Ivo Kahanek at the 2010 Indian Summer in Levoca Festival

The young Czech pianist Ivo Kahánek is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the most exciting pianists of his generation. Renowned for his lyrical poeticism and outstanding virtuosity, he won the Prague Spring International Music Competition in 2004 and gained awards at other leading international piano competitions (Maria Canals Piano Competition in Barcelona, Vendome Prize in Vienna, Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition in Marienbad, Concertino Praga). After his successful debuts at Beethovenfest Bonn and Prague Spring Festival he was invited by the BBC to perform at the BBC Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under its chief-conductor Jiří Bělohlávek. This critically acclaimed Proms debut is now being offered by Deutsche Grammophon as a digital download. He also performs regularly with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and its chief-conductor Zdeněk Mácal and has made highly appreciated debuts with WDR Orchestra Cologne, Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra and many others.

To date Kahánek has released four CDs with music by Janáček, Martinů, Klein and Kabeláč and consequently signed a three-year contract with Supraphon Music. His last solo CD (Janáček-Martinů-Kabeláč, including three newly discovered Fugues for Piano by Leoš Janáček) has received the top rate in prestigious musical journals (Le Monde de la Musique, Classics Today). Besides he frequently collaborates with Czech Radio and Czech Television. Presently he is preparing for the solo performances with orchetras in UK, Germany and Czech Republic during 2009. At the beginning of 2010 he undertook a solo piano recording session for Supraphon Music.

A graduate of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under Ivan Klánský, Ivo Kahánek also studied for one semester on the Advanced Instrumental Studies course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London under Ronan O´Hora and participated in master classes with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Christian Zacharias, Alicia de Larocha, Imogen Cooper, Peter Frankl and many others.

At the 2010 Indian Summer in Levoca' Festival, Ivo will be performing Schumann's Piano Quintet with the Stamic Quartet, and will play a solo recital including works of Schumann, Chopin, Martinů and Klein.