A musician of tremendous emotional power, depth and expressiveness, Ivo
Kahánek has gained his reputation as one of the most exciting pianists of his
generation and is considered the best Czech contemporary pianist. He is
recognised as one of the impressive Romantic pianists and also as a specialist
in Czech piano music, possessing a rare and special gift of creating an
immediate and compelling emotional connection with his audience.
He won the Prague Spring International Music Competition in 2004 and gained
awards at other leading international piano competitions (Maria Canals Piano
Competition in Barcelona, Vendome Prize in Vienna, Stiftung Tomassoni Wettbewerb
in Cologne, Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Marienbad,
Concertino Praga, etc.).
After his successful debuts at Beethovenfest Bonn and Prague Spring Festival he
was invited by the BBC to perform the Fourth Piano Concerto („Incantations“)
by Bohuslav Martinů at the BBC Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under
Jiří Bělohlávek. The concert took place at the Royal Albert Hall in London
in August 2007 and was broadcast live by the BBC Radio 3 and the BBC
Television as well as the Czech National Radio station “Vltava”. This
critically acclaimed Proms debut is now being offered by Deutsche Grammophon as
a digital download. It’s no wonder that Ivo Kahánek was selected by Sir
Simon Rattle to perform at two concerts with the Berliner Philharmoniker in
November 2014, followed by enthusiastic reactions of critics and the general
public alike. The young pianist has become only the second Czech pianist after
Rudolf Firkušný to ever perform with the renowned orchestra. Moreover, Ivo
Kahánek performs regularly with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and has made
highly appreciated performances with BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra Glasgow,
WDR Orchestra Cologne, Philharmonie Essen, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Czech Radio
Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, Brno
Philharmonic and many others. He has performed with internationally renowned
artists, e.g. conductors Pinchas Steinberg, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Andrey Boreyko,
Jakub Hrůša, Zdeněk Mácal, Tomáš Netopil, violinist Daniel Hope, cellist
Alissa Weilerstein, Pavel Haas Quartet, Tetzlaff Quartet etc.
So far Ivo Kahánek has released nine CDs under the Supraphon label (which he
has entered an exclusive contract into) with music by Janáček, Martinů,
Klein, Kabeláč, Francaix, Ibert i.a… His solo CD
(Janáček-Martinů-Kabeláč) has received top rates in prestigious musical
journals (Le Monde de la Musique, Classics Today, Fanfare). Besides that he
frequently collaborates with Czech Radio and Czech Television. His last solo
record was devoted to Fryderyk Chopin´s music (Sonata No. 2 in B minor,
4 Scherzi). A recording of Songs by Bohuslav Martinů is to be released by
Supraphon with the exquisite soprano, Martina Janková, as well as a CD with the
piano and chamber works by Viktor Kalabis.
A graduate of both the Janáček Conservatoire in Ostrava and the Academy of
Performing Arts in Prague, Ivo Kahánek also graduated from the Advanced
Instrumental Studies course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London
and participated in master classes with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Christian
Zacharias, Alicia de Larocha, Imogen Cooper, Peter Frankl and many others.