Suk, Martinů, Fišer: Works for Violin and Piano
Daniel Matejča – violin, Jan Schulmeister – piano
SU4361-2, release date 20th June 2025
Josef Suk (1874-1935) – Four Pieces for Violin and Piano, Op. 17 (1900). Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) – Czech Rhapsody for Violin and Piano, H. 307 (1945), Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano, H. 182 (1929). Luboš Fišer (1935-1999) – The Hands. Sonata for Violin and Piano (1961)
The Supraphon debut of 18-year-old Daniel Matejča (Ysaÿe – Violin Sonatas, 2023) has attracted great attention with critics around the world writing about his remarkable talent, comparing his recording with the very best. That same year, the 17-year-old pianist Jan Schulmeister came away from Texas with third prize at the prestigious Cliburn Junior Competition. And also that year, the Matejča – Schulmeister duo celebrated victory in the chamber music category at the competition Concertino Praga; that opened them the door to the studio for the making of this recording. Instead of brilliant, virtuosic show pieces, the young artists chose challenging Czech repertoire of the 20th century with pivotal works by Suk, Martinů, and Luboš Fišer. Martinů composed his Czech Rhapsody in the USA just after the end of the Second World War for Fritz Kreisler, who was 70 years old by then. Even today, this beautiful composition is a great technical challenge for the soloist. Martinů’s First Violin Sonata (1929) still belongs to the composer’s Paris period, as can be seen from jazz elements and the sometimes impressionistic mood of the piano part. The third composer, Luboš Fišer, is known mainly in his homeland, but his music also earned international awards (UNESCO prize, Prix d’Italia). His violin sonata The Hands was originally supposed to have been titled Crux, but that was completely unacceptable during the period of harsh communist rule. In the words of Ivan Štraus, who premiered the sonata, “…the composition could be interpreted as a loose depiction of the Stations of the Cross at Easter with dramatic moments of whipping, hatred, and anxiety followed by a funeral procession (pizzicato) and then the glorious Resurrection in the concluding apotheosis to the sound of bells.”
Daniel Matejča, born in Liberec on 30th April 2005, started playing violin at the age of 4 under the guidance of his mum Olesie Volickova. After one year he joined the class of Prof. Ivan Straus and has been studying with him up to now.
His significant achievements include 1st prizes at Josef Muzika International Violin Competition between 2013–2017 (2014 – the special prize – the master instrument of Tomas Pilar) and the absolute winner of School of Art Competition in 2017. As the winner of the Kocian Violin Competition between 2016 and 2018 he appeared as the guest on many concerts. In 2019 he became a laureate of the Kocian Violin Competition. He is also a holder of the prize “Zlaty orisek” 2017. In 2019 he took the 1st place at Jugend Musiziert Competition in Halle. He also played Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto backed by Liberec Symphonic Orchestra at the F. X. Salda theatre in Liberec. In 2020 he won the 1st prize at the International Georg Philipp Telemann Violin Competition in Poznan. In the same year he took the 2nd place at the international competition Concertino Praga when he performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. He recorded the same concerto with the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice in May 2021. In 2021 he was accepted to study at The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He also studied at Imola music Academy with Maurizio Scirarretta, he had lessons with Boris Belkin there as well. In 2021 he also won a TV competition Virtuosos V4+. In 2022 he won the Eurovision Young Talents.
In the same year he recorded 6 Ysaÿe sonatas for the Supraphon label, the album was released in the beginning of the year 2023. Month after the release date the recording became the best selling album of classical music in the Czech Republic. This album got positive feedback in magazines such as BBC Music Magazine or Gramophone and was compared to a recording of these sonatas from Hilary Hahn. Together with Jan Schulmeister (pianist) he managed to take the 1st place in the chambre category of Concertino Praga. In 2024 he was selected as a part of project 30 under 30 by the Forbes magazine and finished his bachelor studies along many concerts around the world. He also recieved the Josef Hlávka prize. In 2025 he made his debut with Czech Philharmonic. In this year he released an album together with Jan Schulmeister, recorded for Supraphon. Right after the release the album has been called Album of the week by Europadisc. He takes part in concerts all over the world – France, Italy, Austria, Germany, UAE, Turkey, Poland, Singapore, Japan etc.
Daniel presents himself at different violin classes including music classes in Litomysl, Liberec International Violin Academy, Imola Summer Fest in Italy or International Music Academy Orpheus in Vienna. At these international classes he collaborates with foreign professors such as Stephen Schipps, Simon James or Michael Frischenschlager. He took part in masterclasses under the guidance of Jiri Vodicka, Christian Tetzlaff or Augustin Hadelich.
August 16, 2025, 7:30 pm
Community Centre KONTAKT, Liberec, Czech Republic
Suk Quartet
September 11, 2025
HAMU Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic
Annual concert by Pavel Praženica and Dvořák’s Piano Quartet
September 16, 2025
Martinů Hall, HAMU, Prague, Czech Republic
Concert for Prof. Ivan Straus
September 23, 2025, 7:30 pm
Mozart’s Double Concerto, Bethlehem Chapel, Prague, Czech Republic
Jan Schulmeister – piano
Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, conductor Jaroslav Kyzlink
October 23, 2025, 7 pm
Concert with MFO, Reduta, Olomouc, Czech Republic
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, conductor Leoš Svárovský
October 24, 2025, 7 pm
Concert with MFO, Municipal Theatre, Prostějov, Czech Republic
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, conductor Leoš Svárovský
October 25, 2025, 7 pm
Concert with MFO, House of Culture, Zábřeh, Czech Republic
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, conductor Leoš Svárovský
October 27, 2025, 7 pm
Concert with MFO, House of Culture, Šumperk, Czech Republic
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, conductor Leoš Svárovský
October 28, 2025, 7:30 pm
Concert with MFO, Municipal House, Přerov, Czech Republic
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, conductor Leoš Svárovský
October 29, 2025, 7 pm
Concert with MFO, Jeseník, Czech Republic
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, conductor Leoš Svárovský
November 6, 2025, 7 pm
Recital Mnichovo Hradiště, Municipal Theatre, Czech Republic
Suk Quartet
February 19, 2026
Martinů Hall, HAMU, Prague, Czech Republic
Bohumil Bondarenko’s graduation concert
Suk Quartet
March 19, 2026, 7 pm
House of Culture, Teplice, Czech Republic
Graduate master’s concert with the North Czech Philharmonic
April 8, 2026
Martinů Hall, HAMU, Prague, Czech Republic
Jakub William Gráf’s graduation concert
Suk Quartet
Eugène Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Solo Violin
SU4313-2, release date 21.4.2023
Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) – Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27 (1923). Released to mark the centenary of the work. Jana Vöröšová (b. 1980) – Obsession II (inspired by Eugène Ysayë’s sonatas, and composed for the present recording)
“The artist’s first task is to forget himself.” This statement, bold in its time, has been ascribed to Eugène Ysaÿe, referred to as the “King of the Violin”, who as a composer and performer considerably contributed to the modernisation of violin playing. In 1923, he was so deeply impressed by J. S. Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001, as performed by Joseph Szigeti, that within a few hours (!) he sketched a set of six sonatas as a counterpart to Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, BWV 1001-1006. Ysaÿe dedicated each of his sonatas to a superb contemporary violinist, tailoring it to his style. Technically reaching the limits of the instrument, the pieces placed enormous requirements on the dedicatees (Szigeti, Thibaud, Enescu, Kreisler, Crickboom, Quiroga), yet they remain challenging for the violinists of today. One hundred years after Ysaÿe created the set of six sonatas, this formidable task has been undertaken by the outstanding young Czech virtuoso Daniel Matejča, the winner of the Eurovision Young Musicians competition (2022), Telemann Violin Competition (Poznan 2020) and Jugend musiziert (Halle 2019). Matejča studied with such distinguished violinists as Boris Belkin and Christian Tetzlaff, and, after collaborating to acclaim with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, has been invited to perform with other renowned orchestras. Supraphon has shifted the 100-year-old concept to the 21st century and commissioned a composition that would reflect Ysaÿe’s sonatas, as well as young violinists’ musicality and virtuosity. Jana Vöröšová’s Obsession II is both answer and challenge.
“Young Czech Daniel Matejča, winner of Eurovision Young Musician 2022, picks up the baton for the next generation in this bold, impressive set. In general, Matejča favours clarity over fantasy, swinging into the opening G minor Sonata with penetrating focus and a well-controlled line… Matejča’s ‘Malinconia’ is poignant in its sheer simplicity, and there’s a heroic glitter to the ‘Les furies’ finale.”
BBC Music Magazine, June 2023
“Still only a teenager, the Czech violinist Daniel Matejča has already won a number of prestigious music competitions. His set of the Sonatas is very clearly focused, brilliant yet never flashy… In the Ballade Third Sonata, he seems acutely mindful of the music’s heated emotional climate and potentially wide dynamic range… He also does wonderfully well by the Kreislerian Fourth Sonata’s finale, with its carpal twists and turns.”
Gramophone, September 2023
“The standout of the three is Czech teenager (b. 2005) Daniel Matejca’s. He is strikingly beautiful of tone and fine of balance (in the innumerable double-stops, each string gets equal weight)… All three recordings are excellent on the technical side, with differences as noted… But I’d still go with Matejca, for the sheer beauty of sound and delivery.”
American Record Guide, August 2023
“Daniel Matejca, a mere 18 years old, is far beyond his years in technical prowess and his gifts of musical interpretation… I was struck by the clarity of tone, and as I studied the score along with the recording, I was amazed at how, well, musical his interpretation is. Matejca is observant of the hemiolic rhythms peppered throughout the first sonata, and carefully, musically shapes the lines that effortlessly (on paper anyway) melt into one another. Matejca makes even the most improvisatory passages of these works sound carefully controlled, with a sense of being and purpose stamped on every note… This is a revelatory performance by a startlingly talented young virtuoso – I can’t wait to see what he does next.”
Fanfare, September 2023
“Fart d’une superbe maestria et d’une dynamique très sensuelle, le jeune Tchèque affiche un véritable goût du risque et fait preuve autant d’imagination que de charme (Ballade), offrant partout un parfum de liberté et un bel instinct des climats (Les Furies, L’Aurore). Avec une impressionnante aisance instrumentale, mais sans exhibitionnisme déplacé, son jeu affiche une intégrité stylistique qui témoigne déjà d’une belle maturité et force l’attention… Un talent à suivre.”
Classica, October 2023
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