Biography

Award-winning Czech violinist Kryštof Kohout is celebrated for his profound artistry, virtuosity and dynamic performances as a captivating soloist and insightful chamber musician. Performing widely across Europe and the US, recent highlights include his Carnegie Hall debut recital, Barbican Centre, Musikverein Vienna, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Zeneakadémia Budapest, as well as festivals such as the Gstaad Menuhin Festival and Edinburgh International Festival. He is a laureate of the Bartók World Competition in Budapest, a recipient of the Musicians’ Company Silver Medal (the company’s oldest award) and has recently been selected as the sole instrumentalist to join the prestigious Classeek Ambassador Programme in Switzerland. This season sees Kryštof perform concertos with orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Camerata, South Czech Philharmonic and Prague Chamber Soloists, along with recital debuts at Wigmore Hall and Bridgewater Hall. Upcoming chamber concerts take him to Berlin Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie de Paris, and the Aldeburgh Festival.

Having made his Barbican Hall debut aged 21 playing the Berg Violin Concerto, Kryštof works as a soloist with orchestras internationally including the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra, Jenaer Philharmonie and Moravian Chamber Soloists and conductors such as Tomáš Netopil, János Kovács, Koji Kawamoto and Tomáš Brauner. His performances are regularly broadcast internationally including on BBC Radio 3, Czech Radio, Dutch Concert Radio and BR Klassik, and he has recently recorded works by George Walker, Kaija Saariaho, and Missy Mazzoli in collaboration with the Barbican Centre and BBC Radio 3 for their Total Immersion series.

A passionate chamber musician, Kryštof is a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Fibonacci Quartet, recent winners of both First and Audience Prizes at the Premio Paolo Borciani Competition in Italy. The quartet have been selected as YCAT artists, Grands Residents at ProQuartet Paris, and Britten Pears Young Artists. They perform widely across Europe and serve as Resident Quartet at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff, supported by the Frost Music Trust.

Kryštof studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama as a full scholarship student with professor David Takeno and has also received the prestigious International Artist Diploma from the Royal Northern College of Music. Aside from his formal studies, he has worked with artists such as Midori, Leonidas Kavakos, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Pierre Amoyal and Josef Špaček and attended international courses including IMS Prussia Cove and Kronberg Violin Masterclasses.

He performs on a Vincenzo Panormo violin, generously loaned to him by the Harrison Frank Family Foundation. He is also grateful for the generous support he has received through the Drake Calleja Trust, Countess of Munster Trust, Hattori Foundation, Velehrad London and the Comenium Musicum scholarship of the MenART Academy Fund of prof. B. Viskupová and A. Viková.