Martin Adámek
clarinetDespite his young age, Slovakian clarinetist Martin Adámek has already developed a rich career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. Appointed solo clarinet at the Ensemble intercontemporain at the age of 19, he is already recognized as one of the most promising clarinetists of his generation.
Winner of the first prize at both the Leoš Janáček International Competition (Czech Republic, 2014) and the Clarinetto Concorso Carlino (Italy, 2013), Mr. Adámek has distinguished himself as a champion of contemporary classical music. He has given numerous world premiers, most notably Beat Furrer’s Clarinet Concerto under the baton of Matthias Pintscher at the 2019 Donaueschinger Musiktage Festival. Also in 2019, Martin gave two Slovak premiers: Magnus Lindberg’s Clarinet Concerto with the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (2019) and Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Clarinet Concerto “Peregrinus ecstaticus” with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra (2019), both under the baton of Zsolt Nagy.
As an orchestral musician, Martin has performed under conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Jonathan Nott, Peter Eötvös, and Thierry Fischer. While principal clarinetist of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, he performed at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Konzerthaus in Berlin.
In 2022, Mr. Adámek joined Trio Catch, an ensemble that has proven themselves to be ambassadors of contemporary music, as well as fine interpreters of the classical repertoire.
He is also a co-founding member of the Alma Mahler Kammerorchester, which specialises in symphonic reductions of 19th and 20th centuries’ works, including original repertoire for chamber orchestra and chamber music of various styles and periods.
A guest artist at numerous international festivals, Martin has performed at the Salzburger Festspiele, Lucerne Festival, Festival Messiaen, Young Euro Classics, and Viva Musica. With the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Martin has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Berliner Festspiele, Biennale Boulez, Music Biennale Zagreb, and Musica Nova Helsinki. Invited as a jury member to the 2019 Leoš Janáček International Competition, he is the 2019 recipient of the Ľudovít Rajter Prize, given to Slovak artists of exceptional promise. As part of the prize, he recorded and released his first solo album, Unity, in 2020.
Mr. Adámek received his education from the Conservatory of Bratislava (Slovakia) and the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno (Czech Republic), studying under Peter Drlička, Milan Polák, and Vít Spilka. At several masterclasses, he has had the opportunity to study with Charles Neidich, Yehuda Gilad, Harri Mäki, Philippe Berrod and others.