Petr Prause

Petr Prause serves as Professor of Cello and Chamber Music and Senior Tutor at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), where he focuses on developing students' technical control and musical imagination while ensuring they feel comfortable during practice and performance.

His educational background includes:

• Early cello studies in Ostrava, Czech Republic with Miroslav Dolezil and Ivan Merka
• Academy of Fine Arts in Prague with Miroslav Petras and members of the Smetana Quartet
• International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland
• Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where he earned the Concert Recital Diploma (Premier Prix)

Prause specializes in cello performance and chamber music, with particular expertise in string quartet interpretation across Romantic, Late Romantic, and Impressionist periods. His teaching emphasizes both technical mastery and musical creativity, drawing from extensive professional experience as performer and educator.

His recent recordings demonstrate deep engagement with string quartet literature, particularly works by Mendelssohn, Dvořák, Debussy, and Ravel, reflecting technical mastery and interpretive depth across different historical periods and musical traditions.

His honors include:

• Concert Recital Diploma (Premier Prix) from Guildhall School of Music and Drama
• Invitation to serve on juries of international competitions in Lyon and Munich

With 22 years as a member of the Talich Quartet (1997-2019), Prause has mentored numerous students through masterclasses worldwide and maintains an active performance career. He performs on two historically significant instruments: a Giovanni Grancino cello (1710) on loan from the Czech National Museum Collection and a Martin Stoss cello from Vienna (1821).