Hana was born in Olomouc (Moravia, Czech Republic). She began violin lessons with her father, who was a violin teacher and the correpetitor at the Opava-Theatre. At the age of five she frequented the music school in her home town, Opava, with Marcela Kuvíková.
She made her orchestral debut soon after her ninth birthday, interpreting Vivaldi’s concerts. Not long after than she won her first international competition, the Kocián International Competition. At the age of fourteen she chose to carry on her studies at the Ostrava Conservatory and entered Vitězslav Kuzník’s class, a teacher who strongly influenced her violinism. Meanwhile she carried on her public activities recording for the Czech radio and television, and giving concerts in the Czech Republic and in several other European countries.
At the age of eighteen, she won the first prize at the Beethoven International Competition in Hradec. After the end of her studies at the Ostrava Conservatory, she was admitted to the Prague Art Academy. There, she attended Josef Vlach’s class, until his premature death. Her work with one of the leading Czech musicians has been another fundamental stage in Hana’s experience. After Vlach’s death, she continued to study with Jiří Novák (the first violin of the legendary Smetana Quartet) and she worked on chamber music with Antonín Kohout, the cellist of the same ensemble. Hana concluded her studies in Prague in Ivan Štraus’s class.
During these years she also went to Weimar, where she attended Wolfgang Marschner’s masterclasses.
Hana was then selected for the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester, conducted by Claudio Abbado and was invited to the Greensboro Festival (USA) as the Konzertmeister of the Festival Orchestra. She made the most of her stay in the States, studying for a short period with Josef Gingold.
On her return from the States she won a scholarship that enabled her to perfect herself with Alberto Lysy at the International Menuhin Academy in Gstaad.
During the period spent in Gstaad she worked with other violinists, firstly with Yehudi Menuhin, and she played chamber music with Nikita Magaloff, Jeremy Menuhin, Paul Coker and Rene Clemencic. The Camerata Lysy enabled her to go on many tours through Europe and US even playing as a soloist beside Yehudi Menuhin and Alberto Lysy.
She also had the opportunity to attend Pierre Amoyal’s masterclass in Lausanne.
After having left the Menuhin Academy, she decided to settle in Switzerland, near Lugano. During these years many recitals and concerts have lead her to collaborate with the main Czech orchestras and in Switzerland, particularly with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, where for a pediod she was Concertmaster.
In 1997 she distinguished herself at the prestigious Prague Spring International Competition, receiving the second prize from a jury presided by Josef Suk (the first prize not having been attributed).
She was a member of Smetana trio from 2000 till 2003 together with the pianist Jitka Ćechová and the cellist Jan Páleníček.
She participated as a soloist at the most important festivals in her country (the Prague Spring, Prague Autumn Festival, the Dvořák Festival Karlovy Vary, the Janáček May in Ostrava, Český Krumlov, Concentus Moraviae, etc.).
Claudio Abbado, Marek Janowski, Serge Baudo, Martin Turnovský, Peter Altrichter, Jiři Bělohlávek, Otakar Trhlík, Wolf Dieter Hauschild, Roland Kluttig, Diego Fasolis are some of the conductors with whom she had the honor of playing, as well as partners such as Josef Suk, Lylia Zilberstein, Simon Mulligan, Jiří Bárta, Mirabella Dina, Martina Janková, Mark Drobinsky, Ludmila Peterková, Rocco Filippini, Dimitri Ashkenazy, Iva Bittová …
Numerous are her recordings for the radio and television. The Czech television accomplished a long documentary film about her.
In 2002 she was invited by Martha Argerich to take part at her Martha Argerich Project in Lugano.
In 2005 she represented the Czech republic at the World exposition in Aichi, Japan, as a soloist with the Prague Symphony Orchestra.
Since 2003 Hana partecipates regularly in the festival of contemporary music Ostrava Days, Czech Republic, where she gave the premières of some contemporary violin pieces and violin concertos.
In 2011 her debut at Carnegie Hall as a soloist in the violin concerto Riti neurali (Neural Rites) by the italian composer Luca Francesconi.
In 2012 she was the protagonist of the first American performance of Violin and Orchestra by Morton Feldman at the Lincoln Center in New York.
She has participated in special projects in various festivals with her Kotková Ensemble proposing works of the classical and contemporary repertoire, also making use of live-electronics and computers.
In 2015, with Iva Bittova, at the Sydney Festival, she proposed a recital dedicated to the Duets for two violins by Béla Bartòk in a particular version that also included Iva’s wonderful voice. Always with Iva Bittova she has repeatedly proposed the Kafka Fragmente, the grandiose cycle of György Kurtag for violin and voice.
Since 2015 Hana is also part of the Trio des Alpes, next to the pianist Corrado Greco and the cellist Claude Hauri.
Awards
Prague Spring International Competition
Beethoven International Competition
Kocián International Competition
Prague Spring Foundation Prize
City of Prague Prize Gideon Klein Prize
Supraphon Prize