Josef Špaček

Praised for his remarkable range of colours, his confident, concentrated and “gently majestic” stage presence, his virtuosity and technical poise as well as the beauty of his tone Josef Špaček has gradually emerged as one of the leading violinists of his generation. His performances of a wide range of repertoire demonstrate his “marvellous eloquence, both in airy lyricism and thrilling virtuosity” (Seen and Heard International) and “steely, power-filled lyricism; mesmerising, clean-as-a-whistle bow control across his high-speed virtuosities” (Bachtrack).

Josef started the year 2026 with highly successful debuts with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Edward Gardner, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Petr Popelka, the NHK Symphony Orchestra and Jakub Hrůša and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and Anja Bihlmaier. He also recently returned to the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Michel Tabachnik, Konzerthausorchester Berlin and Joanna Mallwitz, Bamberger Symphoniker and Aurel Dawidiuk, Symphoniker Hamburg and Adam Hickox, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie and Kevin John Edusei, Dutch Radio Philharmonic and Stephan Zilias, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Thomas Adès and George Enescu Philharmonic and Tomáš Netopil.

Forthcoming highlights include debuts with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester and Petr Popelka and the Orchestre national de Lyon and Tomáš Netopil, residencies with Sinfonia Varsovia and the Hofer Symphoniker, as well as performances with, among others, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Paavo Järvi at the Dvořák Prague Festival, Bamberger Symphoniker and Václav Luks, Dresdner Philharmonie and Tabita Berglund, MDR Sinfonieorchester and Dennis Russell Davies, Danish Philharmonic Orchestra and Anna Sułkowska-Migoń, Musikkollegium Winterthur and Roberto González-Monjas and Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie and Marzena Diakun, 

Josef latest album for the Supraphon label with pianist Miroslav Sekera and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Petr Popelka, combining Martinů’s Violin Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 with Stravinsky’s Divertimento was released in October 2025 and has received superb reviews and accolades, including a Diapason d’Or in February 2026. Gramophone Magazine commented: “The soloist’s refined sensibility and immaculate intonation combine to great effect in floaty, high-lying lyrical passages. The Andante is top-notch… Špaček’s direc­tness, poise and shine guarantee a dazzling finale… Špaček’s account of the Stravinsky, delightfully deft and skittish, admits more astringency than old-school interpreters allowed.“ His previous albums include Martinů’s Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, Violin Sonata No. 3 and Five Short Pieces, again with pianist Miroslav Sekera and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and Petr Popelka, an album with cellist Tomáš Jamník, featuring works for Violin and Cello by Janáček, Martinů, Schulhoff and Klein, his highly praised recording of the Violin Concertos of Dvořák and Janáček, coupled with the Fantasy of Suk, with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek and a recital disc with works for Violin and Piano by Smetana, Janáček and Prokofiev with Miroslav Sekera, an album with works by H.W. Ernst (Naxos) and an early CD with the complete Sonatas for Solo Violin by Eugène Ysaÿe.

With cellist Timotheos Gavriilidis-Petrin and pianist George Xiaoyuan Fu he forms the Trio Zimbalist. The trio regularly tours in the US and Europe. Their first CD release with piano trios of Weinberg, Auerbach and Dvořák received high accolades from the international press, including Gramophone Magazine’s Editor’s Choice in March 2024, describing the album as “miraculously fresh,” “imaginative,” and “inventive”.

Josef Špaček collaborates with eminent conductors including Thomas Adès, Marc Albrecht, Semyon Bychkov Sylvain Cambreling, James Conlon, Maxim Emelyanchev, James Gaffigan, Manfred Honeck, Jakub Hrůša, Eliahu Inbal, Pietari Inkinen, Lio Kuokman, Jahja Ling, Andrew Manze, Jun Märkl, Tomáš Netopil, Petr Popelka, Michael Sanderling, Aziz Shokhakimov, Thomas Søndergård, Nathalie Stutzmann, Krzysztof Urbański, Christian Vasquez, Kahchun Wong and David Zinman and he has appeared with orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, WDR Sinfonieorchester, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI Torino, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony, Orchestra, SWR-Symphonieorchester, Residentie Orchestra The Hague, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, Orchestre national de Lille, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Berner Symphoniker, Macao Orchestra, Taipei Symphony Orchestra and the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen.

He equally enjoys giving recitals and playing chamber music and is a regular guest at festivals and in concert halls throughout Europe and the U.S. June 2024 saw the first edition of his own yearly chamber music festival, the Troja Festival, in Prague.

In 2024 Josef returned to the Verbier Festival for a performance of the Barber concerto with the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra and James Gaffigan and chamber music concerts with, among others, Yunchan Lim, Kian Soltani, Pablo Ferrández, Lucas Debargue, Edgar Moreau, Lars Anders Tomter and Blythe Teh Engstroem.

Josef Špaček studied with Itzhak Perlman at The Juilliard School in New York, Ida Kavafian and Jaime Laredo at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and with Jaroslav Foltýn at the Prague Conservatory. He was laureate of the International Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, and won top prizes at the Michael Hill International Violin Competition in New Zealand, the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition in Denmark and the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York.

He served as concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the youngest in its history, until the end of the 2019/20 season and has since devoted himself exclusively to his solo career.

Josef Špaček performs on the ca. 1732 “LeBrun; Bouthillard” Guarneri del Gesù violin, generously on loan from an anonymous sponsor.

He lives in Prague with his wife and their three children. In his spare time he enjoys cycling.