ENG
Kristýna Farag is a Czech flautist, singer and teacher. Born to a Slovak mother and a Syrian father, Slavic and Middle Eastern roots define her artistic explorations; not only is she deeply infatuated by the composers of her native land, e.g., Janáček and Martinů, but she also sings the songs of her father’s land in Arabic. She is a graduate of the best schools of Czech musical tradition, including Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno, where she obtained a Master’s degree with a thesis on Charles Koechlin and his works for flute. Together with flautists Kristina Vaculová and Markéta Soldánová, she won the 1st prize in the Friedrich Kuhlau International Competition in Uelzen, Germany in category Flute trio (2011).
As a singer and a flautist, Kristýna focuses also on Arabic music. With Syrian oud player and poet Marwan Alsolaiman, she shot a little tribute to Arab divas Asmahan and Layla Mourad. Recently, the duo performed a concert at Kettle’s Yard gallery in Cambridge in response to an exhibition by Syrian visual artist Issam Kourbaj. Improvisation is an essential part of this music which Kristýna delivers not only in her rendition of Arabic modes, but also in Prague based improvisation quartet Fahrzavö consisting of three woodwinds and a cimbalom player.
In 2015, she took part as a soloist in a unique project Zdeněk Liška: Marketa Lazarová that was performed by Baborak Ensemble and recorded live. The project also appeared on the concert programme of The Prague Symphony Orchestra in March 2022, where she played solo alto flute under the baton of the world famous French horn player and conductor Radek Baborák. At the Prague’s renowned festival Strings of Autumn 2019 in one concert she performed Vermont Counterpoint for amplified flute and tape by Steve Reich and one of the soprano parts in Music for 18 Musicians.
As a freelance classical flautist and a soprano she has been extensively working with Czech contemporary composers such as Jan Rybář, premiering his music for a Czech silent film at Prague Spring festival 2019, Martin Klusák, Jan Ryant Dřízal, Marek Kopelent and others. As for her orchestral experiences, she has cooperated with PKF-Prague Philharmonia, Berg Orchestra, or Prague Chamber Orchestra.
In September 2023, she created a musical reflection on artworks by Issam Kourbaj and Pavel Büchler at the exhibition The Weight of Words at Henry Moore Institute in Leeds. Drawing inspiration from literature, in 2022 she repeatedly performed a selection of pieces from Charles Koechlin’s Les Chants de Nectaire for flute solo and read excerpts from Anatole France’s novel La Révolte des Anges, which directly inspired Koechlin’s series.
Kristýna has also been involved in the vibrant world of Czech theater. For 13 years of working with the well-known Prague’s theatre-music group Cabaret Calembour which was founded by members of The National Theater, she contributed as a flautist, singer and actress.
Kristýna has 8 years of experience teaching students of all ages and abilities, including helping them prepare for ABRSM exams and auditions. She taught flute and recorder at the International School of Music and Fine Arts, Prague (2016-2020), and was a flute teacher at the Grammar School and Music School of Prague (2021-2023), as well as at the Music School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. She also taught privately, with experience in both in-person and online tuition.
CZ
Kristýna Farag je flétnistkou, zpěvačkou a pedagožkou, absolventkou hudebního Gymnázia Jana Nerudy a Janáčkovy akademie múzických umění v Brně. Věnuje se převážně hudbě 20. a 21. století a dílům pro sólovou flétnu, ale také arabské hudbě a improvizaci. Se syrským hudebníkem Marwanem Alsolaimanem tvoří Albaidar Duo, představující českému i zahraničnímu publiku komorní aranže lidových písní Blízkého východu, ale také klasickou arabskou hudbu. S klarinetisty a saxofonisty Michalem Hrubým a Zdenkem Závodným a skladatelkou a cimbalistkou Janou Vöröšovou tvoří uskupení Fahrzavö, které v roce 2023 vydalo své první album pod hlavičkou labelu Hevhetia.
Na festivalu Struny podzimu 2015 vystoupila ve spolupráci s Petrem Ostrouchovem a Radkem Baborákem v unikátním projektu Zdeněk Liška: Marketa Lazarová. V rámci koncertní řady Symfonického orchestru hl.m. Prahy FOK se v březnu 2022 s partem sólové altové flétny zúčastnila zkrácené reprízy projektu. Na Strunách podzimu 2019 v programu Maraton americké hudby provedla Vermont Counterpoint pro flétny a zvukovou stopu Stevea Reicha a jeden z vokálních partů v Music for 18 Musicians téhož autora. Podílela se na provedení hudby k němému filmu Varhaník u sv. Víta skladatele Jana Rybáře na festivalu Pražské jaro 2019. Po třináct let byla flétnistkou, zpěvačkou a herečkou souboru Cabaret Calembour autorského tria Šotek-Orozovič-Suchý. V kategorii flétnové trio Kristýna spoluzískala 1. cenu v mezinárodní soutěži Friedricha Kuhlau v německém Uelzenu (2011). Pedagogicky působila na Gymnáziu a Hudební škole hl. m. Prahy (2021-2023), na Fakultní ZUŠ HAMU na Praze 5 (2020-2022), vyučuje také soukromě.
