Michal Kanka & Miguel Borges Coelho
Biographie Michal Kanka & Miguel Borges Coelho
Michal Kanka
Born in Prague in 1960, Michal Kanka took up the cello under leadership of Mirko Skampa at the age of seven. Later, he studied in the Prague Conservatory under prof. Viktor Moucka (cellist of the famous Vlach string quartet). During his studies at the Prague Academy of Fine Arts - under the tutelage of Prof. Josef Chuchro - he participated in the G. Piatigorsky Seminars in Los Angeles with Andre Navarra, Maurice Gendron and Paul Tortelier in 1983 and 1984.
In 1980, Michal Kanka received honorable mention at the international Prague Spring Competition. One year later, he was awarded the grand prize for all categories in the Czechoslovak National Competition. This initial success has been followed by top prizes in the Tchaikovsky Cello Competition in Moscow in 1982 and in the Prague Spring Competition in 1983 (first prize). In 1986, Michal won the ARD International Competition in Munich.
Michal Kanka has performed with leading European orchestras such as the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Radio Orchestra, the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra, the West Berlin Rundfunk Orchestra, Liverpool Philharmonic, the Nagoya Phil., the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Prague Chamber Philharmonic...He has appeared as a soloist in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, North and South America and Japan. He has been a regular soloist of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra since 1995 and nominated soloist of The Prague Radio Orchestra since 2003.
Michal Kanka has recorded for Czech Radio, Radio France, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Hessischer Rundfunk, Suedwest Rundfunk, AVRO Radio Holland... His CDs were released for Supraphon, Bonton, Panton, Radioservis Prague, Nuova Era (Italy). Now, exclusively for the Praga digitals (distributed by Harmonia Mundi France). His recent recordings: Boccherini - 7 cello sonatas, Myslivecek - 6 cello sonatas (world first recording), Kodaly - compositions for cello. For this recording, he was awarded several prices (Choc de la Music, diapason D ' OR), Boccherini - cello sonatas (volume 2), Martinu- small pieces for cello and piano, Beethoven - complete of cello sonatas and variations (CHOC de la Musique). Sonatas by Rachmaninov and Mjaskovskij (diapason D ' OR), Rubinstein, Brahms, Chopin, Grieg, Schubert, Franck, Saint-Saëns, Boëllmann and Haydn cello concertos, sonatas by M. Weinberg (CHOC du MOI).The releases of the year 2010 are D. Schostakovich and E. Bloch.
Michal Kanka has been an active chamber music player. As a member of the Prazak string quartet and the Beethoven string trio he has appeared on major concert stages in the whole world and recorded many pieces for the CD company Praga digitals.
He plays an outstanding instrument made by French violin-maker Christian Bayon 2006 and the bow made by French bow-maker Nicole Descloux 2000.
Miguel Borges Coelho
Born in Porto, Miguel Borges Coelho maintains a solo career and chamber musician, in parallel with being a piano professor at the Superior School of Music, Arts and Performing (ESMAE) in Porto.
Considered by many to be one of the best Portuguese pianists today, he started studying the piano with Amélia Vilar, continuing his training at the Conservatory of that city, with Isabel Rocha.
As a fellow of the Gulbenkian Foundation, he studied at the Hochschule fur Musik Freiburg, with V. Margulis and at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia, with D. Bashkirov and G. Egyazarova (piano) and Martha Gulias (Chamber Music).
He won several national piano competitions and obtained the 2nd Prize and the Prize for the interpretation of contemporary work in the XIV International Music Competition in the City of Porto. In 1998, the Ministry of Culture awarded him the Revelation Award “Ribeiro da Fonte”.
He performed in Portugal, Spain, France, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Brazil and Colombia, namely at the CCB, Casa da Música, Gulbenkian, São Carlos, Euskalduna (Bilbao), Kursaal (San Sebastián), Bulwark (Pamplona), Rudolfinum (Prague) and at festivals such as Sintra, Póvoa do Varzim, Dias da Música, Terras Sem Sombra, Folles Journées (Nantes), Quatuors à Cordes en Pays de Fayence, Mozart (Coruña), Quincena Musical (San Sebastián) and Musika / Música ( Bilbao).
He was a soloist with the orchestras of the Algarve, APROARTE, from Prague Chamber, Classical of Madeira, EPMVC, Filarmonia das Beiras, Gulbenkian, Metropolitana de Lisboa, Nacional do Porto, Euskadi Symphony, Portuguese Symphony and Lisbon Symphony.
He collaborates assiduously with pianist Marta Zabaleta, having also performed with musicians such as Pedro Burmester, Afonso Fesch, Paulo Gaio Lima, Michal Kanka, Frantisek Novotni, Asier Polo, Filipe Quaresma, Gerardo Ribeiro, Pedro Ribeiro, António Rosado, António Saiote, Pavel Sporcl , Álvaro Teixeira Lopes, and the Capela, Matosinhos, Prazak and Talich quartets.
He made world premieres of works by F. Lopes Graça and JP Oliveira.
He recorded a double CD with works by J. Peixinho (Numérica). For the publisher Praga Digitals (Harmonia Mundi), in collaboration with cellist Michal Kanka or the Quartet Prazak, he recorded four CDs with works by M. Weinberg, E. Bloch, R. Strauss, and A. Tcherepnin. The CD dedicated to Weinberg was Choc Disc for the magazine “Le Monde de la Musique” and, like the CDs dedicated to Bloch and Strauss, Diapasón 5 for the magazine Diapasón.
