Marika a Iris
The special thing about the Iris & Marika duo is the texture itself. The combination of flute and guitar produces a very personal and intimate sound, preferably suited to a room with good acoustics where not a single tone can get lost. In these ideal conditions, you can almost feel the sound of their music touching you.
The first pieces in their repertoire were compositions from H. Villi-Lobos, M. Ravel, G. Fauré and J. Ibert, and later on they added classical pieces from J. S. Bach, W. A. Mozart, M. C. Tedesco and A. Piazzolla.
Besides classical music, Iris & Marika share a love for songs. This interest prompted their interpretations of songs from G. Gershwin, J. Kainar, M. D. Falla, P. Eben and others.
Marika Baránková studied classical guitar at the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory in Prague (Prof. Milan Tesař) and continued at the State Conservatory of Prague (Prof. Václav Kučera), from which she graduated in 2006.
She took part in guitar courses in Wroclav and Mikulov. In 1995 she won the Prague Junior Note contest.
Besides her solo performances she has always been interested in chamber music. As a member of the guitar trio Flowers, she has travelled throughout Europe. Her solo repertoire includes pieces from C. Debussy, N. Coste, M. Llobet, M. Ravel and J. S. Bach. Some of her performances (”Suite in A minor” from J. S. Bach and J. Burghauser’s “Sonata in E major” were broadcasted live on Czech Radio and on Czech TV. She also collaborates with the classical singers Dana Krausová and Karin Urbanová. In 2006 she founded a duo, Iris & Marika, with the flautist Irena Havlíková.
Iris Havlíková started to play the flute at the age of 4 – first under the guidance of her father, and since 1992 at the Elementary Music School in Brno, where she was chosen to take part in a tour of Central Europe with the YMISO (Young Musician International Symphony Orchestra).
In 2002 she started studying flute at the wind instruments department of the Jaroslav Jezek Conservatory in Prague with professor Alena Kriklanova. Shortly thereafter she placed 9th in the international radio contest Concertino Praga.Currently she collaborates with the Women’s Choir Collegium Cantantium (led by Pavla Fendrichova), does a lot improvisations as a member of the Czech band Techtle Mechtle, playing a colourful and temperamental mixture of Chanson, Jazz, Folk and Gypsy music, and she plays in a duo with guitar player Marika Baránková. Iris’s professional idol is the extraordinary flautist Clara Novak, with whom she took lessons at the master classes in Olomouc.
Apart from classical music, Iris also loves listening to Björk, Suzanne Vega, Sting and Keith Jarrett.
