Biography

Jitka Hosprová is historically the first Czech viola soloist and has been referred to by the media for 20 years as the first lady of the Czech viola. Studied at the Conservatory in Pilsen and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Dr. Jan Pěruška and was led to viola mastery by the legendary Italian viola virtuoso Luigi Alberto Bianchi. During her studies, she gained valuable international experience and awards – winner of the Beethoven Competition, Martinů Prize and others. With the Bennewitz Quartet, of which she was a founding member, she worked under the direction of the world’s top quartets – the Amadeus Quartet, the Alban Berg Quartet, the Smetana Quartet, etc. The collaboration culminated in 1999 with the recording of a CD with the quartets of Leoš Janáček, Hans Krása and Pavel Haas. Jitka Hosprová is a frequent guest of leading Czech quartets – the Janáček Quartet, the Zemlínky Quartet, the Wihan Quartet, the Martinů Quartet, the Epoque Quartet and the Appolon Quartet. Together with the harpist Kateřina Englichová and the Luxembourg flutist Carlo Jans, Jitka Hosprová founded the Bohemia Luxemburg Trio in 2005, with which she performs in Europe and has recorded 2 CDs. Jitka Hosprová has recently expanded her chamber collaboration to include a Grand Duo with the Italian violin virtuoso Maurizio Sciarretta. As a soloist Jitka Hosprová has performed at several world music festivals – Presenses, Rheingau Sommer, Kulturtage Dresden, Nafplio Festival, Postacchini Festival, Prague Spring, Prague Autumn, Český Krumlov, Czech Touches of Music, Moravian Autumn, Smetana’s Litomyšl, Dvořák’s Prague, Ruse I. Festival, Santander Festival and others. She has made her solo debut appearances in London, Vienna, Paris, Stockholm, Rome, Milan, Sofia, Santiago de Chile, Brazil, Curitiba, Hong Kong, Washington D.C. and New York. In 2006 she toured North America with the French Chamber Orchestra and in 2015 made a major concert tour of Brazil. Jitka Hosprová has made dozens of recordings and live concerts for Czech and French radio. Composers Zdeněk Lukáš, Zbyněk Matějů, Jiří Teml, Josef Vejvoda, Emil Viklický, Ladislav Kubík, Lukáš Hurník, Eduard Douša, Adam Skoumal, Michal Müller, Tomaž Svete and Gillaume Connesson dedicated their compositions to her. CDs was released on Supraphon, Arco diva, Multisonic, Neos and Radioseris. In March 2020, her latest CD was released by Supraphon – Czech Viola Concertos – Feld, Flosmann, Bodorová with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra to great acclaim from foreign critics. Jitka Hosprová performs with leading Czech and world orchestras – Vienna Radio Orchestra ORF, Orchestre national de Lorrain, Orchestre de Pau, France Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Unimi Milan, Orchestra Athanor Rome, Orchestra da camera di Imola, Curitiba Symphony Orchestra, FOK, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Brno State Philharmonic Orchestra, Košice State Philharmonic Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, Czech Philharmonic Collegium, etc… On concert stages, she collaborates with important musical personalities and performers – James Strauss, Radek Baborák, Kryštof Mařatka, Mario Hossen, Václav Hudeček, Ivan Ženatý, Štefan Margita, Phyllis Pancella, Filip Bandžak, Adam Skoumal, Dante Millozzi, Eric le Sage, Jitka Čechová, Ivo Kahánek, Ivo Varbanov, Lubomír Brabec, Štěpán Rak, Ludmila Peterková and conductors like Vladimir Ashkenazy, Elli Jaffe, Bertrand de Billy, Jacques Mercier, Rastislav Štúr, Massimiliano Matesic, Miquel Ortega, Wojciech Rodek, Leoš Svárovský, Ondřej Kukal, Jan Kučera, Tomáš Brauner, Gian Luigi Zampieri and others. Jitka Hosprová is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Education of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen and has led Masterclasses on her trips abroad – Hong Kong, Brazil, Paris, Palermo, Santiago de Chile. Together with the Millennium Foundation, it seeks out and supports the youngest Czech talents. Since 2012, she has been the founder and director of the Walks through Art festival.