Born in 1958 in Bruntál (Moravia), Iva Bittová is one of the most distinctive voices on the
European music scene. Coming from a family of musicians, she developed early on a dual vocation
as both actress and musician. Trained at the Brno Conservatory, she first gained recognition in
theater and cinema, before returning to the violin and, above all, to singing, which has become her
artistic hallmark. Her voice—sometimes lyrical, sometimes close to a cry or a whisper—explores
a unique territory between Moravian folk, contemporary improvisation, jazz, and opera.
Over the decades, she has collaborated with major artists (Bill Frisell, Bobby McFerrin, Calder
Quartet, BOAC All Stars) and has appeared on leading international stages—from Carnegie
Hall in New York to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Wigmore Hall in London. Her
vocal art, which she describes as an inner quest nourished by silence and imagination, is built on
a singular symbiosis between voice and violin, in an organic dialogue that transcends genres.
Since 2007 she has been based in New York State’s Hudson Valley, where she continues her
international career while also teaching voice.
More recently, she has worked with conductor Case Scaglione, performing works by Leoš Janáček
and contemporary composers, reaffirming her place at the crossroads of art music and folk traditions. Both singer and instrumentalist, Iva Bittová offers a borderless voice, where the intimate merges with the universal.