Marián Lapšanský
biography
Marián Lapšanský first made a name for himself while still a student at the Bratislava Conservatory, and subsequently at the Academy of Music in Prague (with František Maxián, snr. and Jan Panenka), when he took the top prize in the Smetana Piano Competition in Hradec Králové and the Prize for best interpretation of the works of Mozart (1971), and later also the Anda-Bührle Prize (1972) whilst attending master classes headed by Géza Anda in Zurich. The awards which contributed to his rapid rise as a concert performer also included the Czech Critics’ Prize, a Gold Medal from the Katia Popova Laureate Festival (Bulgaria), and the 1st prize at the International Tribune of Young Performers under the aegis of UNESCO, held during the Bratislava Music Festival.
At present, Marián Lapšanský is a regular guest on nearly every prestigious concert platform in the world, appearing with such celebrated orchestras as the Czech Philharmonic, the Prague Symphony Orchestra,the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Slovak Philharmonic, the Orchestre de la Radio Suisse Romande, the Dresdner Staatskapelle, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, and many others. He has been conducted by various great names – Jiří Bělohlávek, Roberto Benzi, Oliver Dohnányi, Ken-ichiro Kobayashi, Zdeněk Košler, Libor Pešek, Alexander Rahbari, Ľudovít Rajter, and many others. He has given many solo recitals at leading festivals such as the Wiener Festwochen, the Salzburger Festspiele, the Prague Spring, the Berliner Festtage, the Ankara International Music Festival, ths Dresdner Musikfestspiele, the Summer Festival of Dubrovnik, the Bratislava Music Festival, among others.
Marián Lapšanský is not only an outstanding soloist, but his intelligent sense for music has led him to become one of the most sought-after chamber players on the contemporary scene, performing with such renowned soloists as Peter Schreier, Magdaléna Hajóssyová, Peter Dvorský, Dagmar Pecková, Sergej Kopčák, Angelika May, Josef Suk, Jiří Bárta, Shizuka Ishikawa, to name just a few.
Marián Lapšanský’s skills as a performer may be heard on dozens of radio, television and studio recordings. In 1995, together with cellist Jiří Bárta, he won the Supraphon Prize and the “Zlatá Harmonie” Prize for their CD featuring the works of Rachmaninov, Schnittke and Pärt, while 1997 saw him take the Classic Prize for recording of the year (Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences – a 12 CD set). In 1999 he was awarded a prize for the Best Czech Recording of 1998 (Leoš Janáček: The Diary of One Who Disappeared with Peter Straka and Dagmar Pecková, and the Piano Sonata). He has recorded exclusively for Supraphon since 1994. Apart from the above-mentioned accolades for his recordings, he also won the Gustav Mahler European Prize for the year 2002, awarded by the European Union.
Marián Lapšanský has played a notable role as an organiser on the Slovak music scene, among others serving as President of the International Master Classes in Piešťany, the “Musica nobilis” International Festival and the Johann Nepomuk Hummel International Piano Competition in Bratislava; he is also invited to sit in the jury of international piano competitions. His other commitments include teaching music at university level in Bratislava and Prague.
In 2003 Marián Lapšanský performed at Prague Spring, in the Olivier Messiaen Hall in Paris and in Suntori Hall Tokyo, among others. He prepares concert with the famous Czech violinist Josef Suk with the complete works for violin and piano by Antonín Dvořák.
Marián Lapšanský recently recorded CD with Spanish Music for Aquarius and CD with Piano Quartet & Piano Quintet by Fibich for Supraphon.