Praised for his remarkable range of colours, his confident and concentrated 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 "astonishing articulation and athleticism" (The Scotsman) and "a richness and piquancy of timbre" (The Telegraph).
Highlights in the 2024/25 season include debuts with the Gewandhausorchester and Orchestre National de Lille as well as returns to Hamburger Symphoniker, Dresdner Philharmonie, Bochumer Symphoniker, Berner Sinfonieorchester and to the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Previous debuts include the Bamberger Symphoniker, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Kammerakademie Potsdam, the Radio Orchestras of WDR, SWR and hr, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI Torino, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. He collaborates with eminent conductors such as Thomas Adès, Jiří Bělohlávek, Anja Bihlmaier, Semyon Bychkov, Nicholas Collon, James Conlon, Manfred Honeck, Jakub Hrůša, Eliahu Inbal, Joana Mallwitz, Tomáš Netopil, Petr Popelka, Kristiina Poska, Michael Sanderling, Thomas Søndergård, Krzysztof Urbański, and David Zinman.
Josef Špaček equally enjoys giving recitals and playing chamber music, and is a regular guest at festivals and in concert halls throughout Europe (among others at the Rudolfinum in Prague, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in Amsterdam, the Kronberg Academy, the Verbier and Rosendal Festivals and at Schloss Elmau), Asia and the USA (among others at Kennedy Center, Washington D. C., 92Y in New York, La Jolla in San Diego, the ChamberFest Cleveland and the Nevada Chamber Music Festival).
With the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, he recorded the violin concertos by Dvořák and Janáček as well as Suk's Fantasy for Supraphon under the direction of Jiří Bělohlávek: "Špaček is unrivalled in this repertoire today," the Sunday Times wrote. Other recordings include the Czech violin repertoire and all of Ysaÿe's solo sonatas. He is currently working on a new solo CD with works by Szymanowski, Martinů and Stravinsky and on a recording of all of Martinů's violin concertos with the Prague Radio Orchestra under the direction of Petr Popelka.
Josef Špaček studied with Itzhak Perlman at The Juilliard School in New York, with 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.
Josef Špaček performs on the ca. 1732 "LeBrun; Bouthillard" Guarneri del Gesù violin, generously on loan from Ingles & Hayday.