James Stroud

Classical Guitar Competition

2025

presented by the

Cleveland International Classical Guitar Festival®

and hosted by the

Cleveland Institute of Music

Petra Poláčková (Czech Republic)
A musician's musician, Petra Polácková began her guitar studies at the age of six at the Elementary Art School in Roznov pod Radhostem where she worked with Mr. Bohuslav Faltus and Mrs. Miroslava Pavelkova. She also studied with Zdenek Dvorak at the Elementary Art School Lounskych in Prague. In 2004 she graduated from an 8 year high school in Roznov pod Radhostem. In 2010 she completed her studies at the School of Music in Pardubice (Czech Republic) with Prof. Petr Saidl. She obtained her Bachelor and Master Degrees with Prof. Paolo Pegoraro at Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Graz. Between 2018 and 2024, she led a guitar class at both the Franz Schubert Music School and the Johann-Joseph-Fux Conservatory in Graz, Austria.

In addition to her degree studies, Petra Polácková has participated in an impressive number of master classes throughout Europe presented by internationally acclaimed classical guitarists and musicians: Giampaolo Bandini, Leo Brouwer, Zoran Dukic, Massimo Felici, Hubert Käppel, Rolf Lislevand, Pablo Márquez, Lorenzo Micheli, Nigel North, Thomas Offermann, Stefano Palamidessi, Elena Papandreou, Paolo Pegoraro, Thomas Müller-Pering, Judicael Perroy, Pavel Steidl, Alexander Swete, Jens Wagner, Brigitte Zaczek, Piotr Zaleski and others. In 2011 she received the Merit Diploma at the Chigiana Academy of Siena in Maestro Oscar Ghiglia´s Class.

As a result of her extraordinary musicianship, consummate virtuosity, and numerous first place competition prizes, she has been invited to perform and lead master classes at many prestigious European and non-European guitar festivals, such as Bonn, Darmstadt, Bremen, Hamburg, Vienna, Rust, Prague, Mikulov, Kutna Hora, Tychy, Wroclaw, Poznan, Bratislava, Pordenone, Milano, Paris, Budapest, Balaton, Bar, Braga, Madrid, Aalborg, Valdres, Turku, Genéve, Luzern, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Cleveland, Fullerton (GFA), Paracho, Culiacan, Frutillar, Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane (Australian Tour in 2023) and others.

Since 2010 she has been a co-organizer of the Guitar Festival Mikulov (Czech Republic). In June 2020, she released her debut CD "WEISS" with music by the German lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss, recorded on a 9-string romantic guitar.

Petra Polácková currently teaches in Germany at the Hochschule Franz Liszt in Weimar and the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus/Aalborg in Denmark.

Petra Polácková performs on a historical guitar by Domingo Esteso (1923; courtesy of M°Gabriele Lodi), a classical guitar made by Martin Šuk (Esteso copies), and a 9-string romantic guitar made by Jan Tulácek (2014).

Artist's Website: petrapolackova.com/en/