In 2023, the series of concerts at the Bořislavka Centre presented a pairing of Adam Klánský / Ivan Klánský. This country has plenty of musical families, after all. The Klánskýs have an incredibly large musical family including the father Ivan, sons Adam, Vladimír, and Daniel, and daughter Klára (and that is just the innermost circle), and things are similar with violist Jan Pěruška. This year, we present a Mareček family father-and-son duo: cellist Lukáš and his father David, a pianist.

A Ballade, a Fairy Tale, and Silent Woods – and finally a jolly journey to Italy. The last early evening informal concert at the Bořislavka Centre will offer a survey of Czech music for piano and cello by Josef Suk, Leoš Janáček, and Antonín Dvořák. The conclusion will showcase Igor Stravinsky’s retrospective of the ancient roots of modern music.

Lukáš Mareček (2005) has played the cello since the age of four. He is currently a student of Prof. Václav Horák at the Brno Conservatory. He has participated in international performance courses with Michaela Fukačová, Jens Peter Maintz, Jerome Peroo, Michal Kaňka, and Marek Jerie. His most notable competition achievements include winning the Central Round of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports Competition (2017), the Jan Vychytil International Competition (2016 and 2017), and the Gustav Mahler Competition (2019), 2nd prize at the Heran Cello Competition (2019 and 2021), and 3rd prize at the Talents for Europe International Competition (2017). In July 2016, he performed at the Young Talents Concert at the Music Znojmo Festival. As an orchestral player, he has performed with various conductors Sir Simon Rattle, Peter Altrichter, and Tomas Netopil, among others. In February 2024, he appeared with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava as soloist in Edward Elgar's Viloncello Concerto.

David Mareček (b. 1976) is a sought-after chamber musician who regularly performs with leading Czech soloists, including violinists Jiří Vodička and Jan Mráček, cellists Michaela Fukačová and Václav Petr, and singer Jan Martiník. He has collaborated with some of today’s foremost musicians, such as cellists Alisa Weilerstein and Gautier Capuçon. As a soloist, he has worked with renowned conductors, including Jakub Hrůša, with whom he performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. Mareček has earned international acclaim for his interpretation of Dvořák's Piano Quintet (praised by The Strad) alongside ensembles such as the Dover, Jerusalem, and Zemlinsky Quartets. In 2018, he performed live on BBC Radio 3 with Alisa Weilerstein, and in 2021, the duo recorded a recital at the Rudolfinum for Czech Television.

Their recording of Schubert’s Winterreise with Jan Martiník received, among other accolades, a five-star review in Diapason (2018), and the recording of Dvořák’s complete works for violin and piano with Jiří Vodička received numerous distinctions, including Editor’s Choice from the British magazine Gramophone, Choc de Classica, and a five-star rating from Diapason in France. Mareček performs regularly as a chamber musician across Europe, the United States, and Asia.

He is a graduate of the Brno Conservatory, where he studied piano and conducting under Ivana Stanovská and Evžen Holiš. He continued his piano studies at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts with Inessa Janíčková and Jaroslav Smýkal. Mareček has also participated in masterclasses with distinguished pianists and educators, including Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Dominique Weber, and Peter Lang.

source: David Mareček

Artium by KKCG is a publicly accessible space for art of all genres, breathing artistic life into Bořislavka and enriching the cultural offerings in Prague 6 and the capital more generally. Artium regularly holds exhibitions, concerts, and other cultural events, and the unconventional space allows visitors to explore art across different genres, often intertwined to create a unique experience. During this year’s Dvořák Prague International Music Festival’s concerts at Artium, spectators can also enjoy an extensive exhibition of photographic installations by Jarmila Štuková titled "Us and the Others."

The concerts presented here as part of the Dvořák Prague Festival are organized for a good cause, with all proceeds supporting talented, young musicians.