John Franek

John Franek (b.1996) is a pianist and composer whose compositions “evoke an epic narrative” (Sonograma Magazine). Franek has had premieres of his own works performed in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, with notable premieres in locations such as in New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Vienna, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Lviv, Krasnoyarsk, Ostrava, Olomouç, Milan, Rome, Havana, Quito, and Tashkent. Among these performances, he has had his works performed by ensembles such as The Siberian State Symphony Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra, The Moravian Philharmonic, KLKNewMusic, the Brightwork Ensemble, the Lontano Ensemble, and Trio Immersio. Maintaining a full-time schedule of composing, he is currently looking forward to premieres this coming season with the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Spółdzielnia Muzyczna, The Syntax Ensemble, Hub New Music, Unassisted Fold, and the TACETi ensemble. Throughout the 2020 and 2021 season, Franek has had further premieres with a collection of individuals and duos including Beatriz Macias, who premiered his work Mo’Tri for solo flute at the Tampere Flute Fest.

This year, Franek will be taking part in some of the most prestigious and rewarding composition festivals including the highSCORE Festival, Impulse New Music Festival, the ICEBERG Institute, International Composer’s Institute Thailand, and Sofia Symphonic Summit. 

As an active recording artist and electronic music composer, Franek has a collection of acoustic and electroacoustic albums slated for release throughout the year. Franek’s music is featured on Navona Records and Donemus Composer’s Voice, among others.

As a sought after soloist, Franek has performed on three continents including concert tours throughout the United States. An avid researcher and performer of Mozart, he began touring his “Franek & Mozart” lecture-concert in 2018 and is currently working on a book about Mozart for popular audiences. His solo album Purely Mozart demonstrates his particular love of the composer: “John Franek’s affinity for Mozart is evinced in his brilliant, subtly-shaded playing which brings forth the composer’s work in all of its multivalent sparkle and darkness” (Scott Hawkinson, Double V Digital Recordings). 

Franek has benefited from the private composition and piano instruction of Silvina Milstein, Edward Nesbit, Matthew Kaner, Phyllis Lehrer, and Jay Kawarsky. Through his participation in the Level II Master’s Composition Program at the G. Verdi Conservatorio in Milan, he will undergo private instruction from the world class composers Klaus Lang, Marco Stroppa, George Benjamin, Unsuk Chin, and Alberto Posadas. Franek is the Founder and Artistic Director of his own record label Nous Records, is a Navona Records Recording Artist, and maintains an active role as an educator and masterclass artist. Franek’s works are published by Donemus Publishing.