Marek Kozák, Krása Quartet
Program:
- Ludwig van Beethoven String quartet No. 4, Op. 18
- Ludwig van Beethoven Variation on a Theme from The Magical Flute "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" Op. 66 for Violoncello and Piano
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Concerto in D minor K. 466 for Piano and String Quartet (arr: Ignaz Lachner)
- Marek Kozák, piano
- Krása Quartet
Marek Kozák
At the age of twenty-seven, the piano virtuoso Marek Kozák has achieved a series of impressive results in a wide range of competitions, including some of the most prestigious ones. His most recent honors include winning the title Talent of the Year at the fourth annual Classic Prague Awards 2019.
His name is almost always remembered as a semifinalist in the Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw (2015), the top piano contest in its discipline worldwide, or with his success at the prestigious Prague Spring competition a year later in 2016. In 2018, he won the first prize as well as the audience prize at the European Piano Competition in Bremen.
Critics have consistently praised his flawless technique, his sense of proportion and gradation, his wide range of expression, deep musicality and faithfulness to the musical notation.
Marek Kozák graduated the piano class of Prof. Ivan Klánský at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He attended numerous masterclasses led by world-famous virtuosos, such as Eugen Indjic, Murray Parahia or Garrick Ohlsson. He studied piano and organ at the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava.
Marek Kozák has a clear focus on the interpretation of Chopin, while also excelling at contemporary music – a fact that is easily evidenced by the award he received at the competition in Bremen. Concert stages are graced with his elegant interpretative style, and audiences are thrilled by his ability to „present with great humility and without ostentation that which the composer wished to express“.