Jeffrey Jacob

As a pianist, Jacob has been described by the Warsaw Music Journal as “unquestionably one of the greatest performers of 20th century music,” and the New York Times as “an artist of intense concentration and conviction.” Jacob received his education from the Juilliard School (Master of Music) and the Peabody Conservatory (Doctorate) and counts as his principal teachers Mieczyslaw Munz, Carlo Zecchi, and Leon Fleisher. Since his debut with the London Philharmonic in Royal Festival Hall, he has appeared as piano soloist with over 25 orchestras internationally including the Moscow, St. Petersburg, Seattle, Portland, Indianapolis, Charleston, Saõ Paulo, and Brazil National Symphonies, the Silesian, Moravian, North Czech, and Royal Queenstown Philharmonics, and recently the London Symphony, New Jersey Philharmonic, The Cuban National Symphony, and the Royal Scottish National Symphony. A noted proponent of contemporary music, he has performed the world premieres of works written for him by George Crumb, Vincent Persichetti, Gunther Schuller, Samuel Adler, Francis Routh, Jianjun He, and many others. He has performed solo recitals in London, Dublin, Glasgow, Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Prague, Warsaw, Bucharest, Milan, Madrid, Helsinki, Rio de Janeiro, Saõ Paulo, Havana, Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, Sydney, Auckland, Toronto, Ottawa, and throughout the United States.

Jacob has recorded over 120 works for solo piano as well as piano and orchestra, including his critically acclaimed series of albums featuring the complete piano music of Samuel Barber and George Crumb and the major works of Béla Bartók. Fanfare Magazine recently devoted a feature article to his series of albums for New Ariel Recordings entitled Contemporary American Eclectic Music for the Piano. Additionally, he has made radio recordings for Radio Warsaw, Radio Prague, and Brazil National Radio, as well as a series of recordings of American music for the BBC. Among his many honors and awards, he was the first American pianist to receive the Commemorative Medal from the Beijing Central Conservatory, the first American pianist in over 50 years to perform as piano soloist with the Cuban National Symphony, and he recently received Artist of the Year Award from the International New Music Consortium at New York University for his work as pianist, composer, and educator.

The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra

During the course of its long history, The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra has put together an exceptionally broad, rich and varied repertoire. Its focus is mostly on the grand figures of classical music of the 19th and 20th century. Nonetheless, it also seeks to promote contemporary Czech and worldwide musical compositions, as evidenced by the fact that the Orchestra has performed over 250 new compositions. Moreover, the Orchestra is an authentic performer of Czech classics such as Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Leoš Janáček, and Bohuslav Martinů.

The Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra takes pride in having a rich discography under its belt and performing at renowned international festivals both in the Czech Republic and abroad. However, first and foremost, it is a cultural institution and a major contributor to the organization of artistic life in the region of Olomouc. It holds the Dvořák’s Olomouc festival and the International Organ Festival and also organizes a number of educational activities for children and young people.