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| Who | Kalliopé Trio Prague Markéta Vokáčová violin Jan Zemen cello Miroslav Sekera piano Martin Šulc accordion |
| Where | Kirchstetten Castle |
| Program | Bohuslav Martinů (1890–1959) Bergerettes, H. 275 Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) Piano trio in d minor, op. 120, N 194 —break— Claude Debussy (1862–1918) Piano trio in G major, L. 5 Jiří Kabát (1984) Parisienne Nostalgie for accordion and piano trio – world premiere Dress code: Semi-Formal |
Prague-based Kalliopé Trio will travel to Kirchstetten Castle in neighbouring Austria to perform works by French composers G. Fauré and C. Debussy, as well as Czech composers B. Martinů and Jiří Kabát, whose composition Parisienne Nostalgie for accordion and piano trio will be given the world premiere.
In 2011, Markéta Vokáčová and Jan Zemen founded the roots of trio at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Later, they were joined by leading Czech pianist Miroslav Sekera. All members are winners of international competitions and have extensive experience as soloists and chamber musicians.
Since its founding, the ensemble has collaborated with the Guarneri Trio Prague (I. Klánský, Č. Pavlík, M. Jerie), under whose guidance it has participated several times in master classes in Bad Saulgau, Germany.
In 2014, the trio made its debut at the Prague Spring International Music Festival and achieved two notable competition successes – 2nd prize at the Antonín Dvořák International Competition and 1st prize at the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Competition.
Other successes include 3rd prize and an award for the best performance of a work by W. A. Mozart at the J. Brahms International Competition in Gdańsk, Poland, in 2015, and in 2016, the title of laureate at the J. Brahms Competition in Pörtschach, Austria.
In addition to chamber concerts, the trio has also collaborated with orchestras, specifically the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra conducted by J. Kučera and the West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra Mariánské Lázně conducted by J. Mikoláš, with whom they performed L. van Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C major, Op. 56.
In 2017, they completed their studies in chamber music in the class of I. Klánský and L. Čepický at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with a graduation concert as part of the Bohuslav Martinů Days festival. Together with the AKS orchestra conducted by L. Svárovský, they performed the world premiere of Ondřej Kukal’s Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, Piano, and Symphony Orchestra “Boj o radost” (The Struggle for Joy), Op. 50, which he composed and dedicated to Kalliopé Trio Prague.
Accordionist Martin Šulc is a graduate of the Prague Conservatory under the guidance of Ladislav Horák. While still at the elementary arts school in Třeboň, where he studied with Lenka Slaninová, he won many awards at national and international accordion competitions. His successes then culminated at the Prague Conservatory, where he became a laureate of competitions such as Alcobaca in Portugal and a video competition in New Zealand, and excelled in the final rounds of competitions in Shenzhen, China, and Castelfidardo, Italy. He also became a multiple winner of the Masters category at the National Accordion Competition in Dobřany. He participated in the television competition show Virtuosos V4+, patronized by Placido Domingo, and became the winner for the Czech Republic. In 2023, he also participated in a global competition organized by the Societa Umanitaria association in Milan, where he reached the final rounds among the 23 best students from conservatories and universities around the world. These successes have brought Martin concerts at renowned international festivals, such as the International Festival in Český Krumlov, the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Music Society (Suk Hall, Rudolfinum), Culture in the Heart of Prague, Music Festival in Prague, Young Prague, and others. He has also had the opportunity to play with the best performers in the Czech Republic. He completed his studies at the conservatory with an accordion concert by Petr Fiala, accompanied by the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra.
Since October 2024, he has been studying at the Hochschule für Musik in Trossingen, Germany under Prof. Hans Maier.
Composer, conductor, and violist Jiří Kabát studied at the Prague Conservatory and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. As a soloist, conductor, arranger, and composer, he has collaborated with most of the Czech orchestras. He has won prizes at international competitions and has also received other awards and scholarships, such as the Classic Prague Award, Governor’s Prize, Tillett Trust Bursary, and others. For eight seasons, he held the position of violist with Vlachovo kvarteto Praha, and for two years he held the same position with the Pavel Haas Quartet.
He taught at the Pardubice Conservatory, and in the 2020/21 school year he was appointed director of the Pardubice – Polabiny Elementary Art School. He is a permanent member of Barocco sempre giovane.
Also, Jiří is a graduate of composition and conducting in the class of Jiří Gemrot, Miriam Němcová and Miroslav Košler. In 2011, he won the grand prize at the second Antonín Dvořák International Composition Competition. He is the recipient of the 2013 OSA Award for the most successful composer of classical music. His works have been performed at the Festival International Echternach, in the chamber music series of Prague Symphony Orchestra and Czech Philharmonic, Festival du Lubéron and many others.
