In the beautiful space of the Knox Presbyterian Church in Ottawa, the Czech ambassador to Canada, Martin Tlapa, opened the concert.

Violinist Miroslav Ambroš and pianist Zuzana Ambrošová have been performing together for almost twenty years, and under the name Ambroš Duo Prague, they have achieved success not only in Czechia, but also throughout Europe as well as overseas. Ambroš Duo Prague performed in Canada for the first time and started their tour of Canada and the USA here.

At the Ottawa concert, organized on the occasion of the Year of Czech Music 2024, they played Antonín Dvořák's Humoresque and Romantic Pieces for Violin and Piano,  Josef Suk's Radúz and Mahulena, two duets From My Homeland by Bedřich Smetana, the piece for solo violin Dža more by Sylvia Bodorová, the sonata for violin and piano Les Adieux by the Czech composer of Slovak origin Juraj Filas and a fantasy based on motifs on Faust by Pablo de Sarasate. As an encore, the duo played Antonio Bazzini's Swarm of the Goblins to the enthusiastic audience.

More than a hundred listeners, members of the diplomatic corp, compatriots, students of ottawa music schools, appreciated the virtuoso artistic performance of the Czech interpreters with enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation. With their performance, Ambroš Duo Prague represented the Czech Republic in an excellent way and made a worthy contribution to the rich pool of musical events organized for the Year of Czech Music 2024.

The concert was organized in cooperation with the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Toronto.

The Year of Czech Music is a unique event dating back to 1924 when Bedřich Smetana’s 100th anniversary was celebrated.

With only a few exceptions, the Year of Czech Music has been celebrated every decade ever since and has gradually expanded its dramaturgy to include the anniversaries of other Czech composers and musicians (Antonín Dvořák, Josef Suk, Leoš Janáček, Bohuslav Martinů, etc.).

On the occasion of the Year of Czech Music, the Czech Centres and Radio Prague International present a joint podcast Faces of Czech Music introducing artists worth watching on the contemporary Czech music scene across different genres.

                                                        

                                                                   

Miroslav Ambroš has experienced a professional supervision by many outstanding pedagogues from Czech Republic and Germany. Along the way he attended the Prague Conservatory, C.M. von Weber in Dresden (Prof. Ivan Ženatý), Faculty of Music AMU (Prof. Ivan Štraus) and Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover (Prof. Krzysztof Wegrzyn). He also completed many master courses in Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, where he received lesson from great musicians such as P. Zukerman, R. Ricci, A. Chumachenco, G. Pauk, P. Amoyal and others. In 2008 he started taking private lessons from Maestro Josef Suk.

In his music career Miroslav has received various prizes. The most valued one is the overall win in the international competition “Du Prix des Jeunes Talents Eropéens de Musique Classique” that takes place in Marseille.

Miroslav Ambroš has had the opportunity to perform practically all over the world. Within his nearly thousands of concerts he has repeatedly performed at various festivals in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Norway, Canada, Russia, South Korea and  USA. He has played at many prominent world stages such as Tabaret Hall in Ottawa, Memorial Hall in Phoenix, Oratoire de Louvre in Paris, Sala Caselle in Roma and Art Center in Soul. Miroslav has also taken part in many music festivals in Czech Republic and Slovakia. He had the privilege to perform where he played Tchaikovsky´s violin concerto D major in the Dvorak Hall in Rudolfinum, conducted by Jiří Bělohlávek. In his career he also performed on other prominent stage in Czech Republic such as Smetana’s Hall in the Community House or the Spanish Hall in Prague Castle. He has also cooperated with most Czech and Slovak orchestras and worked for some of the Czech and Slovak televisions and radio broadcasts. He has done some recording for radio broadcasts in Marseille, Luxembourg and for the BBC. His violin can be heard on several recordings published by Arco Diva, Radioservis and Supraphon. On the last one mentioned he joined Maestro Josef Suk on his last CD. This recording received the Editor's Choice Award at the Classic FM Magazine Awards in 2009.

In 2017 he founded a unique chamber orchestra Ambroš Ladies Orchestra, in which he performs as the solo artist. On October 2018 they had concert in Opera Monte-Carlo, Salle Garnier  in Monaco in the presence of the Albert II, prince of Monaco. During 2019 he performed with this orchestra in the Czech Republic at prestigious festivals, recorded a CD and made a Christmas tour with tenor Štefan Margita.

Annually in middle of March, under the auspices of Czech Embassy, consulates and compatriotic associations, came back to the USA to give concerts in Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego, Seattle, Little Rock and Portland. At the University of Little Rock and Portland he also led the violin masterclasses in years 2018 and 2020.

The fifth US concert tour in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and New York took place in November 2022.

In 2022 and 2023, he also held concerts in South America, in the capitals of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, and received another invitation for 2024.

Miroslav Ambroš won a gold medal from the international music competition in Vienna in 2020 a silver medal from the international music competition in New York in 2020 and gold medal in 2022.

Zuzana Ambrošová began her conservatory studies in Košice at the age of 13 as an exceptionally talented child. She graduated from piano playing at the Music Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under the supervision of Prof. Zdeněk Jílek (piano class) and Prof. Jan Panenka (chamber playing). For the period of one year she received private lesson by Lecturer Valentina Kameníková. She also extended her studies by taking Master piano courses in Weimar, Germany.

At the age of 16 as the laureate of the Smetana´s piano competition and the international competition Beethoven’s Hradec she became a solo artist in the State Philharmonic Orchestra Košice, which she later joined again repeatedly. As a solo artist she made a successful appearance with the Vienna philharmonic. She taught piano playing at the conservatory in Košice for ten years and performed in various places in Slovakia and abroad at the same time.

In 1992 she started working at the Prague Conservatory and engaged in external cooperation with the Music Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Since the late 1994 she has worked at Jan Deyl Conservatory and Prague Music High School.

She is a highly demanded chamber player and has been repeatedly invited to cooperate at some international festivals and competitions (Prague´s Spring, Talent of the Year, Ameropa). She has performed at many concerts and festivals in Slovakia, Germany, Hungary, Austria, France, Monaco, Italy, Holland, Luxembourg, Norway,  Spain,  Switzerland, Croatia, Slovenia, and Bulgaria. She has had concerts at various prominent stages around the world such as Dal Verme theatre in Milan, Sala Silentium in Bologna, Sala Caselle in Roma, Ville Bardini in Florence, Palazzo Tobia in Genoa, Maison Cantonale Bordeaux Bastide, Oratoir du Louvre in Paris, Memorial Hall in Phoenix, Kerry Hall in Seattle, San Rafael Hall in Buenos Aires, Austrian cultural forum in New York and many others.

She regularly makes various recordings for Czech and Slovak radios and televisions. She recorded a CD Il Vrituoso together with the violinist Miroslav Ambroš, which was published at Arco Diva label.

In recent years she has played concerts with the Ambroš Ladies Orchestra and Virtousi di Praga in Croatia , France, Germany, Holland and Monaco.

She keeps returning to many festivals and stages. In years 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020 she finished a very successful tours through the USA. She performed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Little Rock, Seattle and Portland. The fifth US concert tour in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and New York took place in November 2022.  

In 2022 and 2023, they also held concerts in South America, in the capitals  of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, and received another invitation for 2024.