Czech cellist František Brikcius was born in Prague, into a family with
a distinguished cultural background. He has been playing the cello
since early childhood. Following his cello studies at the Prague
Conservatoire, he completed his Master's degree at the Janáček Academy
of Music (JAMU) in the Czech republic. He furthered his cello skills at
the Toho Gakuen Academy in Japan and later under the guidance of
legendary cellist Prof. Anna Shuttleworth (student of Pablo Casals) in
the United Kingdom (Eton Cello Master Classes and the University of
Leeds).He has actively participated in many international cello master classes in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Great Britain and Israel. These include the French Academy (Prof. Jiří Bárta), Terezín Composers International Master classes (Prof. David Sella), Cello Master classes (Prof. L. Meze), Jihlava Master classes (Prof. D. Sella, Prof. E. Rattay), International Cello Interpretation Master classes (Prof. Stanislav Apolín), Summer Academy in Semmering (Prof. C. Onsczay, Prof. T. Kühne), Cello Master classes (Prof. L. Uynterlinde), Eton Cello Master classes (Prof. J. Goritzki, Prof. Melissa Phelps, Prof. Anna Shuttleworth), Jerusalem Academy Master classes in Jezreel Valley (Prof. S. Magen), Terezín Composers Master classes in Israel (Prof. D.Sella).
He has performed at many festivals including Lotherton Hall Young Artists Platform (UK), Festival Czech and Slovak Music in London (UK), Festival History, Music & Memory (Israel), Festival Music in the Valley (Israel), Violoncello in Brussels (Belgium), Spring in Russia (Moscow), LFŠ (Czech Republic), Year of Jewish Culture - 100 Years of the Jewish Museum in Prague (Czech Republic), Weinberger Tour (Czech Republic), Dvořák's musical Nelahozeves (Czech Republic), Musicale delle Nazioni (Italy), Premičres rencontres avec Paul Bazelaire (France), Chotěboř's Spring (Czech Republic), Boskovice (Czech Republic), Baščaršijske noći (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Duo Brikcius - 2 Cellos Tour, 54th Dvořák's Festival, Festival Theatrum Kuks, European Days of Jewish Culture, Století andělů a ďáblů v Pošumaví, Daniel Pearl Music Festival, Festival Rádia Devín (Slovakia), 2e Festival Culturel International de Musique Symphonique (Algeria), Smetana's Days Festival, Festival Brikcius.
He also enthusiastically visits cello festivals where he is able to mix with other young artists. These include the RNCM Manchester International Cello Festival 2004, Cello Meisterkurse & Konzerte Kronberg Academy 2004.
František Brikcius was the winner of the Anglo-Czech Competition in London (1999). He was awarded 2nd prize at the International String Competition London (2000), and 2nd prize at the International String Competition Jihlava (2003).
He was a fellow of the Czech Music Foundation (ČHF) in the 2001 and 2002 for the interpretation of contemporary Czech composers.
František Brikcius has been supported by Foundation Nadání Josefa, Marie a Zdeňky Hlávkových, Österreichisches Kulturinstitut Prag, Johannes Brahms Wettbewerb, Czech Music Foundation (ČHF), Foundation Gideon Klein for the propagation of works written by Gideon Klein, Foundation Pro talent, Music Foundation OSA, Foundation Charta 77, Foundation Život Umělce, Summer Academy in Semmering Scholarship, Socrates-Erasmus Scholarship, Japanese Toho Gakuen Fellowship, Thomastik Infeld, Czech Centres, Jewish Museum in Prague, City of Prague, City of Brno, Czech Television, Czech Radio, Slovak Radio and Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.
He chose to dedicate his life to the interpretation of cello compositions written by composers of the 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, with special consideration given to compositions for cello solo. He also allows himself time to concentrate on works by Czech, Terezín and contemporary composers.
František Brikcius plays a "George Kriwalski" cello made in 1904. Together with his sister Anna Brikcius, he is a founder member of the "Duo Brikcius". They are both appearing as part of the "Duo Brikcius - 2 Cellos Tour" in the Czech Republic (Praha, Brno, Chotěboř, Lidice, Točník, Velké Březno, Veselí nad Moravou, Jičín, Telč, Boskovice, Praha - Šeberov, Klatovy, Praha - Chodov, Praha - Vysočany, Praha - Slivenec, Radnice, Louny, Turnov, Frýdlant, Praha - Petrovice, Polešovice, Tábor, Beroun, Rájec-Jestřebí, Plzeň, Kladno, …) and abroad (Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, USA and the United Kingdom).
Music cooperation with Talich chamber orchestra, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin, pianist Tomáš Víšek, cellist Anna Brikciusová, Russian conductor Misha Rachlevsky, composer Irena Kosíková and conductor Jan Talich.
Since 2012 he is artistic director of the "Festival Brikcius" - Chamber Music Concert Series in Prague.
František Brikcius created his first independent music documentary film MAKANNA (in the cooperation with the Jewish Museum in Prague and under the auspices of Sir Tom Stoppard and Václav Havel) in 2015. It's based on the novel of the Jewish writer Jiří Weil, about the rise and fall of the 7th century false prophet with his face covered with the green veil and his eyes glowing as embers. It was recently screened in Prague (Daniel Pearl World Music Days), Beijing (the 9the European Union Film Festival in China) and in Lisbon (MUVI - International Music Film Festival in Portugal). Recently he is working on new music documentary film eSACHERe (2018).
As a soloist František has performed at many festivals in Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, Uzbekistan and the United Kingdom.
More information about František Brikcius and his projects ("Prague - Brno: 6 Contemporary Composers for Cello Solo in the interpretation of František Brikcius", "Tartini's L'Arte dell'Arco in the interpretation of František Brikcius", "7 Candles", "Weinberger Tour", "Duo Brikcius - 2 Cellos Tour", "MAKANNA", "eSACHERe" & "Festival Brikcius") is available on websites http://www.Brikcius.com and/or http://Festival.Brikcius.com .
