Jan Mráček and Virtuosos 2025
The leading Czech violinist Jan Mráček will meet the young winners of the Virtuosos competition on one stage. They will offer an international evening full of vibrant energy, fresh interpretation and musical passion.
Artists
Jan Mráček – violin
Winners of Virtuosos 2025
– Amelie Jade Knapp – harp
– Petar Nikolic – quitar
– David Božič – piano
– Gáspár Kelemen – violin
Peter Valentovič – conductor
South Bohemia Philharmonic Orchestra
Program
Reinhold Gliére (1875-1956)
Concerto for Harp and Orchestra in E flat major op. 74, 1st movement Allegro moderato
Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)
Spanish Suite No. 1, Op. 47, "Asturian Legend"
David Božič
SuZdAlj – own compositions for piano and strings
Vera Milankovič (*1953)
Concertino on Serbian theme (Končertino na srpske teme), 1st movement
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major op. 35
1st movement Allegro moderato - Moderato assai
--- intermission ---
Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957)
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major op. 35
Moderato nobile
Romanze
Allegro assai vivace
Jan Mráček
Since childhood he has been one of the most outstanding talents of his generation. Among the greatest achievements of violinist Jan Mráček is the victory at the International Fritz Kreisler Violin Competition for violinists under thirty, which is held every four years in Vienna. This success predestined him for further solo career. Jan Mráček became the youngest soloist of the Czech Choir and the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. He also won the Classical Prague and Jiří Bělohlávek awards for the best solo performance of the year. He has performed with the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, the Romanian Radio Symphony, the Lappeenranta City Orchestra (Finland), the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK, the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. As a concertmaster, he has toured with the European Youth Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bamberger Symphoniker, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, the St. Luis Symphony Orchestra, L’Opera National de Lorraine, the KKL Luzern Camerata Schweiz, Daejeon Philharmonic (Korea), MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Prague Philharmonia and others. He has worked with conductors such as Semyon Bychkov, Jakub Hrůša, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Maxim Vengerov, Franz Welser-Möst, Petr Altrichter, Tomáš Brauner, Ondrej Lenárd and others.
Amelie Jade Knapp
Amelie Jade Knapp, born in 2008, is one of Austria’s most outstanding young harpists. She has been studying the harp with Mag. Andrea Hampl since the age of five and also plays the recorder and piano. She has won numerous awards, including victories in the Prima la Musica 2024, Goldene Note 2024, and Virtuosos 2025 competitions, as well as a special prize from maestro José Carreras. As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras such as Young Masters, Camerata Carnuntum, and Concerto Budapest. Her musical expression and joy of playing inspire audiences at home and abroad.
Gaspar Kelemen
Young violinist Gaspar Kelemen, born in Hungary in 2008, studied at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and is now continuing his studies at the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School in the United Kingdom. As the youngest recipient of the Junior Prima Prize, he has won numerous awards, including victory in the Virtuozok competition and a place in the final of the Bartók World Violin Competition 2023. He has performed as a soloist with many prominent orchestras in Hungary and Europe and has collaborated with a number of renowned musicians. In addition to solo performances, he is also involved in chamber music and participates in masterclasses with leading international teachers.
Petar Nikolić
Petar Nikolić, born in 2009 in Montenegro, is one of Europe’s young classical guitar talents. He studies at the Vasa Pavić Music School in Podgorica under Professor Marko Prentić. In 2025, he represented Montenegro at the Virtuosos competition in Budapest and received a special award. He has performed as a soloist with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in the famous Liszt Concert Hall. Petar is a laureate and winner of first prizes at many prestigious international competitions in the Balkan region. He has performed at important cultural events in Montenegro and is recognized for his musical expression and stage presence.
David Božič
David Božič, born in Serbia in 2013, is a very promising young talent on the European piano and composition scene. From the age of four, he sang in the Kolibri children’s choir and also played the piano. He studies at the Kosta Manojlović Music School in Belgrade and is a laureate and winner of numerous international competitions in solo and chamber music as well as composition. In 2025, he won the main prize and a special award at Virtuosos in Budapest. He has participated in masterclasses with leading international teachers, and his own compositions have been performed by orchestras in prestigious concert halls. In addition to music, he also enjoys drawing and karate, and is an excellent student.
Peter Valentovič
The conductor and pianist has enjoyed success on the world’s opera stages and concert halls. Peter Valentovič studied conducting at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna with Leopold Hager and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris with Zsolt Nagy. He was an accompanist at the Opéra Bastille and Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and at the Vienna State Opera. Since 2013 he has worked extensively as conductor and pianist with Edita Gruber. They have performed all over the world including Japan and China. Peter Valentovič was the chief conductor of the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and is currently the chief conductor of the National Theatre Košice.
South Bohemia Philharmonic Orchestra
The only professional orchestra in the South Bohemia region, the South Bohemian Philharmonic has forty members and will begin its 45th concert season in autumn 2025. From the 2024/25 season, the South Bohemian Philharmonic has a new chief conductor, Alena Hron, the first ever female conductor in the Czech Republic. The orchestra wants to reach as wide an audience as possible with its programme, which is why, in addition to classical music, it also prepares crossover concerts with overlaps into other genres, but always while meeting the quality requirements. The South Bohemian Philharmonic Orchestra always wants to enthuse, entertain, delight and make the audience come back.
Castle Riding Hall
Come and enjoy a concert at the unforgettable and unique Castle Riding Hall, which is part of the Český Krumlov Castle close to the castle garden. You will fall in love with this singular building and its surroundings and you will feel as if you were in the Viennese imperial court in the 18th century. After […]
