photo: Julian Veverica
Kateřina Englichová, winner of the Prague Classic Award, is a founder of the Bohemia-Luxembourg trio and of “K2” with the soprano Kateřina Kněžíková. Since 2005 she has been performing with the oboist Vilém Veverka. She is a jurist at competitions (e.g. the prestigious harp competition “Israel Harp Competition”). She studied at the conservatory in Prague and the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia; in summer In 2017, she completed her postgraduate studies at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. She herself is now a professor of playing the harp at Prague Conservatory and conducts master classes there and abroad (USA, Canada, Great Britain, Hong Kong, etc.).
She is also devoted to contemporary music and has premiered a number of compositions written for her. Her 45 CD recordings include Britten’s Ceremony of Carols with Kühn’s children’s choir and choirmaster Jiří Chvála, and the ambitious solo recording “Musica per arpa” or “Impressions” with oboist Vilém Veverka, both for the company Supraphon. She released two CDs in 2022; the first of them, “K2”, was launched by soprano Kateřina Kněžíková at the Festival Smetanova Litomyšl, and the “Nocturne” CD with violinist Silvia Hessová in October at the Mahler Music Festival at Jihlava. In January 2023, she was chairwoman of the jury for the fourth time for the International harp competition Karel Patras. In the spring of 2023 she finished recording her solo album “As time goes by”, which will be released in the fall at Arco Diva.
The leading Czech performer of classical music, oboist Vilém Veverka, was the winner of the prestigious Sony Music Foundation competition in 2003 and has since built a position of international recognition as a soloist and chamber player.
He is a founding member of elite musical ensembles such as Ensemble Berlin-Prague and PhilHarmonia
Octet and Vilém Veverka TRIOplus formation. He performed as a soloist with many important orchestras
at home, in Europe, America and Asia. With his own “band” – the Ultimate W Band – he specializes in genre fusion (the album Next Horizon, 2020). Since 2009, he has been cooperating with the Supraphon publishing house, for which he has released a series of highly valued recordings.
In addition to HAMU in Prague, he studied at the prestigious Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin (prof. Dominik Wollenweber) and as part of Karajan’s academy he also worked in the Berlin Philharmonic. He performed many technically demanding concert pieces in Czech or world premieres. He is the ambassador of the French manufacturer Buffet-Crampon, and currently plays on the Virtuose model.