Influencers of Resonance
2018/2019 piano recitals
10. 6. 2019
IVO KAHÁNEK
Ivo Kahánek is regarded by many as the best contemporary Czech pianist. He is one of those artists who can effortlessly combine superb technical mastery and impressive interpretations with extraordinary emotional power and depth. Kahánek’s mature technique exudes confidence, whether he is playing Baroque or modern, although his mainstay is Romantic music and around the world he is considered a specialist on Czech compositions. His talent of making an immediate emotional connection to the audience has earned him the position of a musician that the audience is always happy to listen to no matter what he plays, simply because it is always worth it.
The 2004 winner of the Prague Spring Competition confirmed his world-class format just three years later with his debut at the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall, where he performed under the baton of Jiří Bělohlávek accompanied by the BBC Symphony Orchestra. The concert was broadcast live and is even available as a digital download from Deutsche Grammophon. In 2014 Sir Simon Rattle invited him to perform twice with the Berlin Philharmonic – he was the second Czech pianist after Rudolf Firkušný to take to the stage with the famous ensemble. Besides his solo career, he is also an active chamber musician (especially with the Dvořák Trio) and teacher – both at eminent institution such as the Academy of Music in Prague or the Prague Conservatoire and as a mentor; for example, one of his students is the talented young Martin Chudada.
Ivo Kahánek has been playing on the piano since he was four. He attended a children’s art school in Frýdek-Místek, Janáček Conservatoire in Ostrava under Mgr. Marta Toaderová, and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under Prof. Ivan Klánský. He also completed an internship at the prestigious London Guildhall School of Music and Drama and took masterclasses under Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Christian Zacharias, Alicia de Larrocha, Imogen Cooper, Peter Frankl, and many others. His role models include Svjatoslav Richter and Wilhelma Kempff, renowned for their ability to express hidden musical nuances – he guides his students to take the same approach: “I don’t want them to play with greater lucidity or more legato. Instead I tell them to imagine that the piece is being sung by a beautiful soprano with long hair, or to think of a countryside with mountains and forests...”
Kahánek is also one of the faces of Supraphon, he promotes Czech music (last year the Czech Foreign Ministry asked him to figure in a spot representing the Czech Republic in the world), he is a patron of The Harmonie Foundation and a member of the PETROF Art Family, for which he is preparing a special concert series; and besides his concert duties, he also selects pianos for music institutions, including the Czech Philharmonic.
