Biography
Currently : Highlighted activities of Ondřej Vrabec in close - past (among concerts of the Czech Philharmonic):
July 2010 - OV lead the solo class of horn at the Ameropa International Music Masterlasses
June 2010 - Concertino by L. Janáček at the festivals in Katowice (Poland) and Ostrava. OV served as jury member at the National hunting horn competition and he started his professional cooperation with the Lobkowicz castle winery Roudnice nad Labem as well
May 2010 - OV succesfully passed a part of tasting examinations according to ČSN ISO 8586-2 regulation (european degree)
April 2010 - World premiere performance of two new dedicated compositions for Brahms Trio Prague ( "Necesidad de un recuerdo" by Diego Soifer - ARG/NL and "Music for Trio, Hommage to S. Prokofiev" by Aleš Pavlorek - CZ) in Regensburg, Germany. Ondřej Vrabec succesfully passed tasting examinations according to ČSN ISO 8586-1 regulation
March 2010 - A concert of the PhilHarmonia Octet in Luxembourg
February 2010 - A performance of the Concert piece by R. Schumann with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, colleagues J. Vobořil, P. Duda, Z. Divoký and Maestro Sir John Eliot Gardiner
January 2010 - Czech premiere performance of Serenades for flute, horn and guitar by Christian Dickhut
November : a performance of Symphony No. 2 by A. Honegger with the Pavel Haas Chamber Orchestra
September: stand - in cooperation with the Chamber Philharmonic Pardubice, world premiere performance of new dedicated work by Brahms Trio Prague
August : OV joined the international staff of conductors of the Ostrava Days International Contemporary Music Festival, one of the biggest of it´s kind in the world
July : OV teached at the Ameropa International Solo and Chamber Classes
June : conducting debut with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava
May : conducting debut at the Prague Spring International Music Festival. Performances of R. Strauss 2nd Horn Concerto with the Augsburg Philharmonic Orchestra
April : 3rd Horn Concerto by W. A. Mozart with the Augsburg Philharmonic Orchestra
March : OV conducted two concerts for children with the Prague Philharmonia. Couple of days later he debuted as a conductor in Iceland. From Iceland he continued directly to Canada, where he performed two solo recitals and gave a masterclass at the University in Victoria - British Columbia.
January : OV joined shorter solo tour to Japan. He performed with the Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra in the prestigious NHK Nagoya New Year Concert, broadcasted by Japan national NHK TV. He also gave masterclass, conducted a concert with the Galeria Wind Orchestra in Tokio and performed a recital in Hamamatsu.
!!! VISIT THE AUDIOGALLERY TO ENJOY SAMPLES FROM THOSE CONCERTS !!!
The world unique profile CD of the Brahms Trio Prague, christened on 5th of February 2008, has gained many excelent reviews in both Czech and foreign music newspapers during last months (click to the newspaper´s name to read the review) - Fanfare, The Horn Call (USA), Mundo Clasico (Spain), Hudební rozhledy, Harmonie (Czech republic). Listen to exclusive MP3 samples from this disc! If you like to have this CD, contact us!
It was said, it was written...
"He is an exceptional talent. It is a rare to hear such young person play so securely. And so musically! Great concentration! I was very impressed..."
Vladimir Ashkenazy (audition for the solohorn position of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, 1998)
"Extraordinarily powerful and expressive conducting..."
Benjamin Zander, chiefconductor of the Boston Philharmonic
(London Masterclasses, 2002)
Ondřej Vrabec maneuvres throughout especially the soft high register passages with ease, grace and command. Even though his full forte playing is quite well done, it is his delicate and controlled underplaying which is truly remarkable accross the disc.
John Dressler, The Horn Call, 2008
..what he performs in cooperation with the violinist in the subtle modal melodics at the beginning of the 2nd movement of Sonata by Andrew Downes is a small timbre miracle!
Miloš Pokora, Hudební rozhledy, 2008
Selected reviews :
The profile CD of the Brahms Trio Prague - Fanfare Magazine, USA (2008)
The profile CD of the Brahms Trio Prague - The Horn Call, USA (2008)
The profile CD of the Brahms Trio Prague - Mundo Clasico, Spain (2008)
The profile CD of the Brahms Trio Prague - Hudební rozhledy newspaper (2008)
The profile CD of the Brahms Trio Prague - Harmonie Newspaper (2008)
Graduate´s concert (Academy) 2007 - " Hudební rozhledy " music newspaper
Graduate´s concert (Academy) 2007 - prof. Hynek Farkač
Selected interviews :
"I am anchored in the symphonic repertoire" - Czech Music Quarterly 1 / 2008 (with the kind permission of the Czech Music Quarterly newspaper)
In spite of his age, the hornplayer and conductor Ondřej Vrabec (1979) is one of the most seasoned Czech artists. He began his intensive concert career of soloist, chamber and orchestra player long before the threshold of adulthood; in mere 17 years, he sat down for the first time on the first chair of horn section of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and two years later, he was definitely appointed a solohornplayer of this orchestra. He is a graduate of Prague Conservatoire (horn – prof. B. Tylšar, conducting – prof. V. Válek, H. Farkač, M. Němcová, M. Košler) and of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (conducting - prof. R. Eliška, J. Bělohlávek, F. Vajnar and others). He supplemented his studies with frequent master courses (such as Hornclass, French Academy in Telč), the most precious impuls for forming of his artistic approach was the cooperation with the elite of world wind instrument school (S. Azzolini, M. Bourgue) within S. Végh / B. Martinů Academy and Maurice Bourgue Ensemble. He holds the title of the absolute winner of the competition of conservatories in Ostrava, he has gained several other laureaute titles as a chamber player (Concertino Praga, the competition of the Mozart Society etc.) He has performed in the role of a soloist with tenths of both Czech and foreign orchestras (among others Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Sólistes Européenes Luxembourg, Augsburg Philharmonic Orchestra, State Philharmonic Košice, Rzeszow Philharmonic) under the baton of world famous conductors (Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Vladimir Ashkenazy etc.) he also often presents himself to audience with soloist recitals. A great part of his activity includes chamber music (especially Brahms Trio Prague, further e.g. PhilHarmonia octet, Juventus Quintet, Czech Philharmonic Horn Club etc.). He created an extensive sound recordings library for Czech Radio and several gramophone titles. The latest recording – the profile CD of Brahms Trio Prague, realized in a unique manner in their own music and sound directing has gained great responses of critics both at home and abroad. The reviewer of the prestigious American magazine Fanfare termed it the probably best recording of Trio Es Dur, op. 40 of J. Brahms realized so far and he placed in on the Want List – the selection of 5 best world classic CDs of 2008. Ondřej Vrabec stimulated, both in direct and indirect ways, the emergence of many contemporary compositions for various instrumental casts in combination with horn. Most of them are dedicated to him and were usually performed or recorded by him in a world premiere. Also his pedagogic activity has been gaining more and more respect – he leads master courses (Japan, Canada, Czech republic) and he regularly cooperates with the Japanese educational society And Vision Inc. Tokio. Students from various parts of the world have been coming to his private lessons to the Prague Rudolfinum.
The conducting career of Ondřej Vrabec is shorter, but of no less significance and extent. He has conducted many Czech and foreign ensembles (Reykjavik Chamber Orchestra, Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, State Philharmonic Košice - Slovakia, Galeria Wind Orchestra Tokio, Prague Philharmonia, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Southbohemian Chamber Philharmonic České Budějovice, Chamber Philharmonic Pardubice, Philharmonic Orchestra Hradec Králové, Carlsbad Symphony Orchestra, Pilsen Philharmonic, Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic, Moravian Philharmonic Olomouc, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, Czech Philharmonic Collegium, Pavel Haas Chamber Orchestra etc.), he participated in international festivals (Prague Spring, Mitte Europa, Český Krumlov). His opera performances include complete preparation of Figaro's Wedding in the opera in Ústí nad Labem and in the Prague Theatre Komedie. In 2002 and 2004, he was a scholarship holder of London Masterclasses, where – under the guidance of the founder of Boston Philharmonic Maestro Benjamin Zander – worked with the London Soloists Chamber Orchestra. In 2007, he ranked the 4th in the international conducting competition of Prague Spring, he gained a honorary mention of the jury and other two awards for the most successful Czech candidate. Together with the Czech Philharmonic Collegium, he recorded two gramophone titles – the DVD „Transformations“ (project of the group Čechomor, published by Universal Music, elected as the disc of the year) and the CD of concertos for violin and viola (Gabriela Demeterová, Supraphon).
An inseparable part of activities of Ondřej Vrabec is a professional interest in the issue of viniculture. He has an active experience as a sommelier, he visits wineries all over the world and publishes articles about wine. He is a holder of the certificate of a candidate for sensorial analysis according to the regulation ČSN ISO 8586-1. Due to his merit, excellent wines of two most prestigious Uruguay wineries - Bodega Bouza and Bodega Pizzorno have been imported in the Czech Republic.
What is, in the Czech Republic, the financial remuneration of a solohornplayer of a national orchestra no. 1 after 22 years of intensive studies, thousands of hours of necessary every day practice and rehearsals in the past (and as an obligation in the future as well), hundreds of concerts in the most prestigious world stages and work in permanent stress conditions? The pay of a tram driver in the Transport Company of the capital of Prague after a short training...