Lukáš Pohůnek (born 24 October 1988) is a Czecho- Slovakian

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Early life and education

Pohůnek was born in

Žilina Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#Z, names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the List of cities ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

(modern-day

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

). Having Czech ancestry on his father's side and Slovak ancestry on his mother's side he grew up in a bilingual family environment. After his initial music formation in Trumpet and Piano playing at Primary Music School of Ladislav Árvay in Žilina he continued in his studies at the Conservatoire of Žilina, making over the years a number of solo-trumpet appearances with the

Slovak Philharmonic The Slovak Philharmonic or Slovak State Philharmonic (Slovenská filharmónia) is a Slovak symphony orchestra based in Bratislava. Founded in 1949, the orchestra has resided since the 1950s in the Baroque-era Reduta Bratislava concert hall const ...

Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra (''Janáčkova filharmonie Ostrava'') is a Czech orchestra based in Ostrava. Named after composer Leoš Janáček, the orchestra performs its concerts at the City of Ostrava Cultural Centre. History The root ...

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...

Philharmonic An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

and Slovak Sinfonietta under the baton of

Jakub Hrůša Jakub Hrůša (born 23 July 1981 in Brno) is a Czech conductor. He is chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony. Education Hrůša is the son of the architect . There were no professional musicians in his family who were drawn mainly from technica ...

, Christian Pollack and Karol Kevický who later became his first conducting teacher. He achieved his university education at the

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the largest art school in the Czech Republic, wit ...

where his teachers included

Leoš Svárovský Leoš Svárovský (born 17 May 1961 in Jablonec nad Nisou, former Czechoslovakia) is a Czech flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound ...

, Jiří Chvála, Lubomír Mátl and others. During the studies he made a study exchange at The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków where his teacher was Rafał Jacek Delekta. At various conducting masterclasses he learned from

George Pehlivanian George Pehlivanian (born 20 April 1964) is a French-American conductor. Biography George Pehlivanian ia a French-American conductor, born in Beirut, Lebanon, into a musical family of Armenian origin. His mother, Arpine Pehlivanian, is a Leban ...

Gianluigi Gelmetti Gianluigi Gelmetti OMRI, (11 September 1945 – 11 August 2021) was an Italian-Monégasque conductor and composer. Early life Gianluigi Gelmetti was born on 11 September 1945 in Rome, Italy. When 16 years old, Sergiu Celibidache let him conduct ...

, Colin Metters, Tadeusz Strugała,

Czesław Grabowski Czesław, (, , ) is an old given name derived from the Slavic elements ''ča'' (to await) and ''slava'' (glory). Feminine form: Czesława/Česlava. The name may refer to: * Ceslaus, Christian Saint * Czesław Białobrzeski, Polish physicist * C ...

and Mark Heron. As a student he began assisting

Oliver von Dohnányi Oliver von Dohnányi (born 2 March) is a Slovak conductor based in Prague, Czech Republic. Dohnányi was born in Trenčín, Czechoslovakia (now in Slovakia) and studied violin, composition and conducting at the Prague Academy for Music under V� ...

and started to conduct professional orchestras, achieving excellent reviews.

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

cites his graduation performance of

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

's Czech Suite within their curated musical selection of online performances of Dvořák's works. After the university graduation Pohůnek studied with

Kurt Masur Kurt Masur (; 18 July 192719 December 2015) was a German Conducting, conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewand ...

, at first at

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

within a special study programme and later on at Mendelssohn House in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

as a scholar of the

Mendelssohn Foundation The Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Foundation is a not-for-profit independent foundation governed according to civil law. It is based in the Mendelssohn House (where the composer lived in the 1840s) in Leipzig. Foundation Originally set up in 2003 ...

Career

Pohůnek has so far conducted or otherwise collaborated with major symphonic and chamber orchestras such as

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

Southbank Sinfonia Sinfonia Smith Square (formerly Southbank Sinfonia) is an arts organisation and orchestra formed out of the merger of Southbank Sinfonia and St John's Smith Square. The organisation primarily comprises a venue, Smith Square Hall, and a youth or ...

, Leipziger Symphonieorchester, MSM Symphony Orchestra,

Radio Television of Serbia The Serbian Broadcasting Corporation, more commonly referred to as Radio Television of Serbia (), or RTS (), is the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster of Serbia. RTS has four organizational units – radio, television, music pro ...

Symphony Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

, Radom Chamber Orchestra,

Tadeusz Baird Tadeusz Baird (26 July 19282 September 1981) was a Polish composer. Biography Baird was born in Grodzisk Mazowiecki, in Poland. His father Edward was Polish, while his mother Maria (née Popov) was Russian. In 1944 at the age of 16 he was deport ...

Zielona Góra Zielona Góra (; ''Green Mountain''; ) is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (). The region is closely associated with vineyards and holds an annual Zielona Góra Wine Fest, Wine Fest. Zie ...

, North Czech Philharmonic Teplice, Craiova "Oltenia" Philharmonic Orchestra,

State Philharmonic Košice State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, Slovak Sinfonietta, Beethoven Academy Orchestra Kraków and others. During his engagements he has collaborated with

Vladimir Jurowski Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski (;() born 4 April 1972) is a Russian conducting, conductor resident in Germany. He is the son of conductor Michail Jurowski, and grandson of Soviet film music composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski. Early life B ...

James Judd James Judd (born 30 October 1949) is a British conductor. Early life and education James Judd grew up in Hertford, learning the piano, flute and organ as a child and discovering his talent for conducting at high school. He studied at the Trinity ...

Julia Fischer Julia Fischer (born 15 June 1983) is a German classical violinist, violist, and pianist.Martin James Bartlett,

Agata Szymczewska Agata Szymczewska (born 1985 in Gdańsk) is a Polish violinist and alumna of the Academy of Music in Poznań and the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, where she studied under professors Bartosz Bryła and Krzysztof Węgrzyn, resp ...

, Roman Patkoló, Matej Arendárik and others.

Contribution to Slovak Music

Pohůnek is known as ambassador of Slovak Music, making frequent overseas performances of symphonic and chamber works of

Eugen Suchoň Eugen Suchoň (September 25, 1908 – August 5, 1993) was one of the most important Slovak composers of the 20th century. Early life Eugen Suchoň was born on September 25, 1908, in the house opposite the Roman Catholic parish office on ...

Ján Cikker Ján Cikker (29 July 1911 – 21 December 1989) was a Slovak composer, a leading exponent of modern Slovak classical music. He was awarded the title ''National Artist'' in Slovakia, the Herder Prize (1966) and thIMC-UNESCO International Music Pr ...

and other Slovak composers.

Discography

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

: Symphony No. 7, 3rd Mvt

References

External links