Jan Čmejla -About me
Jan Čmejla was born in 2003. He has been playing the piano since the age of six. He received his first musical education at the I. Hurník Elementary School of Art and at the Gymnasium and Music School of the Capital City of Prague, where he studied under the guidance of prof. T. Vejvodová and prof. L. Klánský. Since 2018 he studied the piano at the Prague Conservatory under the guidance of prof. E. Boguni. Since 2022 he has been studying with the distinguished Professor W. Schmitt-Leonardy at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim.
In March 2025 he won the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition Leipzig 2025, the first ever victory of a Czech pianist in the most prestigious international Bach competition. In addition to the title of “Bachpreisträger”, he won the Audience Award and other prizes, such as the release of his own CD, and together with the other finalists he will also perform a triple concert at the Bachfest in Leipzig Gewandhaus in June under the baton of Jakub Hrůša.
In 2023, Jan became a laureate of the foundation of the world-renowned cellist Gautier Capuçon, with whom he played at Elmau Castle in Germany. He has been the youngest winner of one of the most prestigious piano competitions in Europe “Concours International de Piano d'Epinal 2022” and is a laureate of a number of international competitions including Santa Cecilia (2021), Dvořák International Piano Competition - Concertino Praga (absolute winner in 2019) and is also the holder of the Kern Foundation Prize of the outstanding Russian pianist Olga Kern. In 2015, he met Chinese pianist Lang Lang during the Allianz Junior Music Camp in Vienna, which is open to ten selected talents from all over the world. Jan also participated in a masterclass with renowned pianist Boris Giltburg.
Thanks to his competition achievements, he had the opportunity to perform with the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonics, Brno Philharmonic, Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice, North Czech Philharmonic Teplice, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, and Slovak State Philharmonic Košice.
In March 2019, he performed a solo recital at the National Bohemian Hall in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as part of the prestigious Millennium Stage concert series. He also gave solo recitals in Chicago (2019), Barcelona (2021) and Ottawa (2023). He performed alongside Václav Hudeček at the Music Festival 2016 and also gave a solo concert at the IMF Český Krumlov 2021.
In 2024 he released the album Přeskoumáno with works by Sergei Rachmaninov and Czech composer Adam Skoumal on Radioservis. In the same year, he also made his Asian debut by performing in Hong Kong at the Alliance Hall. Besides performing, Jan enjoys teaching and has given numerous masterclasses at the Performing Academy of Arts, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Educational University of Hong Kong.
On the recommendation of Professor Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy at University of Music and Performing Arts Mannheim
“His sense for style, his ability to read, analyse and interpret a score, his fantastic technical abilities and his outstanding focus on his personal and artistic progress and development make him one of the most interesting talents that I have met in the course of my career as a pianist and Professor.”
Lukáš Vondráček - Winner of the Queen-Elisabeth Competition in Brussels
"I have followed and admired Jan’s musicianship for almost a decade and witnessed his growth as a thoughtful, brilliant and imaginative artist. Jan embodies the qualities I look for in a young pianist. Serious, passionate and committed to his art, Jan is a highly accomplished musician deserving of your utmost attention."