biography
The international press describes Czech pianist Jan Bartoš as “one of the best European pianists” and “an emotional and sophisticated interpreter.” As Supraphon exclusive artist, his albums have earned international acclaim from critics at Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, The Guardian, The Times, Diapason, NPR, American Record Guide, and many others. He was invited to perform on the new DVD My Musical Life (2021) by Alfred Brendel, who wrote, “'Jan Bartos is one of my most impressive and exciting young colleagues. In him, virtuosity is coupled with deeply serious musicianship.''
His last album made in collaboration with the conductor Jakub Hrůša and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra contains a first studio recording of Vítězslav Novák‘s Piano Concerto in E minor. The album has become The Guardian Classical Album of the Week and Month. His Janáček album (2019) was selected in the Gramophone Editor's Choice: „Jan Bartoš draws you closely into Janáček’s compelling sound world, music both exposed and somehow personal, lines and details delivered from the very beginning with imagination and deep thought.“ It was also selected among 10 Classical Albums To Usher In The Next Decade by NPR. His Beethoven double album (2018) received a double 5* review in BBC Music Magazine: "Everything in this recording is outstanding... The Arietta of Op. 111 is here gorgeous beyond words...".
Jan Bartoš has given concerts at prominent venues throughout Europe, in Asia and the USA. The late Jiří Bělohlávek regularly invited Jan Bartoš in concerts with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Prague Philharmonia. Together with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, they recorded Mozart Piano Concertos. The Times wrote: "These live recordings come with Alfred Brendel's endorsement. The late Bělohlávek and his superb orchestra revel in Mozart's dark, dramatic harmonies, recalling Don Giovanni, while the soloist's crisp articulation and singing legato are never far from the spirit of the composer's sunnier comedies."
Other conductors, he works with include Jakub Hrůša, Kristjan Järvi, Tomáš Hanus, Kenneth Kiesler, and many others. He is the winner of three competitions in New York - 2009 Mieczyslaw Munz, 2008 Zaslavsky-Koch, and 2004, Peter S. Reed - as well as the Rotary Musikförderpreis in Nuremberg and the Concertino Praga in the Czech Republic. Moreover, he has received the prestigious accolades and scholarships from the Czech Ministry of Culture, the Rucorva Trust Award in the Netherlands and the Schimmel Prize in Germany.
Jan Bartoš was the last pupil of the legendary pianist Ivan Moravec. Following his studies in the Czech Republic, with Martin Ballý and Miroslav Langer, he continued to hone his artistry under the guidance of Alfred Brendel, Leon Fleisher, Zenon Fishbein, and James Tocco. He studied chamber music with Juilliard String Quartet's Robert Mann and Emerson String Quartet's Lawrence Dutton. He has a Professional Studies Diploma from the Manhattan School of Music in New York and a doctorate from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
Jan Bartoš is the Founder and Artistic Director of the international festival and institute Prague Music Performance. PMP thematically connects concerts, master classes, lectures, residencies, and publishing books. In 2019, he became the Artistic Director of the international festival American Spring.
