Advent Concert III • Jan Fišer

Czech Philharmonic concertmaster Jan Fišer already exhibited his obvious musical talent as a child, winning many competitions (Kocian Violin Competition, Concertino Praga, UNESCO Tribune of Young Musicians, Beethoven’s Hradec etc.). He comes from a musical family, quite literally a family of violinists—his father is one of the most respected violin teachers in this country, and his younger brother Jakub plays first violin in the Bennewitz Quartet. Jan Fišer took his first steps as a violinist under the guidance of Hana Metelková, and he later studied at the Prague Conservatoire under Jaroslav Foltýn. He went through the famed summer programme of the Meadowmount School of Music three times, where he also met his future teacher, the concertmaster of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Andrés J. Cárdenes. It was in the studio of that important professor who continued the great Ysaÿe–Gingold–Cárdenes tradition of violin pedagogy that Fišer graduated from the Carnegie Mellon University School of Music in Pittsburgh in 2003.

Just when he was deciding whether to remain in the USA or to return to the Czech Republic, the Prague Philharmonia announced an audition for the position of concertmaster. Fišer won the job and stayed with the orchestra for a full sixteen years, until he left the first chair of the Prague Philharmonia for the same position with the Czech Philharmonic, where he remains to this day alongside Jan Mráček and Jiří Vodička. He has also appeared as a guest concertmaster with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Bamberg Symphony, and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern; he also collaborates with important Czech orchestras as a soloist (Prague Philharmonia, Janáček Philharmonic in Ostrava etc.). He has assumed the role of artistic director of the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. 

Besides engaging in a wealth of orchestral and solo activities, he also devotes himself actively to playing chamber music. With pianist Ivo Kahánek and cellist Tomáš Jamník, he belongs to the Dvořák Trio, which has already enjoyed many successes at competitions (such as the Bohuslav Martinů Competition) and on concert stages both at home and abroad. Jan Fišer has appeared at festivals abroad and in famed concert halls worldwide not only as a soloist, but also as a chamber music player. For example, the Dvořák Trio has made guest appearances at the Dresden Music Festival and at renowned concert halls like the Berlin Philharmonie and Hamburg’s Elbephilharmonie.

Fišer’s French violin from the early 19th century is attributed to the violinmaker François-Louis Pique; the instrument has also been heard in recording studios: Jan Fišer records for television and radio, and he was one of the five laureates to take part in recording the CD “A Tribute to Jaroslav Kocian” for the 40th anniversary of the Kocian International Violin Competition. He is also following in his father’s footsteps as a pedagogue, serving as one of the mentors for the MenART scholarship academy, and he regularly teaches at music courses including the Ševčík Academy in Horažďovice and the Telč Music Academy.

He studied at the Prague Conservatory with Professor Jaroslav Kulhan and graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in Professor Josef Chuchro’s class. He has attended masterclass courses with Miloš Mlejnik in Klagenfurt (Austria) and Raphael Wallfisch in London. He played in the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1998–2010 and has taught at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory in Prague since 2016.

He likes chamber (and other) music but considers jazz to be a vital counterweight to classical music. With various jazz ensembles, he can alternate the cello and bass guitar. His band the Night Sight has been playing with more or less unchanged line-up since 2002, mainly focusing on their own compositions. They have already recorded six CDs.

Since 2008, he has been collaborating with jazz singer Jana Koubková in her quartet and has recorded live CD Jana Koubková 65 and studio recordings Mýdlové bubliny (Soap Bubbles) and A tak si jdu... (And so I Go...)

In 2012, he recorded a CD featuring poems by Czech poet Bohuslav Reynek put into music together with Transitus Irregularis ensemble and guitarist Miroslav Nosek. The Petrkov publishing house released the recording with a book of poems and graphics by Reynek under the title Pod prahem svítá.

He likes various music genres and his playlist includes Lenka Dusilová, Zuzana Navarová, Suzanne Vega, Jan Spálený, Dežo Ursiny, Vladimír Mišík, Sting, Eric Clapton, classical composer Bohuslav Martinů, Leszek Możdżer, Lars Danielsson, Herbie Hancock, Jimi Hendrix and many others.

Born in Netolice (South Bohemia) in 1976, Vladislav Borovka began to play oboe under the direction of Jan Nováček there. 1990–1996 he was studying at Prague Conservatoire under the guidance of Bedřich Vobořil. During this period, he was awarded with several prizes such as Concertino Praga – National Award Second Prize and Competition of Conservatoires in Kroměříž Second Prize. 1996–2002 he was studying at Music Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in the class of Jiří Mihule. In 1998, he went through three-month scholarship at The Toho Gakuen Orchestra Academy in Toyama (Japan). In 2001, he became the Laureate of the Prague Spring International Music Competition winning the Third Prize and went to Paris to study on school year at Conservatoire of Paul Dukas in the class of Jean-Louis Capezzali. He attended numerous master classes with top musicians and professors.

In the Czech Republic, he has been the member of the Prague Philharmonia since its foundation in 1994, teaches on the Prague Conservatory and cooperates with The Czech Nonet and Prague Wind Ensemble. As a soloist, he has been playing with many orchestras: Prague Philharmonia, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Košice State Philharmonic Orchestra etc.

Since january 2011 he has been the member of the Czech Philharmonic.

He studied at the Brno Conservatory with Professor Jiří Nykodým and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with professors Jiří Seidl and František Herman.

He won in a number of interpretation competitions (Kroměříž 1994, Chomutov 1995, Olomouc 2000) and received the laureate award at the Prague Spring International Competition 2002. With the bassoon quartet Fagotti Brunenses he took the 2^nd prize at the International Bassoon Quartet Competition Potsdam (Germany) in 1995.

He became the solo bassoonist of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra in 1993 and of the newly established PKF – Prague Philharmonia in 1994. He played the Czech premiers of bassoon concertos by French composers André Jolivet (1999) and Jean Françaix (2000) and Czech composer Martin Hybler (2008). As a soloist, he has performed with top Czech orchestras, including the Czech Philharmonic, PKF – Prague Philharmonia, Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, Plzeň Philharmonic Orchestra and others.

He taught at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno in 2003–2007, at the summer music academy Prag – Wien – Budapest in Semmering (Austria) in 2003–2013 and has been teaching at the Prague Conservatory since 2007.

He founded the International Music Festival Haná. He regularly takes part in recording projects with French bassoonist and conductor Pascal Gallois. As a performer, he focuses on 20^th century and contemporary music.

In 2013, he co-founded the Czech Double Reed Society with his Czech Philharmonic colleagues and the Summer Bassoon Academy in Rataje nad Sázavou (Czech Republic). He takes part in the project of the Czech Double Reed Symposium and series of educational concerts for primary and music schools aimed at promoting the bassoon. He collaborates with the National Institute for Further Education and organises courses for music school teachers.

He arranges music for double reed ensemble (made of oboes and bassoons) and various chamber ensembles. He also composes educational pieces for bassoon and other instruments.

He likes all music genres, in accordance with the famous words that “When music is done with truth, passion and love, it is always good”. From among the many composers he likes, Czech authors Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček and Bohuslav Martinů stand out.