Iva Bittová

Enchanting Czech composer, singer, and violinist Iva Bittová is famed for her powerhouse performances that fuse Old World and New Music sensibilities. In her original compositions as well as her arrangements of traditional pieces, plaintive violin interweaves with emotion-filled vocal lines, creating an avant-garde style infused with the spirit and language of Czech, Slovak, and Moravian folk music. A prominent cultural figure in her native country, Bittová is also well known for her performances of music by Czech composer Leos Janácek, and for her career as a film actress. Among many roles, she appeared in Zelary, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2004.

Iva started recording music in 1986, and by the 1990’s her unique vocal and instrumental technique gained her international recognition. Since then, she has performed regularly all over Europe, but less often in the US. She has recorded numerous solo albums, including intriguing collaborations such as her 2005 CD entitled Elida, recorded with the New York new-music collective Bang on a Can, and the 2007 ECM release Mater by Slovakian composer Vladimir Godar.

Press Quotes:

“Ms. Bittová is a true cosmopolitan, but she remains grounded in local expressions, and her own physicality. She takes on the role of the singer as town crier whose voice animates the old myths and current news. Ms. Bittová’s town is her self, ruled by the rhythms of sexuality, the flights of her imagination and the realities of modern social life.“

“…a forward thinking composer who sings and plays violin simultaneously… Her sound is invigorating, urgent, and also soothing; it is a fusion of Old World and new-music sensibilities, infused with the spirit and language of Czech, Slovak, and Moravian music.”

“With intimacy and grace, she bridges the gap between the Czech folk tradition and the avant-garde. Her voice can gently and beautifully warble oblique poetry one minute, garrulous abstractions the next. Bittová’s unique charm gives her work a constant air of accessibility.”

“She has a chameleon of a voice - sweet and pure, earthily percussive, hauntingly melismatic and even with a touch of rock. … an album that builds with power and contains one musical surprise after another.”