Happy Birthday, VC Artist Josef Špaček!

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, where he studied with Ida Kavafian, Jaime Laredo and Itzhak Perlman, Josef is a former 1st prize winner at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition

Today is violinist, VC Artist Josef Špaček’s 38th birthday.

A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Juilliard School, where he studied with Ida Kavafian, Jaime Laredo and Itzhak Perlman, Josef is a former laureate of the International Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, and won top prizes at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand, the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition in Denmark and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York.

He previously served as Concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic from 2010 to 2020.

Departing the orchestra to devote himself entirely his solo career, Špaček has performed with orchestras such as the Orchestre de Paris, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Bamberger Symphoniker, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI Torino, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, and Kammerakademie Potsdam.

He regularly collaborates with renowned conductors such as Jakub Hrůša, Semyon Bychkov, Manfred Honeck, Valery Gergiev, Thomas Adès, Krzysztof Urbański, James Gaffigan, James Conlon, Maxim Emelyanchev, Jiří Bělohlávek, Thomas Søndergård, Cornelius Meister, Michael Sanderling, David Zinman, Eliahu Inbal, Tomáš Netopil, Marc Albrecht, Aziz Shokhakimov, Christian Vasquez, and Lio Kuokman.

Mr Špaček often appears in the world's eminent concert halls and festivals. His chamber music collaborators include Gil Shaham, Kian Soltani, James Ehnes, Clemens Hagen, Yuja Wang, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Máté Szücs, Miroslav Sekera, Tomáš Jamník, Suzana Bartal, Kristóf Baráti, and Sharon Kam.

In June 2024, he launched the inaugural edition of his own chamber music festival, the Troja Festival, in Prague.

Currently he plays the c. 1732 “LeBrun; Bouthillard” Guarneri del Gesù violin, generously lent by Ingles & Hayday.

In his free time he enjoys cycling.

VC ARTIST JOSEF ŠPAČEK | MARTINU | VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1 | PETR POPELKA & THE FRANKFURT RADIO SYMPHONY | 2021