© Photo : Luc Hossepied

Ondrej Adámek was born in 1979 in Prague. He has received commissions for orchestral, choir, ensemble, and vocal works, as well as music for instruments and electronics from prestigious ensembles and festivals of contemporary music in Europe (Ensemble Intercontemporain, Klangforum Wien, Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, Diotima string quartet, Ensemble Orchestral Contemporain, Agora festival, Donaueschingen festival, Witten festival, Warsaw Automn, Les Musiques festival – Marseille...).

Ondrej Adámek seeks out special playing techniques for classical instruments, creates new original instruments, and develops new systems combining video and electroacoustic sound with instrumental ensembles. Adámek, with his vast knowledge of new possibilities for classical instruments, obtains a very specific sound colour that, together with a powerful rhythmic and solid formal architecture, creates very personal music with strong dramatic aspect.

Ondrej Adámek is graduated from the composition department of the Academy of Music in Prague in 2004 and from the Conservatoire National Supérieur in Paris in 2007. His music was awarded the Synthèse Prize (Bourges 2002), Metamorphoses (Brussels, 2002, 2004), First Prize of Hungarian Radio (2004), The Brandenburg Biennale Prize (2006), The Prix Hervé Dugardin - SACEM (2009), The Grand Prix Tansman (Lodz, 2010), the Prix Georges Enesco 2011, and others.

-----------------------------------2015

> Premieres

25/04/15
STEINAR, for 6 voices playing instruments
Text by Sjon
Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart
Festival - Witten – Germany

> News

- Composer in residence at the Villa Medici in Rome, from September 2014.

-----------------------------------2016

> News

- Has been selected in order to receive funding for a CD/DVD publishing by­­ Deutscher Musikrat.

- CD release: Polednice for choir and ensemble, Nôise for instrumental ensemble, Dusty Rusty Hush for orchestra, and Endless Steps for orchestra, for the label Wergo (WER 6419 2).

- Video release: Karakuri for voice and instrumental ensemble, Kameny for choir and instrumental ensemble, and Körper und Seele for air machine, choir and orchestra, for the label Wergo (WER 6419 2).

-----------------------------------2017

> Premieres

10/07/17
THROWING, for 6 voices playing instruments and 1 percussionist
Text by Sjon
Académie du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence
Maynier d’Oppède - Festival - Aix-en-Provence - France

15/12/17
FOLLOW ME, concerto for violin and orchestra
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks - Cond.: Peter Rundel
Vl.: Isabelle Faust
Herkulessaal der Residenz - München - Germany

-----------------------------------2018

> Premieres

07/07/18
SEVEN STONES, for 12 singers, instrumentists and dancers
Text by Sjón
Ensemble accentus / axe 21
4 singers soloists : Landy Andriamboavonjy, Anne-Emmanuelle Davy, Shigeko Hata, Nicolas Simeha
Staging and choreography: Éric Oberdorff
Festival international d’art lyrique, Théâtre du Jeu de Paume - Aix-en-Provence - France

> News

- Price FEDORA-Generali: Seven Stones, libretto by Sjón, opera for 4 solo voices and 16 singers playing an instrument.

-----------------------------------2019

> Premieres

17/02/19
LOST PRAYER BOOK, for sheng and instrumental ensemble
Ensemble Musikfabrik - Sheng: Wu Wei
Cond.: Ondřej Adámek
WDR Funkhaus Wallrafplatz - Köln - Germany

12/05/19
MAN TIME STONE TIME, for 4 solo voices and large orchestra
Text by Sjón
Neseven Vokalensemble and WDR Sinfonieorchester - Cond.: Michael Wendeberg
Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, Theatersaal - Witten - Germany

MONOGRAPHIC RECORDINGS

> 2016 / Wergo WER 6419 2 (DVD)
KARAKURI, for voice and ensemble
Ensemble Modern - Shigeko Hata (voice) - Ondrej Adamek (conductor)
KAMENY, for choir and ensemble
Ensemble intercontemporain - George Benjamin (conductor) / SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart - Florian Helgath (conductor)
KÖRPER UND SEELE, for airmachine, choir and orchestra
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg - François-Xavier Roth (conductor) / SWR Vokalensemble Stuttgart - Florian Helgath (conductor)
Christoph Grund (airmachine)

> 2016 / Wergo WER 6419 2
POLEDNICE, for choir and ensemble
Polish National Symphony Orchestra in Katowice - Polish Radio Choir - Alexander Liebreich (conductor)
NÔISE, for instrumental ensemble
Ensemble intercontemporain - Marco Angius (conductor)
DUSTY RUSTY HUSH, for orchestra
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin - Manuel Nawri (conductor)
ENDLESS STEPS, for orchestra
Orchester der Lucerne Festival Academy - Pierre Boulez (conductor)

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RECORDING WORKS

> 2011 / Neos 11114-17
LO QUE NO’ CONTAMO’, for string quartet
Quatuor Diotima - Naaman Sluchin (violin), Yun-Peng Zhao (violin), Franck Chevalier (viola), Pierre Morlet (cello)

> 2010 / Polmic 061 - Warsaw Autumn 2010
DUSTY RUSTY HUSH, for orchestra
Warsaw Philharmonic - National Orchestra of Poland
Reinbert de Leeuw (conductor)

> 2010 / WDR 3 - Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik 2010
B-LOW UP, for 17 instruments
Klangforum Wien
Stefan Asbury (conductor)

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

> 2012 / Collection ”A la ligne”, published by Ensemble 2e2m
RITUELS... ROBOTS