About Pavel Šporcl
Pavel Šporcl and his famous blue violin are celebrated around the world. He is considered in the ‘royal line’ of Czech violinists, having been taught by the legendary teacher Vaclav Snítil (himself taught by Jaroslav Kocian) as well as by Itzhak Perlman, Eduard Schmieder and Dorothy DeLay. Šporcl, whose iconic blue violin was created by leading contemporary instrument maker Jan Špidlen, has done a great deal to popularize classical music in his country – having sold more than 230,000 CDs and frequently appeared on television, including his recent documentary series on the great Czech violinists of yesteryear, and his regular top-rated program introducing children to music.
Šporcl has appeared with major orchestras including National Orchestra de France, Orchestre de Paris, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, MDR-Symphonieorchester Leipzig, English Chamber Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Israel Camerata Jerusalem, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and Russian National Orchestra, and leading conductors such as Andris Nelsons, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Libor Pesek, Jiri Belohlavek, John Axelrod and Jan-Pascal Tortelier. He is also in demand at many world-renowned music festivals including the Salzburg Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Prague Spring International Music Festival and La Folle Journée, and has performed at great venues such as Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Hall, the Rudolfinum Prague, Cadogan Hall, Suntory Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall London.
His recordings, for such companies as EMI, Universal Music, Supraphon and Hanssler Classic have been received with great critical acclaim, among them the ICMA Award-nominated Paganiniana (2021) and Homage To Jan Kubelik (2022) (which includes the world premiere recording of the First Violin Concerto of the once-famed Czech violinist-composer). Other recordings are the Dvořák Violin Concerto with the Czech Philharmonic under Vladimir Ashkenazy, Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Czech Philharmonic under Jiří Bělohlávek, Richard Strauss and Korngold concertos with the Prague Symphony Orchestra under Jiří Kout, and the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas.
Of his recording of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, Gramophone wrote, “Pavel Šporcl has established himself on disc as the most charismatic of Czech violinists, spontaneously imaginative and individual in everything he does”. His album “Christmas On The Blue Violin” (Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Universal Music Group) went platinum within eight weeks and even hit the top 10 best-selling pop albums of its year (the only classical album to do so).
Šporcl has long been dedicated to the promotion of Czech music. In addition to his Jan Kubelik album, he has recorded the complete violin and piano works of Dvořák, and his album “My Violin Legends” includes compositions of the most important representatives of the Czech violin school, such as Ševčík, Ondříček, Kocian, Kubelík and Laub.
In addition to his classical activities, Šporcl leads a hugely successful gypsy music ensemble that has played more than 400 concerts internationally and recorded two successful albums. His Paganini-inspired pop single “Magical 24” topped the Czech radio charts, as did his arrangement of the Newley/Bricusse classic, “Feeling Good”. In 2024, Šporcl recorded a new rock-crossover album, “Rebel with the Blue Violin”, which reached number one in the Czech charts.
Šporcl is a successful composer. Among his most important compositions are “The Prayer” for violin and orchestra, and solo violin variations on the anthem “Kde domov můj” (“Where Is My Home”). He has nearly 50 songs and arrangements to his credit. In 2014, Šporcl received the Czech Composers Annual Award.
He has been presented with the Sri Chinmoy Torch Bearer Award at the United Nations in New York for his work bringing people together through music, and is a recipient of the Medal Of Merit of the Czech Republic.
Šporcl serves as a patron of the Znojmo Music Festival, Founding Artistic Director of the international music festival Hvězdy nad Vltavou in České Budějovice (Czech Republic). He is also a founder of the Pavel Sporcl Academy. He is an Ambassador for the Dolfinos shoulder rest system and Artist-Ambassador of the Thomastik-Infeld string company.
“This may just be the finest account of Mendelssohn’s concerto that I have heard.” Musical Opinion (Mendelssohn with the English Symphony Orchestra)
“Out of this world…the Czech star violinist Pavel Sporcl tore the audience from their seats, cheering…at the cadence of the first movement you could hear a pin drop…the audience were so under his spell, then showed their appreciation with a standing ovation and long minutes of heartfelt applause.” Tageszeitungen Freies Wort (Tchaikovsky with the MDR-Sinfonieorchester).