Pianist
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About
Pianist and teacher. He studied concert piano at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (VŠMU), where he earned his doctorate (ArtD.) in 2014, and spent a semester at The Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus.
Soloist with the State Philharmonic Košice and the Žilina State Chamber Orchestra. His repertoire runs from Bach to Martin Lang, born in 1996.
He has taught piano at VŠMU since 2015. His class has included pianists from Slovakia, Ukraine, Serbia and China.
He founded CLASS!CAL academy, an educational project for art schools. At the VŠMU Faculty of Music and Dance he is also vice-dean for quality assurance, and he sits on the Presidium of the Slovak Higher Education Council.
Selected
Soloist
Liszt, Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major
2010
State Philharmonic Košice · Žilina State Chamber Orchestra
Recording · ŽilinaSlovak premiere
Recording
Two pianos
Teaching
A journey on 88 keys
1990 on the left, today on the right. Click a year.
The whole journey as a list
- 1991Topoľčany
- StudyFirst piano lessonsArt school in Topoľčany, with Anna Drahošová.
- 1994Košice
- Competition2nd prize, Košice 94International piano competition, 1st category.
- 1995Topoľčany · Banská Bystrica
- StudyExceptional pupil at the conservatoryDezider Kardoš Private Conservatory, alongside primary school. From 1998 in the class of Milan Pacovský.
- CompetitionGold band, Ján Cikker CompetitionChildren’s performance competition in Banská Bystrica.
- 1996Bánovce nad Bebravou
- Competition1st prize, Dezider Kardoš FestivalThe first Dezider Kardoš Piano Festival, 1st category.
- AwardJán Beták PrizeFor an exemplary commitment to raising the cultural level of Slovakia.
- 1997Košice
- Competition1st prize, Košice 97International piano competition, 1st category.
- AwardSt. Gorazd Commemorative LetterFrom the Slovak Ministry of Education for representing Slovakia.
- 1998Brno
- Competition2nd prize, Amadeus Competition in BrnoAnd the prize for the best performance of a work by W. A. Mozart.
- 2000Vitznau · Castiglione del Lago
- StageConcert in VitznauOpening concert of Musikferien am Vierwaldstättersee in Switzerland.
- Competition1st prize, Concorso primaveraInternational piano competition in Italy.
- 2002Plzeň · Žilina
- Competition2nd prize, Smetana Competition in PlzeňInternational Smetana Piano Competition, 1st category.
- Competition2nd prize, Slovak Conservatory Students’ CompetitionNational round in Žilina, 1st category.
- 2003Hradec nad Moravicí
- CompetitionHonourable mention, Beethovenův HradecInternational performance competition in the Czech Republic.
- 2004Banská Bystrica
- Competition3rd prize, Slovak Conservatory Students’ CompetitionNational round in Banská Bystrica, 1st category.
- 2005Topoľčany
- StudyConservatory school-leaving examIn the class of Milan Pacovský, followed a year later by the final diploma.
- 2006Bratislava
- StudyAcademy of Performing Arts (VŠMU)After the conservatory diploma, concert piano in the class of Ida Černecká and Magdaléna Bajuszová.
- 2007Bratislava
- TeachingHis first pupilsPiano teacher at the Exnárova art school, alongside his studies.
- 2008Zürich
- CompetitionFinalist, Animato Stiftung CompetitionInternational piano competition in Switzerland.
- 2010Aarhus · Helsinki · Košice
- StudyA semester in AarhusThe Royal Academy of Music in the class of Anne Øland. A week at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.
- StageWith the Aarhus Sinfonietta in Aalborg and AarhusIn November, piano in Milhaud’s La création du monde and in Martinů’s Cello Concertino (soloist Henrik Brendstrup). Conductor Douglas Bostock.
- StageSoloist with the State Philharmonic KošiceLiszt, Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major. Conductor David Švec.
- 2011Bratislava · Žilina · Aarhus
- StudyMaster’s degree with distinctionAnd the VŠMU Rector’s Prize for outstanding results.
- StageSoloist with the Žilina State Chamber OrchestraLiszt, Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major. Conductor Oliver Dohnányi. In May, a recital at Musikhuset Aarhus.
- TeachingChurch ConservatoryTeacher of artistic subjects until 2015. At its Piano Marathon he lectured on the concert étude and Finnish music education.
- TeachingJúlius Kowalski Art SchoolTeaching piano and piano duets there to this day. His pupils have won gold bands at the Schneiderova Trnava (2013, 2017, 2024) and Banskoštiavnické kladivká (2022, 2025) competitions.
- 2014Bratislava
- StudyDoctorate (ArtD.)Thesis on the piano style of Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev from the performer’s view.
- 2015Bratislava · Vráble
- TeachingAssistant professor at VŠMUPiano, chamber music and a performance seminar.
- StageRecitals in Slovak townsThe Chamber Concerts in Slovak Towns series, until 2019 in Vráble, Šaľa, Šurany, Púchov and Nová Dubnica.
- 2017Bratislava
- StagePsalmsSlovak premieres of works by Lucia Papanetzová with Eva Banči and the Mucha Quartet. A CD in the VŠMU edition the same year.
- 2018Bratislava · Brno · Ostrava · Győr
- ProjectKLAVIA2RAThree seasons of music for two pianos with Daniel Buranovský: Bernstein, Moyzes, Grainger. Concerts, workshops and talks until 2020.
- 2019Bratislava
- StageORFEUS: Martin Lang, Poème Op. 28Slovak premiere with the VŠMU Modern Orchestra, conductor Marián Lejava.
- StageMartin Lang, Variations on D-A-C-E-E-C-ASlovak premiere at a concert for the jubilee of his teacher, Prof. Ida Černecká, in the Dvorana Concert Hall.Recording
- OfficeVice-chair, Society of Concert ArtistsThe professional body of Slovak concert artists.
- 2020Hlohovec · Martin · Nové Zámky
- ProjectCLASS!CAL concertsA concert series running until 2023, with the Slovak premiere of Martin Lang’s Sonatina Op. 27.
- 2021Bratislava
- OfficeVice-dean for quality assuranceFaculty of Music and Dance, VŠMU. Since 2023 also on the Presidium of the Slovak Higher Education Council.
- 2022Modra · Pezinok · Nitra · Topoľčany
- ProjectCLASS!CAL academyHis own project for art schools. Slovak premiere of Martin Lang’s cycle The Wanderings of a Young Wizard.
- 2023Bratislava
- ProjectBe Sharp! discussion forumHe founded it at the VŠMU Faculty of Music and Dance and moderated it. Seven debates from 2023 to 2025, among them “What is classical music?”, “Objectivity in judging art?” and “Artificial intelligence”.
- 2024Harbin · Nitra
- TeachingMasterclass in HarbinHarbin Conservatory of Music, China.
- StageRecital at the CLASS!CAL festivalThe Synagogue in Nitra, with the Slovak premiere of Martin Lang’s Musical Moments Op. 19.
The colours follow Alexander Scriabin’s colour keyboard (clavier à lumières) from Prometheus, 1910: C red, D yellow, A green, F♯ blue. The height of each light shows how much happened that year.
“Absolute concentration, reverence, a flexible touch and articulation made his performance a meaningful whole, filled not only with technical brilliance but with aesthetics, poetry and logic.”Lýdia Dohnalová Hudobný život, 2011 · Liszt with the Žilina State Chamber Orchestra
“Allow me to remark that it is a long time since I last saw anyone on a Slovak stage ‘fit’ a particular composition so well in expression.”
Graduates
“In his teaching I value two qualities above all. The first is his rational approach to pianistic questions. He could spot a problem immediately, analyse it clearly and offer workable solutions in a way that was easy to follow. The second is how he guided me towards independence: we worked through artistic questions together, but the final decision was always mine. Instead of dictating his own view, he encouraged me to think for myself and find my own approach. Thanks to that, I gradually learned the principles of approaching a work, studying repertoire and shaping an interpretation on my own.”
“In our lessons, he never insisted on a single ‘correct’ interpretation, but gave me room to find my own voice as a musician, while encouraging me to stay sensitive to the style, period and composer. He also guided me towards a clearer, more organised way of thinking about musical interpretation, which I apply whenever I learn new repertoire.”