Tomáš Víšek


Tomáš Víšek is a Czech pianist.

Early life

Víšek began study of the piano at eight years of age under professor Pavel Svoboda. During the years 1972-1976, he studied at the Prague Conservatory under professor Valentina Kameníková and then later under professor Zdeněk Kozina. During the years 1976-1984, he studied at Prague Academy of Performing Arts, at first under professor Josef Páleníček and then under professor Zdeněk Jílek, with whom he continued post-graduate studies in the years 1990-1993.

Career

During his studies, Víšek became a many-time laureate in domestic competitions including Ústi nad Labem, Hradec Králové and Mariánské Lázně. He gained prizes at many international competitions. In 1997, he performed Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue several times with orchestra in the Dvorak Hall of Prague Rudolfinum, which he repeated in 1998, and at St. Wenceslas Festival in 2003, Piano Festival of Rudolf Firkušný in 2017, etc. In 2017, he obtained a PhD. title at the Charles University of Prague.
An interview with Tomáš Víšek in Czech Music described him as, "An explosive type of an artist who is always fully absorbed in the play. It is almost with an obsession and devilish attitude that he enjoys every twist and turn in the plot of the play. With a unique touch, he moves it into convincing levels with deep absorption. He is unveiling various secret of the manuscript and he has proved to keep the audience in suspense for a long duration.". In 2007 Víšek and cellist František Brikcius organized the "Weinberger Tour", celebrating the music of Czech composer Jaromír Weinberger.

Awards and honors

In international events, Víšek acquired awards in the Chopin competition in Warsaw, 1975 and the Smetana competition in Hradec Kralove, 1978. During the nineties, he followed this success by winning the Second Prize in international competitions in Vienna, the 2nd Prize + Bach-Award at Sicilian Ragusa, 5th Prize in the "Concours Milosz Magin" in Paris, 1995. In the 21st century, he gained prizes at the "Concours Musical de France" in Paris, 2013, "Music Withoiut Limits" in Druskininkai, 2015, video-competition "Grand Prize Virtuoso", 2015 and "International Music Competition for Piano Teachers" in Warsaw, 2016.