Prof.Pavel Fischer
Pavel Fischer, born in 1965 in Zlín, Czech Republic, comes from a rich musical heritage, with his father, Eduard Fischer, being a celebrated composer and conductor.
Pavel’s musical journey began with studies at the Prague Conservatoire and the Prague Academy of Performing Arts between 1979 and 1989, where he trained under Professor Nora Grumlíková. In 1988, he won the prestigious International Chamber Music Competition in Trapani, Italy, alongside pianist Ivo Jančik.
In 1989, Pavel co-founded and became the leader of the renowned Škampa Quartet. This marked the beginning of a career filled with accolades, including the Royal Philharmonic Society Award. The Quartet made history as the first to be appointed Resident Artists at The Wigmore Hall (1994-1998), leading to invitations to perform at prominent festivals worldwide, such as Prague Spring, Gstaad, Aspen, Schwetzingen, Edinburgh, Schleswig-Holstein, and Melbourne.
As an award-winning recording artist for Supraphon, Pavel, together with the Škampa Quartet, has had his performances featured on the BBC and at major venues like Wigmore Hall, St John’s Smith Square, and St Luke’s, as well as in the Chamber Music Proms series. His quartet’s performances have also been selected for release on the prestigious Wigmore Hall Live label.
Throughout his career, Pavel has collaborated with esteemed musicians such as Josef Suk, Janine Jansen, Liza Ferschtman, Itamar Golan, Kathryn Stott, Melvyn Tan, Michael Collins, Jennifer Stumm, Jiří Bárta, Dagmar Pecková, Wolfgang Holzmair, Ronald van Spaendonck, and Nikolaj Demiděnko.
Following his time with the Škampa Quartet, Pavel focused on teaching and mentoring the next generation of musicians. Since 2008, he has been a violin tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester and at Chetham’s School of Music. As a sought-after masterclass instructor, he has led sessions at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Nederlandse Strijkkwartet Academie, the Orlando Festival, the Weesp Chamber Music Festival, the Kamermuziek Atelier Delft, and the Strijkkwartet Biennale in Amsterdam, among many others.
In 2018, Pavel took on the role of director for the “Winterschool” at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music.
Pavel's diverse musical interests also led him to collaborate with Iva Bittová in a long-term partnership and to establish the cross-genre trio "Bardolino." His wide-ranging musical exploration extended further when he joined Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull for a concert project in December 2009.
Since 2007, Pavel has also gained recognition as a composer. His first string quartet, Morava, was commissioned and premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2008. Following this, two more of his string quartets were premiered at the Lake District Summer Music Festival. In 2016, his Violin Concerto was premiered in České Budějovice, and in 2018, his work Temperaments—for Voice, Violin, Cello, Accordion, and Strings—was first performed at the Dvořák Hall in Prague's Rudolfinum. That same year, his Tales from Moravia were performed by the Pavel Haas String Quartet at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.