Martin Kasík (b. 1976) ranks among the foremost Czech pianists of the present time. He has devoted himself to piano playing since four years of age. He studied with Monika Tugendliebová at the Janáček conservatory in Ostrava, and subsequently with Ivan Klánský at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Prague. He widened his musical prospect attending masterclass of Lazar Berman, Garrick Ohlson, Christian Zacharias, Paul Badura – Skoda and others.
The winner of several domestic and international contests, and the recipient of a number of prestigious awards, he has to his credit laureateships from the 1998 Prague Spring International Music Competition, the 1999 Young Concert Artists Competition, the 2000 Davidoff Prix, the 2002 Harmonie Magazine Award, and other distinctions.
Martin Kasík has appeared in major concert venues, such as the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Wigmore Hall, Tonhalle Zurich, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Cologne Philhramony, Gasteig München, Alte Oper Frankfurt, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Rotterdam´s De Doelen, Finlandia Hall in Helsinki, the Auditorio de Barcelona, Carnegie Hall´s Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Tokyo´s Suntory Hall or Victoria Concert Hall in Singapore.
As a soloist, he has appeared with, among other orchestras, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, or Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, performing under the baton of Pinchas Zukerman, Marin Alsop, Yakov Kreizberg, Ingo Meztmacher, Ken – Ichiro Kobayashi, Libor Pešek, Jakub Hrůša, Tomáš Netopil and others. He has worked regularly with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Prague Symphony Orchestra, which he accompanied on their tours of the United States and Japan.
In 2008, Martin Kasík was appointed an artistic director of the Chopin Festival in Mariánské Lázně. Since 2009, he has taught piano at the Academy of Music in Prague.
His discography comprises 15 CDs for Supraphon and Arco Diva labels.
“Mr. Kasik plays with a resourceful technique, fluidity, a keen sense of colour and intelligence.”
The New York Times
“Intoxicating! Stunning from the first bar to the last … Interpretation of 2nd sonata Rachmaninoff feels like an explosion of hot lava… His Kreisleriana is at the same level with Horowitz and Argerich…”
Repertoire
“…an incredible tour de force. At the early age of thirty, Martin Kasík already has to his credit a plethora of awards, and there can be no doubt many more are yet in stock for him in the future, in view of his awesome talent! Here is a name for you to remember!”
All Arts Review
“… elegant phrasing, touch and tone recalled those of the finest keyboard virtuosos like Artur Rubinstein and Kasik’s own countryman, the late Rudolf Firkusny, who was himself a champion of Dvorak’s Piano Concerto.”
The Republican