Concertino Praga 2026 Final Competition Round, Keyboard and String Instruments category

The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra is a leading contemporary Czech orchestra. Since the 2022/2023 season, it has been led by chief conductor and artistic director Petr Popelka. Robert Jindra has served as principal guest conductor since September 2022.

In the 2025/2026 concert season, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra welcomes a number of outstanding musicians, including violinists Christian Tetzlaff and Marc Bouchkov, and conductors Jonathan Nott, Tomáš Hanus, Erina Yashima and Andris Poga. Audiences can also look forward to performances by pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Isata Kanneh-Mason, as well as singers Szilvia Vörös and Günther Groissböck. Particularly notable projects will include performances of Igor Stravinsky’s oratorio Oedipus rex under the direction of chief conductor Petr Popelka, and Camille Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony, conducted by Robert Jindra with organist Christian Schmitt as soloist. Czech musicians will also be prominently represented, led by violinist Josef Špaček, soprano Kateřina Kněžíková, cellist Tomáš Jamník, and pianists Martin Kasík and Marek Kozák.

In recent years, the orchestra has collaborated with many distinguished conductors, such as Omer Meir Wellber, Cornelius Meister, Ilan Volkov, Wayne Marshall, Ion Marin, Stephan Asbury, Alexander Liebreich, Michał Nesterowicz, Anu Tali and Jessica Cottis; Czech conductors have included e.g. Jakub Hrůša, Tomáš Netopil, Petr Altrichter and Robert Kružík.

Internationally acclaimed soloists who have appeared with the orchestra include pianists Krystian Zimerman and Jean-Efflam Bavouzet; violinists Isabelle Faust, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Renaud Capuçon, Gidon Kremer and María Dueñas; cellists Gautier Capuçon, Daniel Müller-Schott, István Várdai and Steven Isserlis; trombonist Christian Lindberg; and jazz musicians Brad Mehldau and Avishai Cohen. Vocal soloists have included Asmik Grigorian, Elisabeth Teige, Olga Bezsmertna and Michael Weinius, while artists from the Czech music scene include Lukáš Vondráček, Ivo Kahánek, Jan Bartoš, Josef Špaček, Jan Mráček, Adam Plachetka, Simona Šaturová, Petr Nekoranec and Vilém Veverka.

The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra has a long-standing commitment to performing works by contemporary Czech composers, such as Miroslav Srnka, Ondřej Adámek, Martin Smolka, Pavel Zemek Novák, Jan Ryant Dřízal, Šimon Voseček, Jana Vöröšová, Jan Klusák, Jiří Kadeřábek, Lukáš Hurník, Zbyněk Matějů and Ondřej Štochl.

Recording is also an important part of the orchestra’s work. One of its most acclaimed projects is the album Má vlast, featuring Bedřich Smetana’s symphonic cycle. Released at the end of 2024 after three years in the making, the recording received a Gramophone Editor’s Choice award, the Diapason d’Or ARTE from the prestigious French magazine Diapason, and a nomination for the 2024 Czech Anděl Award  from the Czech Music Academy. In 2024, the orchestra further expanded its discography with a number of recordings in a wide range of musical genres. These include the album Forgotten Czech Piano Concertos, featuring works by Karel Kovařovic, Pavel Bořkovec and Vítězslava Kaprálová. Several jazz and contemporary music projects were created in collaboration with composers and performers such as Luboš Soukup (Scandinavian Impressions), Jaromír Honzák (The Blues of a String Hanging in the Wind), Michal Rataj and Oskar Török (Letters from Sounds), and Vít Křišťan (Mandala). Clarinetist Anna Paulová recorded the album Clarinet Metamorphoses with the orchestra under the direction of Tomáš Brauner, while the recording ’O sole mio with Daniel Matoušek was conducted by Jan Kučera.

The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra regularly performs concerts from its subscription series at the Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum, Smetana Hall of the Municipal House and Bethlehem Chapel, as well as at other venues including Forum Karlín and Czech Radio’s Studio 1. It is a regular guest at major festivals such as the Prague Spring, Dvořák Prague Festival, Smetana’s Litomyšl, Leoš Janáček International Music Festival and the Český Krumlov International Music Festival. In addition, the orchestra frequently performs abroad on stages across Europe and in Japan.

source: The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra

photo © Petr Neubert

Conductor Marek Šedivý (born in 1987 in Prague) has been Music Director of the National Moravian-Silesian Theatre in Ostrava since the 2020/21 season, where he has conducted a number of new productions: The Tempest (Z. Fibich), Un ballo in maschera (G. Verdi), Tosca (G. Puccini), The Kiss, The Bartered Bride, The Two Widows, The Devil’s Wall (B. Smetana), Tannhäuser (R. Wagner), The Cunning Little Vixen (J. Janáček), Turandot (G. Puccini) and The Gambler (S. Prokofiev).

From 2018 to 2022 he was principal guest conductor of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. From 2016 to 2018 he served as chief conductor of the Silesian Theatre in Opava, where he conducted productions of Cavalleria rusticana (P. Mascagni), Rusalka (A. Dvořák), Falstaff (G. Verdi) and The Cunning Little Vixen (L. Janáček). In December 2022, he made his debut at the National Theatre in Prague with The Barber of Seville (G. Rossini) and was subsequently invited to collaborate on a new production of The Marriage of Figaro (W. A. Mozart).

He has appeared at major international music festivals including Prague Spring (2015, 2018, 2021), Chopin Festival Mariánské Lázně (2009), Young Prague (2011), Dvořák Prague Festival (2012, 2020), Pardubice Music Spring (2016 and 2018), Mozartfest Würzburg (2016) and Internationale Gluck Opern Festspiele Nürnberg (2014 and 2016).

In September 2019, he made his Vienna debut with the Tonkünstler Orchestra, performing Dvořák’s Requiem. In the 2012/13 season, on the recommendation of Jiří Bělohlávek, he was engaged as assistant conductor for the Canadian Opera Company Toronto production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.

In January 2015, he recorded Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 4 for Sony with Chinese pianist Fang Yuan and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Marek Šedivý was also artistic director of Ensemble Terrible, devoted to contemporary music by young composers.

He graduated from the Prague Conservatory and from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where he studied conducting. In 2017, he was awarded the Bayreuth Festival Wagner Society Scholarship.

source: Marek Šedivý

photo © Filip Jandourek

Alex Xuyao Bai began his music career at the age of five and is currently studying the piano under the expert guidance of Florian Koltun and Xin Wang.

His successes have included a Trinity LTCL diploma with distinction at the age of eleven, the title of the youngest ever winner at the National Piano Competition at the age of fourteen and second place at the International Piano Competition in Kronberg in 2025. Alex has collaborated with prestigious orchestras in New Zealand, including the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Auckland Philharmonia. His musical travels have taken him to significant stages around the world. He has performed as a soloist at the Great Hall of Auckland Town Hall and at the Chinese Spring Festival Gala and given solo recitals in Aachen, Bad Münstereifel and Eschweiler, where his performances garnered great acclaim from the local media due to their emotional depth and expressiveness. In addition to his solo successes, Alex also enjoys chamber music and community activities. As a multi-instrumentalist, he also plays the clarinet and the violin in school ensembles.

source: Concertino Praga

photo © Sam Cunningham

Tobiáš Balkovský learnt the violoncello under Marek Novák of the Czech Philharmonic from the age of six.

He is now studying in his 1^st year at the Prague Conservatory under Tomáš Strašil. He received the first prize at the Jan Vychytil International Cello Competition in 2018–2022 and 2025. He became a laureate at the Heran Violoncello Competition in 2025, where he had won the 1^st prize three years earlier. His other successes include 1^st place at the “Mládí a Bohuslav Martinů” (2025) and the Mahler Violoncello Competition (2022), victory in the national round of the Arts Primary School Competition (2024) and in the national round of the chamber music category of the Arts Primary School Competition (2023). He has participated in the MenART Academy and the Czech Philharmonic Plays with Arts Primary School Students project. He performs as a soloist with the Příbram Philharmonia, while concerts with the Czech Philharmonic Quartet have been significant experiences for him. He has performed at the “Setkání s hudbou”, Smetana Litomyšl and MenART festivals, for Count František Kinský, at the Mendelssohn Musikwoche 2025 in Wengen, Switzerland, and at a press conference for the Prague Spring festival.

source: Concertino Praga

photo © Barbora Kuklíková

Valentýna Ibriqi has been playing the piano under Ellina Belčiková since the age of eight and she quickly drew attention to herself with a number of exceptional results.

At the age of nine, she received the first prize in the Young Pianists Play Steinway & Sons competition, at which she became the absolute winner one year later. Since then, she has made her mark at the most prestigious national and international piano competitions, where she has repeatedly won the first prize, the absolute victory or special prizes awarded by the expert juries. She is a laureate of the Beethoven Teplice, Prague Junior Note, Broumov Key, Amadeus, Virtuosi per musica di pianoforte and the Smetana International Piano competitions and has successfully represented the Czech Republic on stages in Belgium, North Macedonia, Great Britain and the USA. She has performed in the Senate of the Czech Republic, at the Rudolfinum and at the Dvořák Prague, Prague Spring and Smetanova Litomyšl festivals. She has also collaborated with the West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra. She is a laureate of the Golden Nut Award from both the Central Bohemian Region and the Czech Republic.

source: Concertino Praga

photo © Adriana Orálková

The fourteen-year-old violinist Lin Tokura, who was born in Japan and grew up in the USA, is currently studying at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Great Britain under the instruction of Dr Robin Wilson.

In 2026, she became the youngest recipient of a prestigious scholarship from the Rohm Music Foundation in Japan. Since her solo debut aged eleven, she has performed with orchestras around the entire United States, Canada, Great Britain and Italy, including collaborations with orchestras such as the Seattle Symphony, the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra and the London City Orchestra. In 2025, she received the main prize in the under-eighteen category of the 6^th Young Ludwig Competition in Berlin. The Sussex Express gave her an award for “technical perfection supported by maturity and passion”. Lin became the youngest finalist in the thirty-seven-year history of the Eastbourne Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, where she won the second prize. Her successes have also included the 1^st prize at the 65^th annual Kocian Violin Competition in the Czech Republic.

source: Concertino Praga

photo © Sisi Burn