La rose de Paris

Flautist Jana Semerádová is a graduate of the Prague Conservatory, the Faculty of Philosophy, Charles University in Prague, and the Koninklijk Conservatorium in the Hague, the Netherlands. She is also a laureate of the Magdeburg and Munich international competitions.   Jana Semerádová is the artistic director of Collegium Marianum and programming director of the concert cycle Baroque Soirées and the IMF Summer Festivities of Early Music. She undertakes intensive archival research both at home and abroad and is engaged in ongoing study of Baroque gesture, declamation and dance.   Under her direction, Collegium Marianum stages several modern premieres each year. Jana Semerádová has a number of CDs to her name; her recordings with Collegium Marianum are featured as part of the successful series “Music from Eighteenth-Century Prague” on the Supraphon label, for which she has also recorded her two signature CDs “Solo for the King” and “Chaconne for the Princess“.   Jana Semerádová has performed at leading European concert venues and festivals (such as Oude Muziek Utrecht, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, Händel-Festspiele in Halle, the Prague Spring festival), collaborated as a soloist with artists including Magdalena Kožená, Sergio Azzolini, Alfredo Bernardini, or Enrico Onofri, and regularly performs with e.g. Il Suonar Parlante, Wrocławska Orkiestra Barokowa, or Orkiestra Historyczna.   In 2015 she received her habilitation degree as an associate professor of flute from the Faculty of Music and Dance at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In 2019 she was awarded the prize of the Prague Group of the Society for Arts and Sciences.   The Czech Music Academy Awards „Anděl“ in 2020 brought the nomination to Jana Semerádová and Erich Traxler (category Classics) for their CD „Chaconne for the Princess“.

Lenka Torgersen studied violin at the Pilsen Conservatory and subsequently at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under Václav Snítil. After graduating she focused intensively on Baroque violin and honed her skills at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis under Chiara Banchini.   Lenka Torgersen is the concert master of Collegium Marianum. From 1999 to 2012 she was the concert master of Collegium 1704; currently she also works regularly with other Czech and international ensembles including La Cetra Barockorchester Basel, Ensemble 415, Freitagsakademie (Bern), Ensemble Inégal, and others. From 1999 to 2012 she was concert master of Collegium 1704. As a chamber musician and soloist she performs at major European stages and music festivals and also collaborates with various leading figures in early music (e.g. René Jacobs, Andrea Marcon, Jordi Savall, Andrew Parrott).   In 2010 as a soloist with Collegium 1704 she recorded the works of Antonín Reichenauer, for which she received the Diapason d’Or award. In 2013 she recorded a solo CD “Il Violino Boemo” (Supraphon), a modern-day premiere reviving the sonatas of the 18^th century Czech violin virtuosi.