Aleš Kománek (*1982)

Aleš Kománek, laureate of the 10th G. Fitelberg International Conducting Competition in Katowice 2017 and finalist of the audition for the 2nd Charles Mackerras fellowship with English National Opera in London 2014, received his education with outstanding results in the field of conducting at the prestigious European universities: in Prague at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts under guidance of Jiří Bělohlávek, Radomil Eliška, Tomáš Koutník and Leoš Svárovský and in Vienna at the University of Music and Performing Arts as a postgradual student under leadership of Mark Stringer and Yuji Yuasa, where he finished his postgraduate studies in June 2012. His teachers include also professor of conducting at the Conservatoir superieur de Paris Zsolt Nagy, head of the conducting department at the Royal Nothern College of Music in Manchester Clark Rundell and Viennese conductor Wolfgang Scheidt on whose masterclasses he participated.

Aleš Kománek has worked repeatedly as a guest conductor with Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Chamber Symphony Orchestra, Pilsen Philharmonic, South Bohemian Chamber Philharmonic of České Budějovice, West Bohemian Symphony Orchestra of Mariánské Lázně, Symphony Orchestra AKS, Prague Chamber Philharmonic Choir and also with the Moravian Chamber Choir, Orchestra Spirit of Europe and Rzeszow Philharmonic in Poland. He conducted Prague Chamber Symphony Orchestra at the international festival Young Prague at the opening symphonic concert. He was repeatedly invited to work with Prague Modern that belongs to one of the leading ensembles of contemporary music in the Czech Republic. With the Radio Symphony Orchestra Pilsen, Aleš Kománek led the first recording of the last, not known 10th Symphony by Czech composer Jaromír Podešva who died in 2000. For the Rundel Music Publications in Germany, he recorded a CD of vocal-instrumental pieces of another contemporary Czech composer Pavel Staněk with Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra and the Moravian Chamber Choir. In Ústí nad Labem, Aleš made his successful opera debut with Puccini´s La bohème.

In March 2014 Aleš was one of eight finalists to conduct the orchestra and soloist of the English National Opera in London at the audition for the 2nd Charles Mackerras fellowship.

His repertoire is nowadays already extensive and includes scores from the most prominent Czech composers (Dvořák, Janáček, Martinů and Smetana) as well as new scores from the contemporary Czech composers (Podešva, Žalčíková, Chaloupka, Staněk etc.) on whose publicity he actively participated and has performed in many world premieres. From the world repertoire he has conducted pieces by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Brahms, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky and Elgar as well as the 20th century repertoire including pieces by Stravinsky, Ravel, Bartók, Shostakovich and Sibelius. An important part of Aleš´s repertoire is formed by opera titles such as La bohème, Tosca, Carmen, La Traviata, Rusalka, The Bartered Bride, Jenůfa and The Cunning Little Vixen.

As an award of his talent and support of his artistic activities and education, Aleš Kománek has received scholarships of the Czech Ministry of Culture, Czech Music Fund and the City of Ostrava.