Biography
A musician's musician, Petra Poláčková, was born in 1985 in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Czech Republic, and began her guitar studies at the age of six with Bohuslav Faltus and Miroslava Pavelková at the music school in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, and later with Prof. Zdeněk Dvořák at the music school “Lounských” in Prague.
From 2004 to 2010, she studied at the Pardubice Conservatory under Prof. Petr Saidl. During this time, she also taught guitar at music schools in Hradec Králové and Choceň. She continued her musical education at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, studying with Prof. Paolo Pegoraro, where she completed her Bachelor’s degree (Performance and Pedagogy) and Master’s degree (Performance), both with honors.
From 2018 to 2024, she taught at the Franz Schubert Music School in Fürstenfeld and the Johann-Joseph-Fux Conservatory in Graz, Austria. Currently, she teaches at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus/Aalborg (Denmark) and the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar (Germany).
Over the years, Petra Poláčková has dedicated herself to the romantic guitar and its specialized repertoire. In recent years, her focus has shifted to early music, leading her to study the viola da gamba with Christoph Urbanetz and the lute with Prof. David Bergmüller.
Her artistic career has taken her to concerts, masterclasses, juries, and conferences at renowned festivals and guitar events around the world, including in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Italy, France, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Israel, Mexico, Australia, the USA, Chile, and Switzerland.
In June 2020, she released her debut CD WEISS, featuring works by the German lutenist Sylvius Leopold Weiss, recorded on a 9-string romantic guitar. In April 2025, her second CD J. K. Mertz was released by Bridge Records, produced by David Starobin. Both CDs reflect her passion for the repertoire of the Baroque and Romantic eras.
Since 2010, Petra Poláčková has also been actively involved in the organization of the Guitar Festival Mikulov (Czech Republic), where she contributes her artistic and organizational expertise to the development of the international guitar scene.
Petra Poláčková performs on a historical guitar by Domingo Esteso (1923; a courtesy of M°Gabriele Lodi), a classical guitar made by Martin Šuk (Esteso copies), and a 9-string romantic guitar made by Jan Tuláček (2014).