Despite his young age, Slovakian clarinetist Martin Adámek has already developed a rich career as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician. Appointed solo clarinet at the Ensemble Intercontemporain at the age of 19, he is already recognized  as  one  of the  most  promising  clarinetists  of his generation.

Winner of the first prize at both the Leoš Janáček International  Competition (Czech Republic, 2014) and the Clarinetto Concorso Carlino (Italy, 2013), Mr. Adámek has distinguished himself  as  a  champion  of  contemporary classical music. He has given numerous world premiers,  most  notably  Beat Furrer’s Clarinet  Concerto  under  the  baton  of  Matthias  Pintscher  at the  2019  Donaueschinger  Musiktage  Festival.  Also  in  2019,  Martin  gave two Slovak premiers: Magnus Lindberg’s Clarinet Concerto with the Slovak  Radio Symphony Orchestra (2019) and Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Clarinet Concerto “Peregrinus ecstaticus” with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra (2019), both under the baton of Zsolt Nagy.

As an orchestral musician, Martin has  performed under conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Jonathan Nott, Peter Eötvös, and Thierry Fischer. While principal clarinetist of the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, he performed at the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Royal Albert Hall in  London,  the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Konzerthaus in Berlin.

Mr. Adámek is a co-founding member of the Alma Mahler Kammerorchester, which specialises in symphonic reductions of 19th and 20th centuries’ works, including  original  repertoire  for  chamber  orchestra   and   chamber  music   of various styles and periods. In 2016, he  founded  the  trio  Sen  Tegmento  with Zuzana Biščáková  (piano)  and  Nao  Higano  (soprano),  which  specia-  lises in contemporary music, commissioning new works by composers from Slovakia and abroad.

A guest artist at numerous international festivals, Martin has  performed  at the Salzburger Festspiele, Lucerne Festival, Festival Messiaen, Young Euro Classics, and Viva Musica. With the Ensemble Intercontemporain, Martin has appeared at Berliner Festspiele, Biennale Boulez, Music Biennale Zagreb, and Musica Nova Helsinki. Invited as a jury member to the 2019 Leoš Janáček International Competition, he is the 2019 recipient of the Ľudovít Rajter Prize, given to Slovak artists of exceptional promise.

Mr. Adámek received his education from the Conservatory of Bratislava (Slovakia) and the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno (Czech Republic), studying under Peter Drlička, Milan Polák, and Vít Spilka. At several masterclasses, he has had the opportunity to study with Charles Neidich, Yehuda Gilad, Harri Mäki, Philippe Berrod and others.