Performers:
Roman Patočka / violin
Martin Stupka / viola
Lukáš Polák / cello
 
Programme:
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
A Selection of Goldberg Variations for String Trio
 
Hans Krása (1899–1944)
Dance for String Trio
 
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
String Trio in C Minor
 
The Amadeus String Trio first got together to perform Mozart’s Divertimento in E Flat Major for String Trio. Things gelled so well that they decided to continue to work together. Their next collaboration was on an adaptation of J. S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations, followed by other projects (including performances of trios by Franz Schubert and Ludwig van Beethoven, piano quartets with the pianist Stanislav Gallin and special collaborations with Gabriela Vermehlo, Vojtěch Spurný and other musicians). This group of experienced chamber musicians – who are also active as soloists – soon became one of the leading chamber ensembles in the Czech Republic and beyond.
 
Roman Patočka (violin) is one of the leading solo violinists of the current generation. After graduating from the Prague Conservatory and the Prague Academy of Performing Arts, he continued his studies abroad – first in Utrecht under Keiko Wataya, and later in Lübeck under Shmuel Ashkenasi. As a soloist, he has performed with renowned orchestras in the Czech Republic and other countries (including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, the Navarra Symphony Orchestra, the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Prague Philharmonia) under the baton of acclaimed conductors such as Jiří Bělohlávek, Vladimír Válek, Jakub Hrůša, Douglas Bostock, Heik Mathias Förster, Georg Fritzsch, Vojtěch Spurný, Jan Talich and Stanislav Vavřínek. Patočka is a member of both the Eben Trio and the Talich Quartet. He has won numerous awards and prizes at international violin competitions, including the Prague Spring Competition, the Leopold Mozart Competition in Augsburg, the Pablo de Sarasate Competition in Pamplona, the Václav Huml Competition in Zagreb, the Flame Competition in Paris, and the Max Rostal Competition in Berlin.
 
Martin Stupka (viola) started playing the viola at the Jan Neruda High School, continuing his studies at the Prague Conservatory and at the Hanns Eisler School of Music and the University of the Arts in Berlin. He gained further experience and interest in various musical genres by attending a number of different performance courses. He is a member of the Škampa Quartet and is in great demand as a violist. He regularly performs with the Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra and has engaged in diverse musical collaborations – including chamber music (the Sinus Quartet, the Czechoslovak Chamber Orchestra Prague, the Berg Chamber Orchestra, the Talich Chamber Orchestra, the Prague Chamber Orchestra), Baroque music (Collegium Marianum, Musica Florea), jazz (Octothorpe, the Mira Mode Orchestra, the Ring Ensemble) and folklore (Rosénka). As a soloist, Stupka won the Bohuslav Martinů Prize (with Dana Oerterová) at the Mladé pódium (Young Platform) Festival, for a performance of Martinů’s Divertimento for Violin, Viola and Orchestra.
 
Lukáš Polák (cello) studied cello at the Brno Conservatory under Prof. Miroslav Zicha. It was in Brno that he also began to study conducting and subsequently led Musica da camera Brno, a vocal and instrumental ensemble that focuses on historically informed interpretations of music from the Czech and European High Baroque period. He continued his studies at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. Among his awards are first prize and overall winner at the Czech Conservatories Competition in Teplice, third prize at the Beethoven’s Hradec International Music Competition, third prize at the Leoš Janáček International Competition in Brno, and third prize at the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation Competition in Prague. Polák has notably performed as a soloist with the Talich Chamber Orchestra, the Moravian Chamber Orchestra and the AKS (Academic Chamber Soloists) Orchestra. His interest in chamber music contributed to the founding of several chamber ensembles. Since 2004, he has been a member of the Škampa Quartet.