Who is He?

"Earlier than usual." These words capture the life so far of violinist Josef Špaček. He picked up the violin at the age of three, met his future wife and mother of his three children at seventeen, and became the youngest concertmaster in the history of the Czech Philharmonic aged 25. Today, he juggles a solo career, performing with the Zimbalist Trio (made up of graduates from Philadelphia’s prestigious Curtis Institute), guest appearances with ensembles worldwide, and teaching. He compares violin playing to athletics with one key difference in his opinion: sport lacks the essential “goosebump factor.”

"As Czech musicians, we must be grateful for all the treasures of our country.”

– Josef Špaček

Milestones

Finalist and winner of prestigious music competitions from a very young age.

Significant solo performances with orchestras including the Czech Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Konzerthaus Berlin, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Amsterdam), Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Kennedy Center (Washington), La Jolla Symphony & Chorus (San Diego), Philadelphia Orchestra, PKF – Prague Philharmonia, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Essener Philharmoniker, Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich (St. Pölten), Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI (Turin), Orchestre National de Belgique (Brussels), Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (Kuala Lumpur), Orquesta Filarmónica de Málaga, Auckland Philharmonia, Kansas City Symphony, and Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

Collaborations with renowned conductors such as Jiří Bělohlávek, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, Asher Fisch, Roy Goodman, Eliahu Inbal, Manfred Honeck, Jakub Hrůša, Gerard Korsten, Jun Märkl, Rossen Milanov, Tomáš Netopil, Thomas Sanderling, and Thomas Søndergård.

Named in Czech Forbes’ “30 under 30” list.

Plays a Guarneri violin, which he would never trade for a Stradivarius.

The Allegro Forte - Faces of Czech Music exhibition was conceived and photographed by Štěpánka Stein and Vendy Mlejnská. Josef Špaček embraces nature at the Botanical Garden in Prague.