Iva Bittova

Czech violinist, singer and composer, Iva Bittová describes her work as “my own personal folk music.” It has been called “so intimate and personal you can almost feel her breath on your ears.” (CMJ). New York Magazine calls it “a fusion of Old World and new-music sensibilities, infused with the spirit and language of Czech, Slovak, and Moravian folk music.” Born in Bruntal, in Moravia, she attended a local conservatory to study music and drama, later joining the avant-garde Theatre On A String. She has appeared in multiple television and film roles, including the documentary about Fred Frith, Step Across The Border. Uninhibited and without affectation, Bittova is a charismatic performer with an established reputation in Europe, Japan and the US. As much at home in classical music as in avant-garde and folk, she has sung the role of Donna Elvira in the Mozart opera Don Juan in Prague, as well as performed and recorded songs by Janácek. In 2005, she began collaborating with the Bang On A Can All-Stars, recording the CD Elida. Since moving to the US in 2007, she has performed regularly with Don Byron, Lisa Moore, Marc Ribot, and Hamid Drake, as well as with her countryman George Mraz. Bittová says, “I have found the way to myself and thus also to others. I understand there are many hearts in the world, and each beats differently.”