Violette Quartet is a string ensemble made up of distinguished musicians from the Slovak Philharmonic. It was founded in 2015 by Jana Gubková Černá, the principal second violinist of the Slovak Philharmonic, who brought together colleagues with a shared passion for chamber and solo performance alongside their orchestral careers.
The quartet boasts a diverse repertoire, featuring music from past centuries as well as contemporary Slovak and international works.
Violette Quartet has performed on numerous stages both at home and abroad, including in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Serbia.
About us
Jana Gubková Černá
violin
Jana Gubková Černá is the principal second violinist of the Slovak Philharmonic.
During her studies, she successfully participated in several performance competitions. In 2000, she became a laureate of the National Violin Competition for the Karol Dobiáš Prize. In 1998, she joined the prestigious Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, where she had the opportunity to work under the direction of world-renowned conductors.
As a soloist, she has performed repeatedly with all major Slovak orchestras, including the Slovak Philharmonic, the Slovak State Chamber Orchestra Žilina, the Košice State Philharmonic, and Capella Istropolitana. Her chamber and solo performances have taken her to the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Turkey, Luxembourg, the USA, and Cyprus.
She studied at the Bratislava Conservatory, the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava (under Associate Professor Jablokov), and the Universität für Musik in Vienna (under Professor Küchl). She also expanded her musical education by attending numerous masterclasses led by distinguished performers.
In 2009, she successfully completed her doctoral studies at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava.
Currently, she focuses on chamber and solo performance and has recently taught at the Bratislava Conservatory.
Andrea Benická
violin
Andrea Benická studied at the Conservatory in Bratislava, at the Academy of Music and Drama (VŠMU) in Bratislava, and completed her doctoral studies at the Academy of Performing Arts (AKU) in Banská Bystrica. She obtained the Diplôme Supérieur at the Conservatoire de Luxembourg, where she later performed with the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra.
Since 1997, she has been a member of the first violin section of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra.
She is also actively involved in various chamber music ensembles.
Alice Karbanová
Viola
Alice Karbanová studied at the Prague Conservatory under the guidance of Professor Karol Špelina. She continued her education at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, where she studied with world-renowned violists Gilad Karni and Elçim Özdemir. Since 2013, she has been living in Bratislava, where she completed her master’s studies at the Academy of Performing Arts. She also attended masterclasses led by Elen Rose, Karl Plock, and Herbert Kefer.
For many years, she was a member of numerous international orchestras, including the European Union Youth Orchestra, RIAS Berlin, and Sommer Oper Bamberg. With these ensembles, she performed at countless international festivals, collaborating with distinguished conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vladimir Fedoseyev, and Garret Keast. She has also performed for notable figures, including the Japanese Crown Princess and the Spanish Princess Letizia.
Currently, she is pursuing postgraduate studies at Masaryk University in Brno, specializing in French Philology. Her interests, therefore, include French literature and history.
Ewa Barciok
violoncello
Ewa Barciok is a member of the cello group in Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra in Bratislava. She completed her Master’s degree in the class of Professor Tomasz Lisiecki at the I. J. Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań, Poland, and is currently pursuing her doctoral studies under the guidance of Professor Jiří Hanousek at the Faculty of Arts, Ostrava University.
Ewa has performed as a soloist with several orchestras, including the Toruń Symphony Orchestra. She is a laureate of the Polish Government’s President's Award and the Mayor of Toruń's Prize for outstanding artistic and scientific achievements.
She has been awarded the Plato Foundation Scholarship twice and has received the Rector's Scholarship for the best students.
She completed a one-year internship (2018/2019) as part of the Orchestral Academy at the National Forum of Music in Wrocław and with the Leoš Janáček Philharmonic in Ostrava (2019/2020).
She also earned a certificate from the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestral Academy. As part of the "Side by Side" project, she performed with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam.
Ewa has performed at numerous prestigious music festivals.
In 2016, she represented Poland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm alongside singer Michał Szpak, reaching the finals.
She has participated in masterclasses with concertmaster Ludwig Quandt of the Berlin Philharmonic, as well as Tomasz Strahl, Marcin Zdunik, Markus Nyikos, Konstantin Heidrich, Kazimierz Michalik, Agata Jarecka, Stanisław Firlej, and Roberto Trainini.
Ewa has also made significant contributions to the performance of contemporary music, with several works written specifically for her, which she has premiered as a soloist or as part of a chamber ensemble.
Contact
Jana Gubková Černá
Violettequartet 2024