Pěruška Family & Kristina Vocetková

Jan Pěruška, born in Opava in 1951, is a leading representative of the Czech viola school. He studied at the Conservatory in Ostrava with Miroslav Němec and at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Prof. Jaroslav Motlík. From 1977 to 1985, he served as principal violist of the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK. A major milestone in his career came in 1981, when he won first place in the viola division of the International Instrumental Competition in Markneukirchen, which turned him into a sought-after soloist. He has collaborated with many outstanding artists, including Josef Suk, Jan Panenka, Josef Hála, Dagmar Pecková, and ensembles such as the Talich Quartet, Kocian Quartet and the Pražák Quartet. As a soloist, he has performed with the Czech Philharmonic, Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava and other orchestras.

His solo repertoire spans works from early Baroque to compositions by contemporary composers. Pěruška’s extensive interpretative legacy is documented on more than 120 CDs and over 450 radio and television recordings. He is currently engaged in recording major works of Czech and international viola literature. His albums Masterpieces for Viola and Double Bass, Beautiful Viola, Russian Viola, The Viola of Bohuslav Martinů, In Praise of the Viola, The Unknown Czech Viola, and The Viola of Czech Emigration have attracted particular attention. The recording Moods of Contemporary Viola was selected as the editor’s choice of the magazine Harmonie in February 2011.

In 1985, Jan Pěruška became a founding member of the Stamic Quartet. The ensemble won the International String Quartet Competition in Salzburg in 1986, organised by EBU–OIRT. Over more than 36 years, the Stamic Quartet has performed worldwide (more than 2,500 concerts) and received numerous prestigious awards, including the Chamber Music Society Prize (1987), Grand Prix du Disque de l’Académie Charles Cros Paris (1988, 1991), Diapason d’Or of Diapason magazine (1993), Golden Song Prize for a recording of Chinese melodies (1995), and the Czech Chamber Council Award for the complete performance of Alois Hába’s string quartets at the 1997 Prague Spring Festival. The ensemble received the Diapason Découverte award from Diapason magazine for its complete recording of J. B. Foerster’s string quartets (2010). The British magazine International Record Review named its recording of Sofia Gubaidulina’s string quartets the recording of the month in March 2012 (IRR Outstanding), and the same album was highlighted as an editor’s tip in Harmonie magazine (June 2012). Presto Classical named the ensemble’s recording of Karel Kovařovic’s String Quartets recording of the week (August 2019).

Since 1990, Jan Pěruška has taught at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In 2006, he was appointed Professor of Viola by the the President of the Czech Republic.

source: Jan Pěruška

photo © Jiří Skupien

Jan Pěruška Jr., born on 12 February, 1991, has built a successful vocal career in audiovisual media in recent years. For a significant part of his life, however, he also pursued a career as a professional violinist.

His musical and personal development have been shaped by a number of teachers – Harbi Shabu, Ludmila Štětinová, Jindřich Pazdera and Ivan Štraus – as well as by his studies at the Archbishop’s Grammar School, Prague Conservatoire, Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (HAMU), and the Journalism programme at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University.

He gained essential orchestral experience as a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), working under conductors such as Peter Stark, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Vasily Petrenko. His sense for chamber music, cultivated through family music-making, was further refined through projects with the Chamber Academy Central Bohemia led by Tomáš Jamník.

After completing his bachelor’s degree at HAMU, Jan Pěruška fully turned his focus to a career in journalism, which began in the Sports Editorial Department of Czech Television. In recent years, he has served as a presenter on Czech Radio’s digital station Radiožurnál Sport, a commentator on the English Premier League for Canal+ Sport, and a reporter for the football talk show Tiki-Taka on Oneplay.

source: Jan Pěruška ml.

Matouš Pěruška is a founding member of Trio Bohémo, an internationally acclaimed piano trio from the Czech Republic. The ensemble has received numerous prestigious international awards, including first prizes and audience prizes at the International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna, Parkhouse Award in London and the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria.

Trio Bohémo has appeared on leading world stages such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Wigmore Hall in London, and the Dvořák Hall at the Rudolfinum in Prague, and has also been featured at major festivals including the Prague Spring Festival, Schwarzwald Musikfestival (Germany) and the Gent Festival van Vlaanderen (Belgium).

In recent years, the trio has undertaken extensive international tours. Highlights include a tour of Australia with concerts in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane, as well as four tours across the United States. In Europe, the trio has collaborated with orchestras such as the Brno Philharmonic and appeared at the Aldeburgh Festival (United Kingdom) and the Chamonix Vallée Classics Festival (France).

In 2024, Trio Bohémo released its debut CD on the Supraphon label, featuring works by Bedřich Smetana and Franz Schubert. The album was highly acclaimed by critics and named Debut Album of the Year at the 2024 Presto Music Awards.

Alongside his engagement with Trio Bohémo, Matouš Pěruška completed his doctoral studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 2023 and is currently a member of the teaching staff in the Academy’s Department of String Instruments. He was a finalist in the Prague Spring International Violin Music Competition and a winner of an international competition in Verona, Italy. He performs regularly as a soloist and orchestral musician and collaborates with leading Czech and international orchestras and artists.

source: Matouš Pěruška

photo © Andrej Grilc

David Pěruška, born in 2002, began playing the cello at the age of five at the Music School of the Capital City of Prague, studying under Kateřina Hroníková. From an early age, he achieved success in national and international competitions, including repeated victories at the Jan Vychytil Competition and at the national finals of the Primary Arts Schools Competition.

He continued his musical training at the Prague Conservatoire in the classes of Jaroslav Kulhan and Petr Nouzovský. He was subsequently accepted at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where he is currently a student of Mikael Ericsson. He further broadened his education through international study placements through the Erasmus+ programme at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen (class of Professor Christoph Richter) and at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig under the guidance of Professor Peter Bruns.

David Pěruška has performed as a soloist with orchestras including the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava and Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra, with which he appeared at his graduation concert at the Prague Conservatoire. In 2022, he won first prize and the award for best Czech participant at the Gustav Mahler International Cello Competition. In October 2024, he appeared as a member of the United Nations Youth Orchestra under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach at a concert in New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Alongside his solo performances, David Pěruška is deeply committed to chamber music. In 2021, he and duo partner violinist Kristián Mráček took first prize in the chamber music category at the Concertino Praga International Radio Competition. This success led to the recording of a debut CD featuring duets by Zoltán Kodály, Bohuslav Martinů and Arthur Honegger, as well as a recital at the Notre-Dame du Sablon Cathedral in Brussels.

He is also a member of the Siebeneichener Quartett, where he has worked under the guidance of Peter Jarůšek (Pavel Haas Quartet), Fedor Rudin and members of the Juilliard String Quartet. In 2024, the ensemble took part in the Villa Musica Academy, where it collaborated with Juilliard String Quartet concertmaster Areta Zhulla, who subsequently invited the quartet to participate in a week-long intensive course at Juilliard School in New York in May 2025.

David Pěruška has collaborated on stage with artists such as Josef Špaček, Roman Patočka, Pavel Nikl, Kristina Fialová, Tomáš Jamník, Roman Rabinovich, Giora Schmidt and Roland Glassl.

He also regularly attends international masterclasses. In 2022, he was selected to participate in the Kronberg Academy Festival & Masterclasses, where he had the opportunity to work under the guidance of Professor Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. He has also drawn inspiration from leading performers and teachers including Wen-Sinn Yang, Jens Peter Maintz, Pablo Ferrández, Victor Julien-Laferrière, Andrei Ioniță and Michaela Fukačová.

source: David Pěruška

photo © Jana Plavec

Kristina Vocetková is a founding member of Trio Bohémo, an internationally acclaimed piano trio from the Czech Republic. The ensemble has received numerous prestigious international awards, including first prizes and audience prizes at the International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna, Parkhouse Award in London and the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria.

The trio has appeared on leading European stages such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Wigmore Hall in London and the Dvořák Hall at the Rudolfinum in Prague. It has also been featured at major festivals including the Prague Spring Festival, Schwarzwald Musikfestival (Germany) and the Gent Festival van Vlaanderen (Belgium).

In recent years, the trio has undertaken extensive international tours. Highlights include a tour of Australia with concerts in Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane, as well as four tours across the United States, performing at prestigious venues and concert series such as The Conrad in La Jolla, Aspect Chamber Music Series in New York and the Rockport Festival. The ensemble has also appeared repeatedly in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hawaii and Canada. In Europe, the trio has performed two Triple Concertos with the Brno Philharmonic and appeared at events including the Aldeburgh Festival (United Kingdom) and the Chamonix Vallée Classics Festival (France).

In 2024, Trio Bohémo released its debut CD on the Supraphon label, featuring works by Bedřich Smetana and Franz Schubert. The album was highly acclaimed by critics and named Debut Album of the Year at the 2024 Presto Music Awards.

Kristina Vocetková holds a Master’s degree from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, where she studied with Professor Csaba Onczay. During her studies, she took part in dozens of national and international competitions, winning numerous first prizes and laureate awards. Alongside her chamber music career, she performs as a soloist and collaborates with Czech orchestras and leading international musicians.

source: Kristina Vocetková

photo © Andrej Grilc