai with the Vienna Concert Verein and in China with the Slovenian Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic under Manuel López-Gómez, his Swiss debut with the Tchaikovsky concerto as an Orpheum Foundation soloist in Zurich’s Tonhalle with the Tchaikovsky concerto and Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Fedoseyev, his Korean debut with the Beethoven Violin Concerto and the Daejeon Philharmonic and performed the concerti of Shostakovich and Bruch with the Asian Youth Orchestra in Tokyo. He had been invited by the late Maestro Jiri Bělohlávek, who passed away in June 2017, who would have conducted and who had given him great encouragement in the course of his career, for three performances of the Dvořák concerto in Prague with the Czech Philharmonic. These concerts subsequently took place successfully as a memorial to the Maestro.
Last season he made his French debut with performances of the Mendelssohn violin concerto with the Orchestre National de Lorraine under Jordan de Souza, and gave performances of the Dvořák concerto in Ljubljana with the Slovenian Philharmonic under James Judd. Highlights of the current season include his debut at Vienna’s Musikverein and the Athens Megaron with the Brahms violin concerto, the KKL Lucerne with Mozart’s violin concerto No 4, chamber music at the Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the Prokofiev violin concerto No 1 with Petr Altrichter and the Czech Philharmonic, which he recorded a week later recorded with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. Future concerts include invitations to Moscow and Istanbul, and the Dvorak Festival in Prague where he will play the Korngold violin concerto under Jakub Hrusa and the Bamberg Symphony. Two concerts with the Sønderjylland Symphony mark his Danish debut. This is his fourth season as concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and he has just won the Prague Classics Award for the best concerto performance with this orchestra for his Prokofiev Violin Concerto No 1 under Petr Altrichter.
Jan Mráček plays on an Enrico Rocca violin dated 1905, formerly owned by Oscar Shumsky, and generously loaned to him by Mr Peter Biddulph.
As a teenager he enjoyed his first successes, winning numerous competitions, participating in the master classes of Maestro Václav Hudeček – the beginning of a long and fruitful association. He was the youngest Laureate of the Prague Spring International Festival competition in 2010, and in 2011 was the youngest soloist in the history of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2014 he took first prize at Vienna’s Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition at the Vienna Konzerthaus.
He has performed as soloist with the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra and Romanian Radio Symphony, both under Sascha Goetzel, Lappeenranta City Orchestra (Finland), Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK), Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra and almost all Czech regional orchestras.
Jan Mráček had the honour of being invited by Maestro Jiří Bělohlávek to guest lead the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in their three concert residency at Vienna’s Musikverein, and the European Youth Orchestra under Gianandrea Noseda and Xian Zhang on their 2015 summer tour. He is a member of the Lobkowicz Piano Trio, which took first prize and the audience prize at the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Pörtschach (Austria) in 2014. His acclaimed recording of the Dvořák violin concerto and other works by the Czech composer under James Judd with the Czech National Symphony was released on the Onyx label, and most recently he recorded works of Milan Mihajlovic with Howard Griffiths and the Brandenburg State Symphony for the CPO label. He made his British debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Martyn Brabbins in London and other cities, his American debuts with the St Louis Symphony under Han-Na Chang and the Florida Symphony with James Judd, debuts in Dubai with the Vienna Concert Verein and in China with the Slovenian Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic under Manuel López-Gómez, his Swiss debut with the Tchaikovsky concerto as an Orpheum Foundation soloist in Zurich’s Tonhalle with the Tchaikovsky concerto and Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Fedoseyev, his Korean debut with the Beethoven Violin Concerto and the Daejeon Philharmonic and performed the concerti of Shostakovich and Bruch with the Asian Youth Orchestra in Tokyo. He had been invited by the late Maestro Jiri Bělohlávek, who passed away in June 2017, who would have conducted and who had given him great encouragement in the course of his career, for three performances of the Dvořák concerto in Prague with the Czech Philharmonic. These concerts subsequently took place successfully as a memorial to the Maestro.
Last season he made his French debut with performances of the Mendelssohn violin concerto with the Orchestre National de Lorraine under Jordan de Souza, and gave performances of the Dvořák concerto in Ljubljana with the Slovenian Philharmonic under James Judd. Highlights of the current season include his debut at Vienna’s Musikverein and the Athens Megaron with the Brahms violin concerto, the KKL Lucerne with Mozart’s violin concerto No 4, chamber music at the Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and the Prokofiev violin concerto No 1 with Petr Altrichter and the Czech Philharmonic, which he recorded a week later recorded with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. Future concerts include invitations to Moscow and Istanbul, and the Dvorak Festival in Prague where he will play the Korngold violin concerto under Jakub Hrusa and the Bamberg Symphony. Two concerts with the Sønderjylland Symphony mark his Danish debut. This is his fourth season as concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, and he has just won the Prague Classics Award for the best concerto performance with this orchestra for his Prokofiev Violin Concerto No 1 under Petr Altrichter.
Jan Mráček plays on an Enrico Rocca violin dated 1905, formerly owned by Oscar Shumsky, and generously loaned to him by Mr Peter Biddulph.
