Historical Interpretation

Irena Troupová, a leading Czech soprano, has earned an international reputation first in the field of historically informed interpretation of early music.During her studies, she performed at home and abroad with the Musica Antiqua Prague ensemble, among others, and completed her studies in musicology at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University with a master’s thesis focused on 17th-century ornamentation.
Since the 1990s, when she lived in Berlin, she performed on stages all over Europe, collaborating with T. Hengelbrock, H. Arman, J. Rifkin, Orpheon, Rosenmüller-Ensemble, etc., and in the Czech Republic with J. Tuma, B. M. Willi, M. Knoblochová, Ensemble Tourbillon, Musica Florea, and many others. Gradually she expanded her scope to include romantic and modern song and opera. She has performed in the cycles of the FOK, the Czech Philharmonic and the PKF, with the Pilsen and Hradec Kralove Philharmonics, the Malta Philharmonic, repeatedly at the important festivals Prague Spring, Janáček May, Concentus Moraviae, etc. She participated in the internationally awarded recording of the opera B. Martinů’s “Le jour de bonté” for the Arco Diva label, on which she also released a set of songs by Viktor Ullmann (Schwer ist’s, das Schöne zu lassen) and orchestral songs by Geraldine Much. She collaborates with contemporary music ensembles (BCO with P. Šnajdr, BERG Orchestra, Prague Modern, Konvergence, etc.) and contemporary composers – M. Kopelent, J. Dušek, P. Koeszeghy, M. Štědron, O. Štochl, etc. He also devotes himself intensively to the legacy of interwar composers (Schulhoff, von Hannenheim, Herschkowitsch, etc.) in concerts at home (Prague Spring Recital 2018, Eternal Hope 2019) and abroad (Bayreuth, Berlin, Munich).
Irena Troupová currently teaches at the JAMU at the Department of Organ and Historical Performance and is a sought-after lecturer at international early music courses.

What are you most proud of during your time as an artist?

I think I am most “proud” of the connection between the interpretation of music from earlier periods and contemporary music. A special and important chapter for me is the music of the interwar period, to which I am dedicated as a musicologist in addition to my concerts.

Michaela Ambrosi, MMus, Ph.D. is a recorder and flute player, teacher and music researcher. She studied at the Prague Conservatory, Charles University in Prague, the Royal Conservatory in Den Haag, the Conservatorio di Verona and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. As a soloist, chamber and orchestral player she has performed on many European stages with ensembles such as the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Collegium 1704, Europa Galante, Irish Baroque Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and many others. She is co-founder of the ensembles Musica neglecta and Pro Arte Bohemica. In addition to contributing to CD recordings, she has also participated in numerous recordings for radio and television. In cooperation with Radioservis she released a profile CD “Jiří Čart – Forgotten Flute Sonatas” in 2020. As part of her research and teaching activities, Michaela is invited as a lecturer or lecturer in seminars and courses, and she is also an editor of 18th century music books. Michaela has been teaching at the JAMU in Brno since 2016, and in 2016-2019 she also taught at the Brno Conservatory.

What are you most proud of during your time as an artist?

For every single pupil or student who has put their trust in me, I have had the opportunity to capitalise on and pass on my experience of solving problems both on and off the instrument. Career-wise, I am proud of several performances, first and foremost for my participation and solo performance in a university project with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century in a concert conducted by world-renowned historical performance pioneer Frans Brüggen. Shortly thereafter, I was given the opportunity to perform with conductor Ton Koopman’s Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and to complete a study residency with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in London, with whom I later performed again as an invited artist on a tour of Europe’s most important concert halls. Last but not least, I could also mention my collaboration with the European Union Baroque Orchestra. With this orchestra I also had the opportunity to travel a large part of Europe and play beautiful solo arias. Apart from my teaching at JAMU, I am most proud at the moment of my engagement as a guest teacher at the Ton Koopman Academy, a week-long intensive masterclass held at the Royal Conservatory in Den Haag.

Where do you look for a source of motivation and inspiration?

Even as a student I was encouraged to visit museums, theatres and exhibitions. Another very important source of inspiration for me is reading books on various topics and, perhaps a bit surprisingly, extra-musical activities. One of them, for example, is sport, where one clears one’s head, gains distance and a completely different point of view, which allows and encourages new creativity. Simply being a renaissance man who doesn’t live and create exclusively in his musical bubble, but has a general outlook, travels and is not afraid to speak foreign languages.

If you had to give one piece of advice to students, what would it be?

Every smile from the audience and relaxation of our listeners from the problems of everyday life counts. A musician can even find their Carnegie Hall in a hospice or nursing home. Most of all, however, students should remember that in this day and age they need to be seen, so they should view themselves as “predatory entrepreneurs.” They need to go for luck and not wait for it.

What does JAMU mean to you personally?

A space to create art without any inhibitions, prejudices or other barriers.

Tereza Samsonová – baroque oboist and assistant professor at the Department of Organ and Historical Performance at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno. After studying at the Gymnasium Na Zatlanka in Prague, she began to play the baroque oboe under the guidance of Marta Neumannová and Aleš Ambrosi while studying musicology at the Faculty of Music at Charles University. She received her previous musical education at the ZUŠ in Řevnice, first on recorder and then on classical guitar.

Thanks to valuable musical knowledge and experience from musical internships in Rajnochovice (prof. Marek Nieuwiedzal (baroque oboe), Prachatice (Karin van Heerden – oboe, Ashley Solomon – recorder), Michaelstein (Paul Dombrecht), Trossingen and Karlsruhe (Martin Stadler), she was a student of Marcel Ponseel and Michel Henry at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de la Danse in Paris in 2003-2007. She supplemented her musical education by studying theorbo with Prof. Eric Bellocq from 2006-2008 at the same conservatory. During her studies in France she participated in several orchestral internships (Orchestral Academy under the direction of T. Koopman in Paris 2007, Academy in Ambronay 2005 – dir. W. Christie, 2006 – dir. G. Garrido, Academy of Aix-en-Provence 2007 – dir. W. Christie, EUBO Akademie Engers – prof. Alfredo Bernardini).

In the past she has repeatedly collaborated with ensembles such as Musica Florea, Collegium 1704, Hofmusici, Ensemble Inégale, Czech Ensemble Baroque, Capella Regia Praha, Collegium Marianum, Solamente Naturali, Orkiestra Historiczna!, Wrocław Baroque Orchestra, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Dresdner Barockensemble, Leipziger Barockensemble, Ensemble Elbipolis, Ensemble Pygmalion, Le Concert Spirituel, Les Talents Lyriques, Ensemble Baroque de Nice, Ensemble Almazis, Les Paladins and Europa Galante.

He currently works closely with Ensemble Inégale, Musica Florea, Solamente Naturali and Dresdner Barockorchester.

1. What are you most proud of during your time as an artist?
   I am proud of the students who, thanks to their studies, have the opportunity to participate in early music projects in this country and abroad and who continue to look for ways to improve their playing of the baroque oboe.
2. Where do you look for a source of motivation and inspiration?
   I find inspiration and motivation in listening to music, in discovering new, previously unknown works and the historical context associated with them.
3. What is the one piece of advice you would give/transmit to students?
   Soak up as much knowledge as you can not only within the courses of the Department of Organ and Historical Performance, but also outside the Department itself, and take advantage of the opportunity to study abroad.
4. What does JAMU mean to you personally?
   Meeting interesting people and young generation, possibility of methodical and player development.