Smetana: From the Homeland - two duos for violin and piano (Aus der Heimat; From My Country)

Janáček, Smetana, Prokofiev – Josef Špaček’s “Slavonic debut”.

Still only 26, the violinist Josef Špaček has already covered an enormous amount of ground. After completing his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he attended Itzhak Perlman’s class at the Juilliard School in New York, and he has given solo performances under the baton of outstanding conductors (Bělohlávek, Eschenbach, Honeck, Hrůša).

In 2009 he won the Michael Hill International Violin Competition (New Zealand), in May 2012 he became a laureate of the closely observed Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and in the same year led the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra as concert master at the chief conductor Jiří Bělohlávek’s inauguration concerts. For his Supraphon debut, Josef Špaček has chosen works by Slavonic composers. The two duets from Smetana’s From My Homeland are considered the counterpart to his cycle My Country, while Janáček’s Sonata, which was introduced to the world by Paul Hindemith as a soloist, is evidently the most frequently performed Czech violin sonata. And when it comes to Prokofiev, the Russian master’s music is a truly heartfelt matter for Špaček (as a soloist, he has executed both of his concertos). The pianist Miroslav Sekera is a wonderful partner to Špaček on the recording, as are the superb and inspiring acoustics of the Dvořák Hall of Prague’s Rudolfinum.