DANIEL

MATEJČA

DANIEL MATEJČA

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Eugène Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Solo Violin

SU4313-2, release date 21. 4. 2023

Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) – Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27 (1923). Released to mark the centenary of the work. Jana Vöröšová (b. 1980) – Obsession II (inspired by Eugène Ysayë’s sonatas, and composed for the present recording)

Daniel Matejča – violin (Joseph Gagliano Filius, 1776)

“The artist’s first task is to forget himself.” This statement, bold in its time, has been ascribed to Eugène Ysaÿe, referred to as the “King of the Violin”, who as a composer and performer considerably contributed to the modernisation of violin playing. In 1923, he was so deeply impressed by J. S. Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001, as performed by Joseph Szigeti, that within a few hours (!) he sketched a set of six sonatas as a counterpart to Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, BWV 1001-1006. Ysaÿe dedicated each of his sonatas to a superb contemporary violinist, tailoring it to his style. Technically reaching the limits of the instrument, the pieces placed enormous requirements on the dedicatees (Szigeti, Thibaud, Enescu, Kreisler, Crickboom, Quiroga), yet they remain challenging for the violinists of today. One hundred years after Ysaÿe created the set of six sonatas, this formidable task has been undertaken by the outstanding young Czech virtuoso Daniel Matejča, the winner of the Eurovision Young Musicians competition (2022), Telemann Violin Competition (Poznan 2020) and Jugend musiziert (Halle 2019). Matejča studied with such distinguished violinists as Boris Belkin and Christian Tetzlaff, and, after collaborating to acclaim with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, has been invited to perform with other renowned orchestras. Supraphon has shifted the 100-year-old concept to the 21st century and commissioned a composition that would reflect Ysaÿe’s sonatas, as well as young violinists’ musicality and virtuosity. Jana Vöröšová’s Obsession II is both answer and challenge.

bio

Daniel Matejča, born in Liberec on 30th April 2005, started playing violin at the age of 4 under the guidance of his mum Olesie Volickova. After one year he joined prof. Ivan Straus’s class and has been studying with him up to now. 

His significant achievements include 1st prizes at Josef Muzika International Violin Competition between 2013–2017 (2014 – the special prize – the master instrument of Tomas Pilar) and the absolute winner of School of Art Competition in 2017. As the winner of the Kocian Violin Competition between 2016 and 2018 he appeared as the guest of a well known violin virtuoso Pavel Sporcl. In 2019 he became a laureate of the Kocian Violin Competition. He is also a holder of the prize “Zlaty orisek” 2017. He took part in masterclasses organised by Czech Philharmonic under the guidance of Jiri Vodicka and Christian Tetzlaff. 

In 2019 he took the first place at Jugend Musiziert Competition in Halle. He also played Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto backed by Liberec Symphonic Orchestra at the F. X. Salda theatre in Liberec. In 2020 he won the first prize at the International Georg Philipp Telemann Violin Competition in Poznan.  In the same year he took second place at the international competition Concertino Praga when he performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. He recorded the same concerto with Pardubická Filharmonie in may 2021. In 2021 he was accepted to study at The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He also studied at Imola music Academy with Maurizio Scirarretta, he had lessons with Boris Belkin there as well. In 2021 he also won a TV competition Virtuosos V4+. In year 2022 he won the Eurovision Young Talents. In the same year he recorded 6 Ysaÿe sonatas with the label Supraphon, the album was released in April 2023. Month after the release date the album became the most selling CD of classical music in the Czech Republic. This album got positive feedback in magazines such as BBC Music Magazine or Gramophone and was compared to a recording of these sonatas from Hilary Hahn. Together with Jan Schulmeister (pianist) he managed to take first place in the chambre category of Concertino Praga. In 2024 he was selected as a part of project 30 under 30 by the Forbes magazine. He takes part in concerts all over the world – France, Italy, Austria, Germany, UAE, Turkey, Poland, Singapore, Japan etc.

Daniel presents himself at different violin classes including music classes in Litomysl, Liberec International Violin Academy, Imola Summer Festival in Italy or International Music Academy Orpheus in Vienna. At these international classes he collaborates with foreign professors such as Stephen Schipps, Simon James or Michael Frischenschlager. He took part in masterclasses under the guidance of Jiri Vodicka, Christian Tetzlaff or Augustin Hadelich.

concerts

July 10, 2024, 7:30pm

Recital with Jan Schulmeister (piano), Třeboň, Czech Republic

Rachmaninov, Kreisler, Pärt, Fišer, Suk, Bartók

July 27, 2024, 7pm

Viva Musica Festival, The Albrecht House – Garden, Bratislava, Slovakia

Saint-Saëns, Ysaÿe, Dvořák

Sinfonietta Bratislava, artistic direction Pavel Bogacz Jun.

September 7, 2024, 7pm

Zlatá Pecka Festival, House of Music Pardubice, Czech Republic

Antonín Dvořák: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 53

Hradec Králové Philharmonic, conductor Stanislav Vavřínek

September 20, 2024, 7pm

Lípa Musica Festival, Regional Research Library in Liberec, Czech Republic

Lukáš Janata: Talks

Prague Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, conductor Alena Hron

October 15, 2024, 7pm

Theatre in Jablonec nad Nisou, Czech Republic

Smetana, Suk

Suk Quartet

February 24, 2025, 7:30pm

Czech Radio Prague, Studio 1, Czech Republic

Suk Quartet

March 13, 2025, 7pm

Zlín Congress Centre, Czech Republic

Ernest Chausson: Poème for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 25
Eugène Ysaÿe: Caprice d’après l’Etude en forme de Valse de Saint-Saëns, Op. 52

Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Robert Kružík

May 6, 2025

Recital in Benátky nad Jizerou, Czech Republic

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reviews

“Young Czech Daniel Matejča, winner of Eurovision Young Musician 2022, picks up the baton for the next generation in this bold, impressive set. In general, Matejča favours clarity over fantasy, swinging into the opening G minor Sonata with penetrating focus and a well-controlled line… Matejča’s ‘Malinconia’ is poignant in its sheer simplicity, and there’s a heroic glitter to the ‘Les furies’ finale.”

BBC Music Magazine, June 2023

“Still only a teenager, the Czech violinist Daniel Matejča has already won a number of prestigious music competitions. His set of the Sonatas is very clearly focused, brilliant yet never flashy… In the Ballade Third Sonata, he seems acutely mindful of the music’s heated emotional climate and potentially wide dynamic range… He also does wonderfully well by the Kreislerian Fourth Sonata’s finale, with its carpal twists and turns.”

Gramophone, September 2023

“The standout of the three is Czech teenager (b. 2005) Daniel Matejca’s. He is strikingly beautiful of tone and fine of balance (in the innumerable double-stops, each string gets equal weight)… All three recordings are excellent on the technical side, with differences as noted… But I’d still go with Matejca, for the sheer beauty of sound and delivery.”

American Record Guide, August 2023

“Daniel Matejca, a mere 18 years old, is far beyond his years in technical prowess and his gifts of musical interpretation… I was struck by the clarity of tone, and as I studied the score along with the recording, I was amazed at how, well, musical his interpretation is. Matejca is observant of the hemiolic rhythms peppered throughout the first sonata, and carefully, musically shapes the lines that effortlessly (on paper anyway) melt into one another. Matejca makes even the most improvisatory passages of these works sound carefully controlled, with a sense of being and purpose stamped on every note… This is a revelatory performance by a startlingly talented young virtuoso – I can’t wait to see what he does next.”

Fanfare, September 2023

“Fart d’une superbe maestria et d’une dynamique très sensuelle, le jeune Tchèque affiche un véritable goût du risque et fait preuve autant d’imagination que de charme (Ballade), offrant partout un parfum de liberté et un bel instinct des climats (Les Furies, L’Aurore). Avec une impressionnante aisance instrumentale, mais sans exhibitionnisme déplacé, son jeu affiche une intégrité stylistique qui témoigne déjà d’une belle maturité et force l’attention… Un talent à suivre.”

Classica, October 2023

contact

DANIEL MATEJČA

email: artist@danielmatejca.com

+420 776 248 343

ARTEVISIO s.r.o.

email: jana.kralovic@artevisio.cz

+420 725 767 601

SUPRAPHON a.s.

email: linda.hruzova@supraphon.cz

+420 724 444 514

© 2024 SUPRAPHON a.s.