Biography
Biography
Jan Dušek is a Czech composer and pianist of the middle generation who strives to connect tradition with the present in both his fields. His compositions are emotionally powerful and musically expressive, and he does not hesitate to use melody, tonality, or 20th-century means of expression to convey his ideas.
He draws on the ideas of the “New Sincerity” movement, among other things, which makes his music appealing not only to listeners but also to performers.
While still a student at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in Hanuš Bartoň’s class, he attracted attention by repeatedly winning the Generace composition competition, where he won first prize twice in a row (2006 …In Seven Days I Will Send Rain Upon the Earth…, 2007 Gradation for Organ).
Among his most significant works is the cycle Chalomot yehudi’im (Jewish Dreams), which won the Gideon Klein Prize and the Audience Prize in the NuBERG competition organised by the BERG Orchestra. This composition was even selected for a concert broadcast live by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), reaching several thousand listeners around the world.
Another frequently performed piece is the compulsory composition for the Prague Spring Competition for solo clarinet, Unsent Letter, which several performers around the world has taken up.
Performers of his compositions include leading figures on the world music scene, including clarinettists Liliana Lefebvre, Irvin Venyš, Aurelian Bacan, and Gonçalo Pinto, oboist Bart Schneemann, and flautists Monika Štreitová and Matei Ioachimescu. He has collaborated repeatedly with renowned ensembles such as the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble, the Prague Philharmonic Choir under the baton of Lukáš Vasilek, the BERG Orchestra, and the Prague Philharmonia. His works have been performed across Europe, from Paris, Lisbon, Luxembourg, Amsterdam, Porto, and Prague to Cluj, Romania, and have been recorded on numerous albums.
As a pianist, he specialises in the interpretation of lesser-known works, especially from the 20th century. He made a unique recording of the complete piano works of Rudolf Karel for Czech Radio. He released an internationally acclaimed album of songs by Viktor Ullmann with Irena Troupová. Together with other performers, they also recorded the complete songs of Hans Winterberg.
Jan Dušek also performs as a piano partner to top singers such as Jana Sibera, Jana Hrochová, Roman Janál, and Javier Arrey.
Many composers have also entrusted him with the premiere performances of their works (Juraj Filas, Ivan Kurz, Zdeněk Bartošík, Daniel Chudovský, and many others).
He has given concerts throughout Europe, Israel, and Hong Kong. He has performed repeatedly at major festivals, including the Prague Spring, Eternal Hope, and the Festival of Young Artists Bayreuth.
World-renowned personalities have shaped his piano interpretation – he has attended masterclasses with Cyprien Katsaris, Irina Ossipova, Angela Hewitt, and Maria João Pires, and studied under Robert Lehrbauer, Xiao-Mei Zhu (Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris), and Gordon Fergus-Thompson (Royal College of Music London).
Thanks to his wide range of influences and compositional thinking, he can combine deep emotionality with analytical aproach and the necessary brilliance in music of all stylistic periods.
In addition to his concert and compositional activities, he teaches composition at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
