TRIO MARTINŮ
Trio Martinů was formed at Prague Conservatory in 1990. Its current line-up Jaroslav Matějka – cello, Pavel Šafařík – violin, Petr Jiříkovský – piano have remained unchanged since 1993.
Under Professor Antonín Kohout (a member of the Smetana Quartet) at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, the ensemble developed and embarked on a trajectory paved with success and awards. These have included being semi-finalists in the international competition at Trapani, Italy; third price in the international contest of chamber ensembles at Heerlen, The Netherlands in 1992, which was followed by winning this competition three years later, in 1995.
Trio Martinů has taken part in several series of master classes: at Villecroze, France, conducted by Prague Trio (1992 and 1994), and at the Orlando Festival in Kerkade, the Netherlands, under Sandor Devich and Menahem Pressler, a member of the Beaux Arts Trio (1995 and 1997). From 1996, the ensemble studied for two years at the Vienna Hochschule für Musik under Professor Michael Schnitzler, a member of the Haydn Trio.
In 1995 the ensemble received the annual Award of the Czech Chamber Music Society attached to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.
During the 25 years of playing together, the ensemble performed in many countries in Europe, Japan, Korea, and the United States of America. Their discography encompasses 6 CDs recorded under the labels of Czech, German and Belgian recording companies. The last CD was released in June 2014 with Beethoven’s Triple Concerto which was performed with the Prague Symphony Orchestra under the Chinese conductor Muhai Tang.
In the 2015/2016 season Trio Martinů celebrates its 25th anniversary in numerous concerts in our country (Prague – Rudolfinum, October 2015; Brno – Besední dům, November 2015) and on tours abroad, mostly in Great Britain, Scotland and the Netherlands. It continues to play at the Czech festivals, for example L. van Beethoven’s Fest in Teplice, Janáček May Festival in Ostrava (2016), or at the international podia – Leamington Spa Chamber Music Festival in England.
In September 2015 Trio Martinů took part in the Visegrad Music Festival in Korea, celebrating the cultural cooperation between the Republic of Korea and the Visegrad Group, where the trio performed several solo concerts in Seoul, Daegu and Busan, and also joint concerts with the EURO-ASIAN Philharmonic Orchestra led by the conductor Gum Nanse.
The ensemble also started cooperation with several English conservatories and universities (as Birmingham Conservatory), where they will perform masterclasses and educational concerts for students with the aim at the Czech classical music.
All the three members are outstanding soloists and record regularly for the Czech Radio. Pavel Šafařík and Jaroslav Matějka have been engaged in the Prague Symphony Orchestra as assistant leaders and Petr Jiříkovský, except his solo performances, teaches piano at the Prague Conservatory.
