Lukáš Pohůnek

Lukáš Pohůnek (born 24 October 1988) is a Czecho-Slovakian conductor.

Early life and education

Pohůnek was born in Žilina, Czechoslovakia (modern-day Slovakia). Having Czech ancestry on his father's side and Slovak ancestry on his mother's side he grew up in a bilingual family environment. After his initial music formation in Trumpet and Piano playing at Primary Music School of Ladislav Árvay in Žilina he continued in his studies at the Conservatoire of Žilina, making over the years a number of solo-trumpet appearances with the Slovak Philharmonic, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic and Slovak Sinfonietta under the baton of Jakub Hrůša,{{cite journal |last=Keferová |first=J |date=May 2002 |title=Talentinum 2002 ve Zlíně |journal=Hudební rozhledy |pages=19–20 |issn=0018-6996}}{{Cite web |title=Koncert Janáčkovy filharmonie Ostrava z cyklu koncertů "Jeunesses Musicales" aneb Cimbalistovy lapálie - Lysá hora |url=https://www.lysahora.cz/public/kapitola.phtml?kapitola=6150&&typ=13&&zeme=0&id_nuts_2=8&kraj=0&okres=0&id_obce=0&id_ulice=0&id_obce_2=0&id_obce_3=0&id_m_casti=0&id_m_obvodu=0&id_t_oblasti=0&id_t_regionu=0&lng=1&od=0&limit=50 |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=www.lysahora.cz}} Christian Pollack{{cite journal |last=Glosová |first=D |date=February 2004 |title=ŠKO v Decembri |journal=Hudobný život |pages=20 |issn=1335-4140}} and Karol Kevický who later became his first conducting teacher.

He achieved his university education at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague where his teachers included Leoš Svárovský, Jiří Chvála, Lubomír Mátl and others. During the studies he made a study exchange at The Krzysztof Penderecki Academy of Music in Kraków where his teacher was Rafał Jacek Delekta. At various conducting masterclasses he learned from George Pehlivanian, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Colin Metters, Tadeusz Strugała, Czesław Grabowski and Mark Heron. As a student he began assisting Oliver von Dohnányi and started to conduct professional orchestras, achieving excellent reviews.{{Cite news |last=s.r.o. |first=POLAR televize Ostrava |title=V lednu se poprvé v sezóně představí hudební mládí {{!}} Zprávy {{!}} POLAR TV |language=cs |url=https://polar.cz/zpravy/pr/13062/v-lednu-se-poprve-v-sezone-predstavi-hudebni-mladi |access-date=2022-11-19}}{{cite web|url=http://en.skozilina.sk/39th-season-2012-2013/c-376/ssz-cond-l-svrovsk-and-l-pohnek-b-bienikov-clarinet-l-a-requejo-clarinet-f-figura-violin-k-joniov-violin/|title=L. Svárovský and L. Pohůnek|publisher=Slovak Sinfonietta Zilina|accessdate=15 September 2012}}{{cite web |title=Štátny komorný orchester Žilina |url=http://www.hc.sk/webHZ/2012/12_2012.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928023220/http://www.hc.sk/webHZ/2012/12_2012.pdf |archive-date=28 September 2013 |accessdate=21 December 2012 |publisher=Music Centre Slovakia}} University of Alberta cites his graduation performance of Antonín Dvořák's Czech Suite within their curated musical selection of online performances of Dvořák's works.{{Cite web |title=Antonín Dvořák {{!}} Wirth Institute for Austrian and Central European Studies |url=https://www.ualberta.ca/wirth-institute/online-programming/composers-of-central-europe/anton%C3%ADn-leopold-dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=www.ualberta.ca}}

After the university graduation Pohůnek studied with Kurt Masur, at first at Manhattan School of Music within a special study programme and later on at Mendelssohn House in Leipzig as a scholar of the Mendelssohn Foundation.{{Cite web |title=May, 2015: Symphony No. 7: Kurt Masur Conducting Seminar / Manhattan School of Music - Anton Bruckner |url=https://www.abruckner.com/downloads/downloadofthemonth/may15/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=www.abruckner.com}}{{Cite web |last=Felix-Mendelssohn-Bartholdy-Stiftung |title=Peter Schreier und Kurt Masur geben Meisterkurse bei der Internationalen Mendelssohn-Akademie Leipzig - openPR |url=https://www.openpr.de/news/867331/Peter-Schreier-und-Kurt-Masur-geben-Meisterkurse-bei-der-Internationalen-Mendelssohn-Akademie-Leipzig.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=www.openpr.de |date=24 August 2015 |language=de}}

Career

Pohůnek has so far conducted or otherwise collaborated with major symphonic and chamber orchestras such as London Philharmonic Orchestra, Southbank Sinfonia, Leipziger Symphonieorchester, MSM Symphony Orchestra, Radio Television of Serbia Symphony Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic, Radom Chamber Orchestra, Tadeusz Baird Philharmonic Zielona Góra, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, North Czech Philharmonic Teplice, Craiova "Oltenia" Philharmonic Orchestra, State Philharmonic Košice, Slovak Sinfonietta, Beethoven Academy Orchestra Kraków and others.

During his engagements he has collaborated with Vladimir Jurowski, James Judd, Julia Fischer, Martin James Bartlett, Agata Szymczewska, Roman Patkoló, Matej Arendárik and others.{{Cite web |title=London Philharmonic Orchestra 29 Nov 2017 concert programme by London Philharmonic Orchestra - Issuu |url=https://issuu.com/londonphilharmonic/docs/lpo_20programme_2029_20nov_202017_2 |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=issuu.com |date=16 November 2017 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Wyborcza.pl |url=https://radom.wyborcza.pl/radom/7,35216,28306323,przedswiateczna-gratka-dla-melomanow-w-piatek-koncert-wielkanocnego.html?disableRedirects=true |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=radom.wyborcza.pl}}{{Cite web |last=Serbia |first=RTS, Radio televizija Srbije, Radio Television of |title="Artlink" od 1. do 16. oktobra |url=http://www.rts.rs/page/magazine/sr/story/431/muzika/2458207/artlink-od-1.-do-16.-oktobra.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=www.rts.rs}}{{Cite web |title=Lukáš Pohůnek - O slovenskej hudbe {{!}} Hudobne Centrum |url=https://hc.sk/o-slovenskej-hudbe/osobnost-detail/3463-pohunek-lukas/premiery |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=hc.sk}}{{Cite web |title=Guest Artists - Slovakia {{!}} europaseason.eu |url=http://www.europaseason.eu/guest-artists/slovakia.html |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=www.europaseason.eu |language=en}}

Contribution to Slovak Music

Pohůnek is known as ambassador of Slovak Music, making frequent overseas performances of symphonic and chamber works of Eugen Suchoň, Ján Cikker and other Slovak composers.{{Cite web |title=Wyborcza.pl |url=https://zielonagora.wyborcza.pl/zielonagora/7,35182,19678790,gral-na-skrzypcach-juz-jako-3-latek-wystapi-w-filharmonii.html?disableRedirects=true |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=zielonagora.wyborcza.pl}}{{Cite web |last=Studio |first=Truben |title=ArtLink Festival's Opening Concert |url=http://www.eu2016.sk/en/cultural-and-other-events/artlink-festivals-opening-concert |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=SK EU2016 |language=sk}}