Eva Krestová is a leading Czech violist and, since 2021, the principal of the viola section in the Czech Philharmonic — the first woman in history to hold this role.
Her career spans solo, chamber, and orchestral performance, and is marked by exceptional musical sensitivity and deeply personal interpretative depth.
She has been a long-standing member of the Josef Suk Piano Quartet, with whom she has received numerous awards.
In the 2024/25 season, she made her solo debut with the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of renowned conductor Natalie Stutzmann.
Previously, she was a member of the Pavel Haas Quartet, with whom she performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Louvre, and the Concertgebouw.
Eva Krestová is a leading Czech violist and, since 2021, the principal of the viola section in the Czech Philharmonic — the first woman in history to hold this role.
Previously, she was a member of the Pavel Haas Quartet, with whom she performed on some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Louvre, and the Concertgebouw.
Her career spans solo, chamber, and orchestral performance, and is marked by exceptional musical sensitivity and deeply personal interpretative depth.
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Eva Krestová, viola,
The first violist of the Czech Philharmonic, Eva Krestová studied violin at the conservatory in Brno (with Prof. Rudolf Šťastný) and later in Prague, continuing her education at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (under Prof. Jindřich Pazdera). Since her conservatory years, she has devoted herself passionately to chamber music.
She has further refined her artistry under the guidance of renowned ensembles and musicians, including Trio Fontenay (Niklas Schmidt), the Fine Arts Quartet (Prof. Jerry Horner), Miró Quartet (Joshua Gindele), and the Quarneri Trio Prague (Ivan Klánský).
She has received numerous awards at international chamber music competitions as a member of the Josef Suk Piano Quartet and Puella Trio:
ACM Premio Trio di Trieste (Italy, 1st prize), Salieri–Zinetti Chamber Music Competition (Italy, 1st prize), Maria Yudina Competition (Russia,
2nd prize), Charles Hennen Concours (Netherlands, 3rd prize), and Rovere d’Oro (Italy, 2nd prize).
As the violist of the Josef Suk Piano Quartet, she regularly performs at major festivals and concert stages both in the Czech Republic
and abroad.
The ensemble was awarded the Czech Music Society Prize for chamber music in 2014.
In the past, she was a violist of the string quartet Pavel Haas Quartet, with whom she performed on numerous international stages
(such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Herkulessaal in Munich, or the Louvre in Paris)
and received the prestigious Gramophone Award.
She also performs as a soloist, and in the 2024/2025 season made her debut as a soloist with the Czech Philharmonic
under the baton of Nathalie Stutzmann.
She has also performed with orchestras such as Virtuosi Italiani, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Pilsen Philharmonic, Czech Virtuosi,
and Moravian Chamber Orchestra, among others.
She collaborates with distinguished soloists and chamber musicians, such as violinists Josef Špaček, Radim Kresta, Jan Fišer,
Joel Link — concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra and member of the Dover Quartet (USA); pianists George Fu, Tomáš Víšek and Miroslav Sekera; cellist Hayoung Choi; singers Bella Adamova and Alžběta Poláčková. In the past, she has also appeared in quintets alongside pianist Khatia Buniatishvili and cellist Danjulo Ishizaka, among others.
From 2013 to 2015, she served as the principal violist of the Prague Chamber Orchestra. In the 2020/2021 season, she was a member of the viola section of the National Theatre Orchestra in Prague.
Since 2022, she has been regularly teaching at the international summer courses of Váša Příhoda in Vodňany.
She has held the position of principal viola of the Czech Philharmonic since 2021.
"Eva Krestová performed Schumann’s Märchenbilder like a fairytale — in both interpretation and technique. The fairytale-like empathy was brought to perfection in collaboration with George Fu (a member of the Zimbalist Trio, among others)."
"The performance of Klein’s string trio by Joel Link, Eva Krestová and the charming Hayoung Choi was the best I’ve ever heard!"
"Ms. Krestová captured the essence of the piece with heartfelt intensity and depth."
"The soloists played Mozart so perfectly that I forgot all about some of the famous duos: Capuçon – Tamestit, Fischer – Nikolitsch, Oistrakh – Oistrakh, Perlman – Zukerman, Mutter – Bashmet, Spivakov – Bashmet, Kremer – Kashkashian…It was impossible to overlook the superb phrasing, unified breathing, dreamlike atmosphere of free-flowing sentences, and the soloists’ symbiosis. It was a performance that truly touched the heart."
"Eva Krestová played long cantilenas with a deeply resonant tone that had a genuinely dark hue and spread out widely… To hear the viola sing like this is incredibly rare… Such insight into the character of the viola is something we hardly ever encounter."
"The foundation for a successful performance was laid by the duo of soloists, each presenting a large portion of compelling virtuosity on their own. Yet it was their ability to form a chamber ensemble that truly captivated the audience.
In contrast to the solo brilliance, each player fully devoted themselves to serving the whole. Virtuosic and chamber-style passages alternated in every movement. The soloists created a refined whole, and even from a distance, in their monologues, they exchanged not only thematic material, but also the manner of its presentation."
"Both players eagerly immersed themselves in the thematic and motivic richness of the musical material and rendered it with technically accomplished playing, rich in ornamented trills and dynamic contrasts.
Mozart’s work came across in their interpretation as deeply authentic, clearly articulated and utterly convincing."
for delivering music with absolute technical mastery and a deeply lyrical expression.
“They perform the pieces with great commitment, attention to detail, and an expression conveyed with extraordinary confidence.”
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