Václav Luks Václav Luks studied at the conservatory in Pilsen, at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and completed his education with a specialisation in early music at the Swiss Schole Cantorum. In 2005, he founded the Prague baroque orchestra Collegium 1704 and the vocal ensemble Collegium Vocale 1704, which perform under his direction at renowned festivals and in prestigious European concert halls from Berlin, Vienna and Salzburg to Brussels, Amsterdam, Warsaw and London. Their performances are accompanied by first-class singers such as Magdalena Kožená, Karina Gauvin, Vivica Genaux, Sandrine Piau, Philippe Jaroussky, Bejun Mehta, Sarah Mingardo, Adam Plachetka and Andreas Scholl. The recordings by Collegium 1704 and Collegium Vocale 1704 have not only been met with enthusiasm by their audiences, but have also received awards such as the Trophées, the Diapason d'Or and the German Record Critics' Award.
In May 2021, Luks conducted the Collegium 1704 at the opening concert of the international music festival "Pražské jaro". His enthusiasm has been instrumental in reviving interest in the works of Czech composers Jan Dismas Zelenka and Josef Mysliveček and strengthening Czech-German cultural relations by rediscovering the musical traditions shared by both countries. Under the direction of Václav Luks, Collegium 1704 recorded the music for Petr Václav's documentary film "Zpověď zapomenutého" (Confession of a Forgotten Man) and for "Il Boemo", his feature film about the life of Josef Mysliveček. For the latter, Luks advised the makers of the film with his enormous expertise in music. Luks has already worked on opera and theatre productions with directors such as Willi Decker, Ursel Herrmann, Louise Moaty, David Radok, Jiří Heřman, J. A. Pitínský and Ondřej Havelka. Since 2021 he has been a guest conductor at the Handel & Haydn Society in Boston and in the 2022 - 2025 seasons he is Artist in Residence at the Kammerakademie Potsdam.
In addition to his intensive work with the Collegium 1704, Václav Luks also performs with other renowned early music orchestras such as the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Nederlandse Bachvereniging, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Concerto Köln and the La Cetra Barockorchester Basel. His other engagements with modern orchestras include collaborations with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, the SWR Symphony Orchestra and other ensembles. At the benefit concert in aid of the restoration of Notre Dame, Václav Luks conducted the Orchestre nationale de France, with whom he has worked regularly since 2019. The French radio station France Musique dedicated five episodes of the series Grands interpretes de la musique classique to him. In June 2022, he was awarded the French Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) for his significant cultural achievements.