Josef Špaček and George Xiaoyuan Fu

Praised for his remarkable range of colours, his confident and concentrated stage presence, his virtuosity and technical poise as well as the beauty of his tone Josef Špaček has gradually emerged as one of the leading violinists of his generation. His performances of a wide range of repertoire demonstrate his “astonishing articulation and athleticism” (The Scotsman) and  “a richness and piquancy of timbre.” (The Telegraph).

He appears with orchestras including the Orchestre de Paris, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Bamberger Symphoniker, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Capitole de Toulouse, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI Torino, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen and the Kammerakademie Potsdam.

Josef Špaček collaborates with eminent conductors such as Jakub Hrůša, Semyon Bychkov, Manfred Honeck, Valery Gergiev, Thomas Adès, Krzysztof Urbański, James Gaffigan, James Conlon, Maxim Emelyanchev, Jiří Bělohlávek, Thomas Søndergård, Cornelius Meister, Michael Sanderling, David Zinman, Eliahu Inbal, Tomáš Netopil, Marc Albrecht, Aziz Shokhakimov, Christian Vasquez and Lio Kuokman.

He equally enjoys giving recitals and playing chamber music and is a regular guest at festivals and in concert halls throughout Europe (among others at the Rudolfinum in Prague, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam, the Kronberg Academy, the Evian Festival, the Kaposfest and at Schloß Elmau), Asia and the USA (among others at Kennedy Center, Washington D.C., 92Y in New York,  La Jolla in San Diego, the ChamberFest Cleveland and the Nevada Chamber Music Festival).

His chamber music partners include Gil Shaham, Kian Soltani, James Ehnes, Clemens Hagen, Yuja Wang, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Máté Szücs, Miroslav Sekera, Tomáš Jamník, Suzana Bartal, Kristóf Baráti and Sharon Kam.

Supraphon released a highly praised recording of the violin concertos of Dvořák and Janáček, coupled with the Fantasy of Suk, with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek. The Sunday Times wrote: “The violinist’s individual, deeply considered and virtuosic account of Dvorak’s solo part is the highlight of this keenly conceived programme”, adding that “in this repertoire, Špaček is second to none today.” It was the “Recording of the week” of The Sunday Times, “Recording of the month & of the year” of MusicWeb International and it received 5* in Diapason. Other recordings to date are a recital disc with works for violin and piano by Smetana, Janáček and Prokofiev with pianist Miroslav Sekera (Supraphon), works for violin solo and violin and piano by H.W. Ernst (Naxos) and an early CD with the complete Sonatas for Solo Violin by Eugène Ysaÿe.

Josef Špaček studied with Itzhak Perlman at The Juilliard School in New York, Ida Kavafian and Jaime Laredo at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and with Jaroslav Foltýn at the Prague Conservatory. He was laureate of the International Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, and won top prizes at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand, the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition in Denmark and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York.

He has served as concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the youngest in its history. The orchestra named him “Associate Artist” as of January 2016. He left this post at the end of the 2019/20 season to devote himself exclusively to his solo career.

Josef Špaček performs on the ca. 1732 “LeBrun; Bouthillard” Guarneri del Gesù violin, generously on loan from Ingles & Hayday.

He lives in Prague with his wife and their three children. In his spare time he enjoys cycling.

Chinese-American pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu has been praised as “one of the most exciting pianists of our time… a deep thinker, thoroughly in command” (The Arts Desk). Recently winning BBC Music Magazine’s 2024 Newcomer Award, he is establishing an international reputation as a fearless and probing interpreter of a wide array of music, combining “stunning virtuosity” (Boston Music Intelligencer) and “phenomenal technique with a profound sense of interpretative clarity” (Apple Music). 

George has appeared across the Americas and Europe, appearing at major venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, Konzerthaus Berlin, Kennedy Center, St Martin In the Fields, the Southbank Centre, and Kings Place. His performances and interviews have been featured on broadcasts around the world, ranging from BBC Radio 3 and National Public Radio, to appearances on PBS/American Public Television and On Stage At Curtis in Philadelphia. Recent highlights include successful solo recital debuts at the Wigmore Hall, as well as the Aldeburgh and Ryedale Festivals. 

Highlights of next season include solo recital debuts in New York City (Merkin Hall), Washington DC (Phillips Collection), as well as debut performances at Rudolfinum in Prague and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. He will release a second solo album in autumn 2024, Colouring Book, combining the complete cycle of Debussy 12 Études with other playful works by Matthew Aucoin, Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade, and himself.

As concerto soloist he has performed with National Symphony Orchestra (USA), Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, amongst others. A frequent solo recitalist and chamber musician, George is a founding member of Trio Zimbalist alongside Josef Špaček (violin) and Timotheos Gavriilidis-Petrin (cello). He enjoys fruitful collaborations with a wide variety of artists such as Roberto Díaz (viola), Dmitri Sitkovetsky (violin), Tamsin Waley-Cohen (violin), Mika Sasaki (piano), Liv Redpath (soprano), and Lotte Betts-Dean (mezzo-soprano).

George’s debut solo album, MIRRORS, was released with Platoon Classical to international acclaim, winning BBC Music Magazine’s 2024 Newcomer Award. The album draws on his visionary style of programming, using Maurice Ravel’s Miroirs as a focal point and featuring an eclectic mix of composers: Sergei Rachmaninov, Germaine Tailleferre, Henri Dutilleux, Unsuk Chin, Timo Andres and Freya Waley-Cohen. The album earned a five-star review from BBC Music Magazine: “Fu’s approach is intelligent but fuelled by a deep emotion and understanding of the repertoire… his touch on the keys is barely apparent in the Ravel, with the music flowing gossamer-like.” Gramophone also declared that “Fu’s precise fingerwork cannot be faulted, and his gift for programme-building deserves serious attention”; while International Piano Magazine claimed that “Fu’s fluent and nuanced ‘Barque’ is one of the finest available”.

Born in Washington, D.C., George made his concerto debut with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center at the age of 17. After earning a bachelor's degree from Harvard University, George studied with Jonathan Biss and Meng-Chieh Liu at the Curtis Institute of Music, and then with Christopher Elton and the Dame Myra Hess Chair of Piano Joanna MacGregor at the Royal Academy of Music, where he currently teaches. He has also worked intensively with Pierre-Laurent Aimard, specifically on the music of Messiaen and Debussy.