Radek Baborák

ensembles/orchestras

Dear students of the Music School, dear teachers, it is my pleasure and pleasure to invite you to another year under the sign of MenART! This educational academy provides what cannot be easily found and bought. It is more than a glimpse under the hood of professionals, my colleagues - mentors. It is about a community that naturally arises from those who have gone through the academy and who now meet their peers at other music schools and on stages, sharing their feelings, joys and worries of those who are making their way along this musical path.

It is even greater joy when graduates become musical partners and, as we know from many concerts, a student and a mentor can quite boldly perform together on the same stage. And another joy is when those we have had the opportunity to meet and teach come to concerts and apply to join us. These are just a few of the reasons why it makes sense to become a participant in MenART.

I will look forward to seeing you!

Hornist and conductor Radek Baborák is one of the most prominent figures on the world classical music scene. He has performed in concert halls all over the world and collaborated with a number of exceptional conductors, such as Daniel Barenboim, Simon Rattle, Vladimír Ashkenazy, Naame Järvi and Seiji Ozawa. Radek Baborák previously worked as a solo hornist in the PKF — Prague Philharmonia, the Czech Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic and in the 2003—2010 seasons also in the Berlin Philharmonic. He has performed solo with a number of prestigious ensembles, such as the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the St. Petersburg and Moscow Philharmonics, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London, the Tonkünstler Orchestra Vienna, the Mozarteum Salzburg and the Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic in Łódź. His entry into the group of conducting soloists was initiated by the players of the Mito Chamber Orchestra, when they invited him to replace the indisposed Seiji Ozawa on the orchestra's European tour. Radek Baborák currently works in the Mito Chamber Orchestra as Ozawa's assistant and is the principal guest conductor of the Yamagata Symphony Orchestra. Since the 2021 season, he has been the chief conductor and dramaturg of the Mariánské Lázně ZSO.

Chamber music is an important part of Radek Baborák's musical life. He founded and artistically directs the Baborak Ensemble, the Czech Horn Choir and the Prague Chamber Soloists string ensemble. He is also a member of the Afflatus Quintet, with which he won first prize at the ARD competition in Munich, the Berlin – Munich – Vienna Octet and collaborates with the Berlin Baroque Soloists. He is also the artistic director of the Czech Sinfonietta. He regularly performs with a whole host of extraordinary personalities, including pianists Yefim Bronfmann, András Schiff and Denis Kožuchin, violinists Julian Rachlin, Janine Jansen and Boris Brovtsyn, cellist Julian Steckel, flutist Emmanuel Pahud, oboists Albrecht Mayer, François Leleux and singers Ian Bostridge, Thomas Quasthoff and Waltraud Mayer. In 2020, he will make his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic, where he will perform under the baton of Daniel Barenboim.

Radek Baborák began studying the French horn at the age of eight with Professor Karel Křenek, and continued at the Prague Conservatory under the guidance of Professor Bedřich Tylšar. Immediately after his studies, he was offered the position of first hornist in the Czech Philharmonic — quite exceptionally without an audition. In 1995, he received the Grammy Classic Award and the Davidoff Award. He is also engaged in pedagogical activities — he teaches at HAMU in Prague, the Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin and is a guest at TOHO University Tokyo.

Applications are accepted until 31. 3. 2025.

Information on applications to Radek Baborák's group

Participation in the project is intended for active orchestras or ensembles of ZUŠ (string and wind orchestras) and their leading teacher.
Interested parties are asked to send a summary of the teacher's view of the orchestra's work (the orchestra's approach, motivation, expectations with which they apply to the project).
Two to three pieces - samples of completed or unfinished works (this may be work in progress from a rehearsal, not a recording of the entire concert) up to 5 minutes long.
Samples must be uploaded (as a public or private link) to YouTube – see. Application conditions.
Planned maximum number of selected participants: 1-2 orchestras or ensembles. The mentor will work with the ensemble at its home art school.