YOUNG CZECH VIRTUOSI MATEJČA AND SCHULMEISTER
RELEASE AN ALBUM OF 20TH-CENTURY CZECH COMPOSITIONS
Album detail
Catalogue number: SU 4361-2
11th June 2025
Violinist Daniel Matejča (*2005) and pianist Jan Schulmeister (*2006), two leading figures of the youngest generation of Czech musicians, join forces on a new album devoted to Czech 20th-century repertoire. Following international successes as soloists, they will introduce listeners to unique interpretations of works by Josef Suk, Bohuslav Martinů, and Luboš Fišer. The album Suk, Martinů, Fišer: Works for Violin and Piano will be available on digital platforms and as physical product on 20 June 2025.
Matejča’s Supraphon debut (Ysaÿe – Violin Sonatas, 2023) attracted the attention of critics worldwide, while that same year Schulmeister won Third Prize at the prestigious Cliburn Junior Competition in the USA. Their joint victory in the chamber music category of the 2023 Concertino Praga Competition cleared the way for them to make a recording together.
The album includes Bohuslav Martinů’s Czech Rhapsody, a technically difficult work that the composer wrote in America after the Second World War. Another important work on the album is the same composer’s First Violin Sonata with elements of jazz and of impressionism. Luboš Fišer is represented on the album by his powerful sonata The Hands, written during the era of communist oppression, and its atmosphere evokes dramatic moments of modern history.
“Fišer’s sonata The Hands is one of my favourite compositions”, says Daniel Matejča. “It’s incredibly deep and powerful. For me, every performance
of it is an extraordinarily intense experience.”
About musical collaboration with Daniel Matejča, Jan Schulmeister adds: “We were looking for a balance between virtuosity and chamber musicianship. Our playing should be technically precise, but above all it must be lively and genuine.”
Matejča and Schulmeister met five years ago when they competed together in the finals of the 2020 Concertino Praga Competition. Since then, their ongoing collaboration has led naturally to this fascinating project. “Working with Jan is great – he’s one of the best pianists I’ve ever played with”, says Matejča.