Pavel Kohout (Organist)
Pavel Kohout (b. 1976), winner of the
prestigious First Prize, Gold Medal and J. S. Bach Prize at one of the world's
largest international organ competitions, the International Organ Competition in
Tokyo 2000, is regarded today as one of the finest concert recitalists of his
generation. He has won additional first prizes at international organ contests
in Ljubljana 1998, Vilnius 1999 and several other main prizes and diplomas at
competitions in Praha, Poznan, Kaliningrad, Brugges and Lьbeck, including the
"Dancing Angel" prize of the European Music Competition for Youth.
He is a graduate of the Prague
Conservatory (Jan Kalfus) and the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing
Arts in Prague, under the tutelage of Prof. Jaroslav Tщma. He continued his
studies in historical performance practice with renowned specialist Prof.
Jacques van Oortmerssen at the Amsterdam Conservatory. He has attended
international master classes by Harald Vogel, Ludger Lohmann, Michel Bouvard,
Olivier Latry. In 2010 he successfully finalized his Ph.D degree in historical
performance practice of the South German and Czech baroque organ music at the
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
He regularly appears as a recitalist
and soloist in concert venues throughout Europe, Russia, Hong Kong, Singapore,
Israel, Syria, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. He has
performed on international music festivals in Praha, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main,
Moscow, Haarlem, Zaragoza, Lisbon, Monaco, Jerusalem, Sapporo,
Tokyo, Sydney, Auckland, Washington D.C. In his second Australian debut
(2008), this time with Orchestra Victoria, he performed Symphony No. 1 for Organ
and Orchestra by Felix Alexandre Guilmant with great success, on the Grand Organ
at the Melbourne Town Hall.
His further activities include
continued cooperation with Czech National Radio on the project "Historical
Organs", presenting international master classes, preparing new music editions
and recording on CDs, including the oldest Pragueґ s historical organ (Mundt
1673) in the Church of Our Lady of Tyn in Prague and Katzer & Weltzel organ
(1738) in Pragueґs Loreto. The programme of the third CD "Genius J. S. Bach" is
fully dedicated to Bachґ s famous music and was recorded in the Benedictine Archabbey in Prague.
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