Tomáš Hanus

Tomáš Hanus studied conducting at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno under Jiří Bělohlávek, and later won the International Competition for Conductors in the Polish city of Katowice in 1999.

As an assistant to conductor Jiří Bělohlávek he co-operated in a production of Janáček’s Káťa Kabanová at the Finnish National Opera (2003) and Smetana’s Devil’s Wall at the National Theatre in Prague (2001).

During the 2006/2007 season he successfully debuted at the Opéra National de Paris (Bastille) with Janáček’s The Makropulos Affair. Won plaudits on returning to the French capital with the same piece in 2009/2010. Also conducted Janáček’s opera at Prague’s National Theatre during the same period. Concurrently debuted the same composer’s Jenůfa at the Bavarian State Opera, and will return there in the 2010/2011 season with Dvořák’s Rusalka. Performed at the Polish National Opera for the first time in January 2010.

Among Hanus’s most notable appearances in recent times was his debut at the festival Mostly Mozart in New York. He also co-operated with the Gävle Symfoniorkester in Sweden, the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra and the orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan. Other recent successes include his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and guest appearances with the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the renowned Swiss company the Musikkollegium Winterthur in Zurich’s Tonhalle.

During the 2009/10 season he made his conducting debut with the Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra, the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra and – as part of the Prague Spring International Music Festival – the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. He also works with other Czech companies, including the Prague Symphony Orchestra and the Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra in Zlín.

Hanus has helmed a number of recording sessions with the Prague Chamber Orchestra and the Brno Philharmonic Archives, while his recordings are also to be found in the archives of Czech Radio. His most recent CD featured a Viktor Ullman symphony performed by the Prague Symphony Orchestra.