E N S E M B L E  M A R T I N Ů

Miroslav Matějka – flute, artistic leader
Radka Preislerová – violin
Simona Hečová – cello
Štěpán Kos - piano

The Ensemble Martinů, a Czech piano quartet consisting of piano, flute, violin and violoncello. The Ensemble Martinů has produced on 9 CD´s and regularly made records for Czech Radio, and for Czech TV include the produced one piece of film music as well.

The ensemble has invited and performed at a number of major music festival both at the Czech Republic and abroad. The Ensemble M. appears regularly in various concert series and festivals : at the Czech Philharmony - Rudolfinum (festival Prague Premiers, the concert series of the Czech Association for Chamber Music), Prague Spring Festival, Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK, Moravian Autumn in Brno, Smetana´s Litomysl - International Opera Festival, Janacek´s Hukvaldy and Janacek´s May etc.

The Ensemble M. has been invited for numerous concert tours around the world. They performed in many EU countries - mostly in Spain, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Sweden, Denmark, Romania, Hungary, Bulgary, Neetherland, Greece, Estonia atc. Ensemble also performed in Ukraine, China, Russia, Brazil. Explicity as: Beejing International Music Festival in Forrbiden City, "Sala Cecília Meireles" in Rio de Janeiro, "Conde Duque" in Madrid, Budapest Tavaszi Festivál (Budapest Spring Festival), Konserthuset Stockholm, International Music Festival de Santorini, the oldest festival of chamber music in Europe in Plovdiv.

The Ensemble M. was founded in 1978 by the flautist Jan Riedlbauch, a professor of the Prague Conservatory, and his brother Josef as well as Mr. J. Pípal, F.Kůda, J.Pěruška. In that time – aproximatly about 1977-78 - there began the story of the ensemble. It was the time when Charlotte Martinů - widow of the great Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů - visited the Czech Republic. She had decided to transport remains of her husband to his home in Polička in Czech land. In 1993 the Ensemble was renewed after a brief hiatus by its present leader, the flautist Miroslav Matějka.

Along with the traditional repertoire from the 18th to the 20th centuries (including Dvořák, Beethoven, Ravel), the group has concentrated especially on the music of Bohuslav Martinů and also on works by contemporary Czech composers for piano quartet or piano trio with flute. In this way the Ensemble Martinů has definitely established the piano quartet genre in Central Europe (with the flute replacing the viola) and has prompted a number of leading more than 50 Czech composers to write works for it (Zdenek Lukáš, Otmar Mácha, Jan F. Fischer, Sylvie Bodorová, Václav Riedlbauch, Miroslav Kubička, Jiří Matys etc). Thus the group has won recognition for presenting contemporary Czech music in its historical and world context and has also attracted support from the Czech Ministry of Culture. Its repertoire also includes works that incorporate elements of rock, jazz, blues and swing by Astor Piazzolla, Ivan Kurz, Michal Rataj and Ilja Hurnik. Since June 2003 Ensemble M. is one the of groups to be appointed for the highest regular Czech Price - Award of the Czech Chamber Group - Czech Philharmony.

Discography of the Ensemble Martinů : “Con Flauto” and “Meetings-Departings’” - Czech Contemporary Music - Triga Publishers/ Czech Radio, “Echoes from Long Ago”’ - EM-ART, “Astor Piazzolla-Tangos’”- BonArtProduction / Sony Music BMG, ”RendezVous” - French and Czech music - CubeBohemia, “Jazz&Rock in Classic” - Radioservis, “Antonín Dvořák”- MusicVars / Czech Touches of Music, “American Dream of Bohuslav Martinů” – Czech Radio / EM-ART.

All members of the Ensemble Martinů represent the highest quality of Czech musicians.

The flautist Miroslav Matějka has performed in more than 50 premiers of compositions by contemporary Czech composers. He also performs as a soloist with prestigious leading orchestras, Czech actors. He has been working as a director for the festival Czech Touches of Music, as well as an advisor for PR @Media for Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. He graduated from the Prague Conservatory and Charles University at Prague.

The violinist Radka Preislerová started her profesional career in 1993 as a member of the of the Opera orchestra of the National Theatre in Prague, and Ensemble Martinů. She has graduated from The Concervatory and Academy Music of Art under professor Vladimír Rejšek. In the beginning of the 90’s he had became the member of the prestigious Young orchestra of the European Union countries as only one exlusive violinist from the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovak).

The violoncellist Simona Hecova studied at the Prague Conservatory and the Academy of Music, with M. Mlejnik in Klagenfurt and B. Pergamenschikow and F. Helmerson in Lubeck. Prizes included Boris Heran (1986) and Liezen, Austria (1992 and 1994). She records for the Czech Radio.

The pianist Štěpán Kos was a student of Professor Ivan Klansky at the Prague Academy. He has appeared as soloist with such orchestras as Radio of Plzeň Orchestra, Philharmony of Hradec Králové, Western Bohemia Symphony Orchestra in Marienbad, Talich Chamber Orchestra, Slovakia Philharmony, Orchestra of the Theater of J. K. Tyl in Plzen, the Moravian Philharmony Orchestra, the Bacau Philharmony, Orchestra Philharmony of Pomorsk, Orchestra Philharmony of Wroczlaw, Orchestra Philharmony of Bacau and Suk Chamber Orchestra. He has recorded several times for the Czech, Slovak, Poland and Hungary Radio and for the Czech TV as well as he recorded Mendelssohn's Double Concerto in D Minor for Violin and Piano with his brother, violinist Martin Kos, and the Suk Chamber Orchestra. His most recent successes were the 1st prize, the prize of the best performance of the Concerto and Orchestra, the Filharmony Pomorsk Prize, the Radio Poland Prize of the International J. I. Paderewski piano competition in Bydgoszc (Poland 2001), the 3rd prize of the International Competiton A. M. A. Calabria (Italy 2002) and the 2nd prizes of the International Piano Competitions "Giuliano Pecar" in Gorizi (Slovenia 2002) and "Premio Rovere d´Oro" (Italy 2003).