Alma Ansámbl

Silvie Hessová

Violin

Silvie Hessová is a chamber musician. While still a student at the Prague Conservatory, she became a member of the Czechoslovak Chamber Orchestra and leader of the Eberle Quartet, with which she won the Radio France Award at the 1989 International String Quartet Competition in Evian. Based on this success, the quartet was invited to London for a masterclass with the legendary Amadeus Quartet. In 1991, she became a member of the orchestra Virtuosi di Praga, performing throughout Europe and Japan.

As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras including the Slovak Philharmonic, the PFK - Prague Philharmonia, the South Czech Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica di Bari and others. 

At the invitation of Czech-American composer Karel Husa, she performed at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, subsequently appearing in Washington, D.C. and Chicago and at the Weill Recital Hall in New York. 

Silvie is also a recipient of the Euro Pragensis Ars award for the promotion of Czech music at home and abroad. 

Alongside concert performances and recordings, she is also involved in production activities, most recently as a producer. In 2020, she initiated the creation of the Alma Ansámbl string quartet, whose members Martina Bačová, Kateřina Lískovcová and Hana Baboráková Shabuová are leading chamber players performing at home and abroad. The inspiration for the founding of Alma Ansámbl is violinist Alma Rosé, niece of the composer Gustav Mahler. The members of the ensemble do not only focus on classical concerts, but explore other artistic genres, such as theatre, dance and visual art. 

Silvie Hessová’s first project as a producer is connected to theatre and features collaborations with theatre director Jaroslava Šiktancová and scriptwriter and playwright Martina Kinská, whose plays based on historic events have won many prizes. The resulting production, …because of Alma, tells the story of Alma Rosé’s life. The production has found a home at the theatre Venuše ve Švehlovce in Prague and is also a successful touring production. Theatre critic Radmila Hrdinová named it one of the TOP 5 theatre events of 2023. 

Silvie's interest in early and mid-twentieth-century history is also reflected in her other projects. She founded a string duet with cellist Dominika Weiss Hošková, which specialises in works by composers of Jewish descent who became victims of the Holocaust alongside seminal compositions for cello and violin. 

Martina Bačová

Violin

Martina Bačová graduated from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ostrava, earned a master’s degree at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden and received a scholarship to the Cleveland Encore School for Strings. One of the leading Czech violinists of her generation, she has performed as a soloist and chamber musician across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. 

In addition to the Alma Ansámbl, she is a core member of the renowned Baborák Ensemble and Orquestrina, a soloist in the multimedia show Vivaldianno and concertmaster of the Summer Academy Biel Orchestra, the Prague Chamber Soloists and the Czech Sinfonietta. She has performed with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava and the North Czech Philharmonic Teplice, and with chamber orchestras including the Janáček Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Janáček and the Talich Chamber Orchestra. She has performed at festivals in the Czech Republic and abroad including Prague Spring, Smetana’s Litomyšl, the Mahler Jihlava Festival, Festival de Nancy, Festival Mozart Woche in Salzburg, and others. 

Gramophone Magazine describes her as “a strong, highly communicative player, at times almost unnervingly passionate, and also quite individual, who undeniably deserves the many awards and honours that have been bestowed upon her.” Her solo album Elegant Provocation, featuring the music of Bartók, Janáček, Mácha and Enesco, was named CD of the Month by International Record Review Magazine. 

In addition to her concert career, she has recorded film and television soundtracks and collaborates with the labels Universal Music and Sony/EMI, as well as Czech Television and Czech Radio. She is also engaged in educational activities.

Kateřina Lískovcová

Viola

Kateřina Lískovcová graduated from the Prague Conservatory and the Music and Dance Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (HAMU). As a member of the Conservatory’s Noneta ensemble, she represented the Czech Republic at the Paris International Animation Film Festival. Throughout her career in music, she has participated in many performance courses, studying with conductors Ondřej Kukal, Vojtěch Spurný and Jakub Hrůša. She has taken part in master classes in the Czech Republic and abroad, including under the leadership of Josef Suk and Vladimír Bukač and with Professors Wolfgang Klos and Herbert Kefer in Semmering, Austria. She has travelled throughout Europe, Japan, Mexico and other countries as a soloist or as part of an ensemble.  

In addition to the Alma Ansámbl, Kateřina is part of the Czech Sinfonietta, the Prague Chamber Soloists, the Ambroš Ladies Orchestra and Orchestra Berg. She is one half of the project Duo Divine. Her musical versatility transcends the borders of classical music and includes contemporary music, pop and alternative theatre projects. She has collaborated, for example, with Czech singers Marek Ztracený, Josef Vojtek and Václav Noid Bárta. As a musician, she also enjoys using her three musical instruments – violin, electric violin and viola. 

Hana Baboráková Shabuová

Cello

Hana Baboráková Shabuová studied at the Music and Dance Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (HAMU) and graduated with a master’s degree from the Hochschule für Musik in Munich. She is one of the most outstanding cellists of her generation. She has collaborated as a chamber musician with the Berlin, Munich and St. Petersburg Filharmonics and festivals including St. Petersburg – White Nights, Prague Spring, Smetanova’s Litomyšl, the Leoš Janáček International Music Festival, Musico Trancoso, Mitte Europa and Lipa Musica. During her career, she has performed at the most prestigious concert halls in Europe, Asia and the United States, including Carnegie Hall, Suntory Hall, Opéra national de Paris, Teatro alla Scala and the Berlin Philharmonic. 

Her expressive musical style and unmistakable tonal presence form an integral part of the sound spectrum not only in the Alma Ansámbl, but also in the Baborak Ensemble, of which she is a founding member. She also performs with the Orquestrina ensemble and is concertmaster of the Prague Chamber Soloists and the Czech Sinfonietta. She spent two years working at the Bavarian State Opera and was part of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Pedagogical activities focusing on the education of the next generation of cellists are an important part of her work. 

Hana is the recipient of the Gideon Klein Award from the 2001 Prague Spring International Music Competition.