Eliška Novotná
Piano, Chamber music, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Ostrava
Her interpretation is indicated by critics and listeners as musically urgent, thorough and completely convincing. Appreciated are her sparkling technique, stylistic purity and deep musicality. The concert performances of Eliška Novotná radiate the joy of playing and the joy of life.
Pianist Eliška Novotná – Gazdová debuted with Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto in g minor at the Tonhalle in Zurich (1998) and Dvorak Hall of the Rudolfinum in Prague (2000). Already before graduating she toured with the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra through Spain (1996), where she played Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in G major.
These performances were followed by competition successes in many national and international competitions: Eliška Novotná won the Chopin Competition in Marienbad (1991), the Smetana Piano Competition in Hradec Králové (1992), the Janáček competition in Brno (1994), the Beethoven Competition in Hradec nad Moravicí (1996), Rahn-Musikwettbewerb in Switzerland ( 1997), the Piano Competition 80 also in Switzerland (1998) and the chamber music competition Marco Fiorindo in Turin, Italy (2002). In 1995 she represented the Czech Republic at the prestigious Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Her competition laurels are adorn by a number of exceptional awards: Award for the best Czechoslovak participant (Virtuosi per musica di pianoforte, 1989), the price of dr. Václav Holzknecht for the best interpretation of a composer of the 20th century (Smetana Piano Competition, 1992), the price of the Bohuslav Martinů Foundation, premium Czech Music Fund for the performance of a Czech contemporary piece (Beethoven Competition, 1996), the price of “Sažinová-Pochlebinová” for excellent study results during the study period (AMU Prague, 2000). Behind the success hides the collaboration with leading educators as Marta Toaderová (Conservatory of Ostrava) and Ivan Klánský, by whom Eliška was guided by during her studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and a two-year study stay in Lucerne, Switzerland.
In addition to her concert activities, Eliška Novotná also makes recordings. The Czech Radio made numerous solo and chamber recording. On compact discs, you can hear her interpretation of Chopin’s Piano Concerto in e Minor (AMU 2001); Schubert Impromptus Op. 142 and Schumann’s Carnaval, Op. 9, which she recorded in 2003. Her love for chamber music makes her an ideal partner for instrumentalists and singers. She is a founding member of the Ensemble Moravia, with which she realized a CD with compositions by B. Martinů (Slovart, 2000) and with compositions for clarinet and piano (Hindemith, Schumann, Brahms, Berg, Pro Records 2007). Her project which she initiated, was the recording of chamber pieces by J. Podešva (Pro Records 2010).
After a triple maternity leave, Eliška Novotná returned to the concert stage in 2014 with a piano recital dedicated to Czech composers. At the same time she renewed her collaboration with cellist Jiří Hanousek with a performance for the Förster society in Prague. Eliška Novotná´s playing is part of organized concert programs of words and music with her and her colleagues Halina Františáková and Alfred Strejček. Her recording activities continues with the realization of a recording of Scarlatti sonatas for Czech Radio and the release of CDs with compositions by Czech masters “Story about my home” (Pro Records 2015).
Eliška Novotná teaches piano at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Ostrava.