Anna Smerdova: The Legacy of Music in Her Fingers
In a cozy apartment in Prague’s Vinohrady district, piano tones were flowing. Little Anna, then a barely two-year-old girl with curly hair, sat next to her grandmother Eva and watched in amazement as her fingers moved gracefully across the keys. Her eyes sparkled as if discovering a whole new world in those sounds. When her grandmother finished playing, Anna stretched out her tiny hands and pressed several keys. It wasn’t just a random child’s touch – there was something more in that gesture, something that Eva Smerdova, a lifelong piano teacher at a music school, immediately recognized. It was a legacy that had skipped several generations and now awakened in her granddaughter.
Musical Roots
Anna’s musical lineage traces back to her great-great-grandfather, the esteemed Czech composer and teacher, Josef Bartoš, whose legacy she continues. Demonstrating remarkable musical aptitude from a young age while playing piano with her grandmother, Anna’s path in music was clearly charted early on.
Josef Bartoš, Anna’s great-great-grandfather, was a significant figure in the Czech music scene at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Born on October 29, 1861, to a mining family in Příbram, throughout his life he developed into not only a respected composer but also a beloved teacher. His musical legacy included piano compositions, chamber music, songs, and cantatas. He was a man of many talents – he mastered several instruments, especially piano and cello, wrote stories about mining life, and contributed music critiques to magazines.
Although Josef Bartoš died in 1924, long before Anna’s birth, his musical genes seemed to skip several generations and manifest themselves in full force in her. This connection was further strengthened by the influence of Grandmother Eva, who dedicated her entire professional life to teaching piano and passing on a love of music to younger generations.
First Steps to the Piano
“Grandma, more, please,” little Anna would beg whenever Eva finished playing. And her grandmother would continue with a smile, teaching her granddaughter the first simple melodies, showing her how to hold her hands properly, how to perceive rhythm. It soon became clear that this wasn’t an ordinary child’s interest – Anna had extraordinary hearing, a feel for music, and an incredible ability to concentrate for her age.
When Anna was five, Grandmother Eva first introduced her to the work of her great-great-grandfather. “You know, Anna, this composition was written by your great-great-grandfather Josef,” she told her one day and placed before her a simple musical score of one of Bartoš’s piano compositions – “Snowdrop.” Anna looked at the notes with unexpected seriousness and then began to play. The melody that flowed from the piano seemed to establish an invisible bond between the child and her long-deceased ancestor.
“It’s as if she knew him,” Eva whispered to her son, Anna’s father, as they observed the understanding with which the girl interpreted Bartoš’s compositions. “She plays them with a feeling that cannot be taught.”
Path to Success
As the years passed, Anna’s talent grew. Her exceptional gift did not go unnoticed for long – she soon began collecting awards at national and international competitions.
In 2023, Anna was selected for the prestigious MenART scholarship program in the Czech Republic. This program has provided her with the invaluable opportunity to study with one of the nation’s foremost piano virtuosos, Ivo Kahánek, a Professor at the Academy of Performing Arts. Anna’s participation in MenArt culminated in a performance at the Prague Spring International Music Festival in 2024.
“It’s as if I can hear him advising me,” she once confided to her grandmother. “Sometimes, when I practice his compositions, I feel like he’s standing next to me.”
International Achievements
Recently, in 2025, Anna’s remarkable talent was recognized on the international stage when she became the Grand Prize Winner of the 2025 Concert Artists International Competition. This prestigious accolade not only solidifies her position as an emerging luminary in the world of classical music but also opens doors to distinguished performance opportunities. As part of her win, Anna was invited and played at the Winners Concert on May 23rd at the illustrious Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Anna has participated in and won numerous other first prizes and special awards at International piano competitions, including:
WPTA Italy IPC 2025, Italy
Global Philharmonic Music Competition, USA
America Youth Talent International Music Competition, USA
Golden Piano Talents Competition, North Macedonia
International Artepiano Competition, Italy
Globe International Piano Competition, Netherlands
Wiener Klassik – International Vienna Piano Competition, Austria
Music Singapore International Competition, Singapore
Concours de Piano Challenge Aliènor de Parempuyre, Bordeaux, France
Les Clés d’Or Piano, France
Lugano International Music Competition, Switzerland
International Piano Competition Carl Maria von Weber, Dresden, Germany
Prague Junior Note, Czech Republic
Amadeus – International Piano Competition, Czech Republic
WPTA Singapore
Franz Liszt Center IPC, Spain
Orbetello International Piano Competition, Italy
International Music Competition OPUS 2024, Poland
Piano Talents International Competition, Italy
Malta International Competition, Malta
Carmel Arts International Competition, USA
Hong Kong Victoria International Music Competition, Hong Kong
WPTA FINLAND International Piano Competition, Finland
Gold International Classical Music Competition, Netherlands
Miclot IMC, USA,
Etc.
The Peak of Her Career So Far
At the beginning of 2025, Anna participated in the prestigious Concert Artists International Competition, where she won the Grand Prize. This award opened the door for her to perform at the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York, where she is scheduled to appear in the Weill Recital Hall on May 23, 2025.
“When they told me I had won, the first person I thought of was my great-great-grandfather,” Anna told reporters. “I know he would be proud. And also Grandmother Eva – without her, I would never have discovered my love for music.”
Music as a Bridge Between Generations
Anna is a thirteen -year-old Czech pianist with international accolades, laureate of 25+ competitions across 13 countries. She is a student at Tiziano Rossetti International Music Academy under Prof. Maria Narodytska.
“Music is like a bridge,” says Anna. “A bridge between me and my great-great-grandfather, whom I never knew, but I feel him in every note he wrote. A bridge between the past and the future. And I am happy to be part of this story.”
When Anna sits at the piano, with her hands ready on the keys, she often pauses for a moment and closes her eyes. In such moments, it’s as if she hears the whisper of her great-great-grandfather Josef and feels the loving touch of Grandmother Eva on her shoulders. And then she begins to play – with passion and understanding that transcend her age, with talent that is a gift from her ancestors, but which she has developed through her own diligence and love for music.
Anna’s passion for music extends beyond the competitive sphere. She regularly delights audiences with her public performances, bringing a fresh perspective to events like Czech Piano Modernism for Children, Prague Spring Festival, etc. Her recent concerts in Flaine, France, where she performed for audiences of over 500 people, confirmed her readiness for further career development. With each performance Anna is steadily building a name for herself, sharing her passion and connecting with audiences through her music.
