There are so many famous Czech contemporary musicians that if we wanted to list them all at once, we could write a book. So, here goes the second part. And don’t forget to check out also Czech Contemporary Musicians Part 1!
Julie Svěcená
Julie Svěcená is a Czech violin prodigy and the daughter of the violin virtuoso Jaroslav Svěcený from our first list. She graduated the Royal Academy of Music in London, she has worked with several Czech philharmonies, won international awards and had tens of concerts all over the world. And all of that before even being 30 years old.
She is believed to be and extraordinary talent which is not so suprising given who she inherited her talent from!
Lucie Bílá
This lady, whose actual name is Hana Zaňáková, was supposed to be a seamstress. Then several rock-bands noticed her and gave her the chance to perform on stage and she was sure that her future was there. She became hugely popular in the 90ies thanks to her characteristic husky singing voice and large vocal scales.
Her song Láska je láska (Love is Love) where she mentions homosexual love became an instant hit in the 90ies. She performed lead characters in many musicals and released many albums and singles.
Karel Gott
You probably know Karel Gott if you come from a German-speaking country and he might very well be the most famous Czech person to you. He was almost as popular in Germany as he was in the Czech Republic and fairly popular also in Austria, especially because of the fact that he sang the theme song of the children’s series Maya the Honey Bee (Včelka Mája in Czech, Die Biene Maja in German).
Gott was and still is without the slightest doubt the most popular of all the Czech contemporary musicians. He won every year of the Czech music awards Český slavík since it’s start in 1996, except for 2 years. Gott often had concerts in Germany. He re-sang many of his songs in German and in 2017 he received the Golden Hen (Goldene Henne) in Germany for his life work.
Petr Hapka
Petr Hapka was a Czech composer, conductor a singer. One of those musicians gifted for powerful lyrics. He wrote and recorded songs that don’t know the limits of one generation and they are dear to today’s parents just as they are to their children.
He wrote songs for other famous Czech contemporary musicians and also music for movies, for example the Czechoslovak-German fairy-tale Perinbaba. Hapka passed in 2014.
Karel Plíhal
Karel Plíhal is a songwriter, poet, guitar-player and much more. He composed music for many famous theatre plays and performed with underground country-swing bands.
Plíhal has a very unique style, he accompanies his concerts with verses from his poems and not even his bigger fans feel very close to him. He is a very shy artist which was reflected in the movie Rok ďábla (Year of the Devil, 2002), a fiction documentary in which he appears together with Jarek Nohavic and the band Čechomor.
Calin
Calin Panfili or simply Calin is a name that maybe doesn’t sound familiar to the adults but one that (almost) every Czech youngster knows. He is a rapper from Brno but of Moldovan heritage. Although an accomplished sportsman, very talented in singing and able to play several instruments, Calin chose rap and R&B. He inherited his musical talent from his mother who is a choir conductorchoir conductor.
His hits like Playtime, Dopis or Děvče v první řadě have millions on views on Youtube.
Marta Kubišová
Marta Kubišová’s popularity reached it’s peak in the 60ies when she was part of the famous trio called Golden Kids. For her active support of human rights and signing of the Charter 77 she was persecuted by the communist regime and forbidden to perform.
In the eyes of many Czechs, she is one of the symbols of active resistance agains the communism. Although she continues singing and making public appearance, she is also a human rights activist and promoter of animal rights.
Aneta Langerová
Aneta Langerová became a star after winning the first edition of the Czech Superstar contest where she charmed people with her unique voice as well as her shy nature. Her genres are alternative rock, pop and folk. She also writes her own song.
Since the start of her career in 2004 she’s released several albums and singles and won tens of national awards.
Kamil Střihavka
Střihavka is a Czech rock-musician who started as a power-rock singer and later switched to hard rock. He rocked the role of Jesus in the rock-adaptation of A. L. Weber’s Jesus Christ Superstar, he sang several hundred repeats in just four years. He starred in several other musicals and continues his accomplishments as a leader of a theatre company.
He was part of the alternative rock project Zima (Winter)
Lenka Filipová
Beautiful smile and guitar are the symbols of Lenka Filipová, the most prominent Czech chanson-singer. She is also a songwriter and stayed true to her original vocacion as a classical guitar player – she released several LPs dedicated to the classical guitar.
Besides for her beautiful chansons she gained recognition for her songs for children as well as the guitar school on her webpage.
She often sings in French, her biggest hit being Je L’laime a Mourir written and given as a gift to Lenka Filipová by it’s author Francis Cabrel and later interpreted also by Shakira.
The Czech movie scene is rich and varied. For more info follow our Music cathegory because we have much more coming for the music fans!
