"I always look forward to every opportunity to play the Bechstein concert grand. These instruments allow me to play in their full dynamic range, their tone is extremely refined and warm. Bechstein does not make objective and impersonal instruments, but each piano has its own character."
Jan Bartoš
The international press has described Jan Bartoš as “one of the finest European pianists” and “an emotional and sophisticated interpreter.” He has appeared in solo recitals, with major orchestras and in chamber music concerts worldwide and enjoys a prolific recording career as an exclusive artist on the Supraphon label. His recordings of the music of Janáček, Mozart, Beethoven and Novák have earned international critical praise from critics at Gramophone, Diapason, BBC Music Magazine, The Times, American Record Guide and The Guardian among other outlets. His most recent CD released in February 2023 introduces to the world unknown gems of Czech piano music of Miloslav Kabeláč and Bedřich Smetana. The album received a 5-star review from the BBC Music Magazine: “This is one of the best and certainly most stimulating recordings of Czech piano music of recent years."
Jan Bartoš’s CD release from 2020 is the first studio recording of Vítězslav Novák’s Piano Concerto with Jakub Hrůša and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra on Supraphon. The Guardian voted it Classical Album of the Week and The Sunday Times highlighted the release as ‘‘worth knowing in Hrůša and Bartoš’s idiomatic performances.’’ In May 2021, the album won the Czech Republic’s highest recording prize in the Best Classical Album category.
In 2019, Bartoš recorded solo piano works of Leoš Janáček for Supraphon to great critical acclaim. Gramophone selected it as Editor's Choice, noting that it “easily stands alongside reference Janáček offerings,” adding that “Like his erstwhile teacher Ivan Moravec, Bartoš accepts and internalises Janáček’s intimate, conversational sound world for what it is, while imbuing the composer’s often stark textures with a fullness of tonal body and shimmering translucence” (Gramophone). The NPR (National Public Radio) included the recording in “10 Classical Albums To Usher In The Next Decade.”
Bartoš’s other notable CDs on Supraphon include a double album of Beethoven's solo piano works and Mozart Concertos with the Czech Philharmonic and Jiří Bělohlávek. The Beethoven album received a 5-star review from the BBC Music Magazine: “everything in this recording is outstanding [...] The Arietta of Op. 111 is here gorgeous beyond words." The Mozart Concertos were also met with praise from major critics: “Bartoš’s crisp articulation and singing legato are never far from the spirit of the composer's sunnier comedies” (The Sunday Times).
On Alfred Brendel's invitation, Jan Bartoš appears as a solo performer on the 2021 Supraphon DVD My Musical Life that celebrates the piano legend on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Mr. Brendel endorsed Jan Bartoš's playing with the following: “Jan Bartoš is one of my most impressive and exciting young colleagues. In him, virtuosity is coupled with deeply serious musicianship.''
Jan Bartoš has been the recipient of several awards and scholarships, among them the 1st prize at Zaslavsky-Koch Competition (New York), the Peter S. Reed Foundation Award (New York), the International Mieczyslaw Munz Award (New York), the Rotary Musikförderpreis (Germany), Concertino Praga (Czech Republic), the Rucorva Trust Award (the Netherlands), and the Schimmel Prize (Germany).
Jan Bartoš holds a Professional Studies Diploma from the Manhattan School of Music in New York, and a doctoratefrom the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He 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 abroad under the guidance of Alfred Brendel, Leon Fleisher, James Tocco, and Zenon Fishbein. He undertook masterclasses in chamber music with Juilliard String Quartet's Robert Mann and Emerson String Quartet's Lawrence Dutton.
He is the Founder and Director of Prague Music Performance, an innovative institution presenting concerts across musical genres, master classes, lectures and residencies. He is also the Artistic Director of the Music is festival and the Ivan Moravec Academy. Jan Bartoš teaches piano and chamber music at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
Photos: © Marek Bouda, Petra Hajska
