Leoš Janáček (1854–1928)
Sonata in mi bemolle minore “From the Street”
Presentiment
Death
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Sonata in la minore, K. 310
Allegro maestoso
Andante cantabile con espressione
Presto
Jaroslav Ježek (1904–1942)
Toccata
Bedřich Smetana (1824–1884)
Dreams
Lost Happiness
Consolation
In Bohemia
In Salon
In front of Castle
Peasants Festival
Jitka Čechová completed her piano studies at the Prague Conservatory (Prof. Jan Novotný) and continued at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Prof. Peter Toperczer). Her individual musical gifts were then developed to their full during postgraduate studies under Eugen Indjic in Paris and Vitali Berzon in Freiburg. She acquired further experience during her research studies at masterclasses given by Rudolf Kehrer in Weimar, and Eugen Indjic and Lazar Berman in Piešťany.
Jitka Čechová has been the laureate of numerous international competitions, including the International Chopin Competition in Marianske Lazne, the International Smetana Competition in Hradec Kralove, the International Hummel Piano Competition in Bratislava, and the International Chamber Music Competition in Detmold.
She has been the subject of critical acclaim as a soloist in most European countries as well as overseas (South Africa, North and South America, China, Thailand and Japan), where she cooperates with prominent orchestras such as the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra SWR, South German Philharmonic Orchestra Konstanz, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Prague Chamber Philharmonia, Munich Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Radio Orchestra Montevideo, Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, National Theatre Symphony Orchestra of Brazil, and the Symphonic Orchestra Durban. She is regularly invited to prestigious international stages and festivals, including Prague Spring, Graz, Paris, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Baden-Baden, Bodensee Festival, Český Krumlov, Moravian Autumn, Edinburgh, Bamberg, Janáček May, and Ticino Musica.
Chamber music is an indispensable component of Jitka Čechová's musical identity. She brings a full emotional commitment to her role as pianist in the Smetana Trio, supported by the brilliant technical basis of her solo metier. Within the Smetana Trio partnership she also plays chamber duets with her partners Markéta Janoušková (violin) and Jan Páleníček (cello) and performs solo pieces as part of the Trio's repertoire.
The focus of Jitka Čechová’s repertoire is on works by the Czech composers Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček, and Martinů. She has given two concerts consisting of works by Smetana at the world-famous Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. Zdeněk Lukáš dedicated his Third Piano Concerto to her, which she premiered with spectacular success during her concert tour of Germany with the Symphony Orchestra Südwestfunk under the baton of Petr Altrichter.
Jitka Čechová has made more than 40 recordings for labels such as Supraphon, Intercord, BMG, Lotos, and Cube. In 2014, she finished her recording of the complete piano works by Bedřich Smetana for Supraphon (8 CDs), a project that has collected awards from major music critics and magazines such as BBC Magazine, Diapason, Répertoire, International Record Review, and Harmonie. Recently, she recorded all three piano concertos and the concertino by Josef Palenicek with the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, as well as a new chamber music recording of Palenicek's works with the Smetana Trio. Presently, she is cooperating on a large recording project of the complete 550 sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti for the Czech Radio.
Jitka Čechová has given master classes in Prague, London, Manchester, Brasilia, Campos do Jordao, Los Angeles, Eau Claire, Luxemburg, and Cairo. She has also been invited to juries of international competitions, including the prestigious ARD Munich competition in Germany.