Gemini Cricket
02-12-2009, 01:02 AM
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/zq-7.jpg
Last night, I volunteered at the Hawaii Chamber Music Society and helped welcome the Zemlinsky Quartet to Honolulu.
Warning: I know nothing about Chamber Music and know nada about classical music, but what I do know is that I had a splendid time and these men are amazingly talented.
They are musicians from the Czech Republic and are traveling the world showcasing their talents. If you get a chance to see them or get to purchase one of their CDs, do so. They way they play is quite powerful. They are quite entertaining to watch in concert and are quite easy on the eyes, too.
Last night, they played pieces from Zemlinsky, Mozart and Dvořák.
The best part of the evening was the reception afterward. The guys I work for hosted a buffet dinner at their apartment overlooking Downtown Honolulu and Ala Moana. It what there that I got to meet Vladimir, František and the two Petr's. They were extremely cool and quite funny too.
František is the 1st Violinist. At first, I thought 'uh oh, first violinist, he's going to be full of himself and completely arrogant.' He was not. Really nice guy. A tad bit on the serious side but extremely knowledgeable about music.
Petr STŘÍŽEK is the 2nd Violinist. Very funny and energetic guy. Someone you would absolutely love to party with. He donned his "party shades" at the end of the reception and was such a joy to talk to. A talented and enthusiastic man. His facial expression are classic when he plays, he graciously watches his fellow musicians with an admiration while he himself plays.
Petr HOLMAN plays the Viola. Such a great guy and, I believe, the manager of the group. He's got such a good head on his shoulders and was kind and responsible enough to call his wife (in the Czech Republic) from the party to check in on his kids. So cool. During the concert, he took time to look out into the audience to take them in as well instead of only the other way around. He seemed concerned that the audience was having a good time. And we were.
Valdimir the cellist was the quiet one. The rock of the group. Really cool guy who (and I don't blame him) wished he was at the beach instead of at the reception. His cello is from the 1800's and is quite beautiful. He was so nice and like the others talked to everyone at the party and was quite gracious about all the kudos he and his mates received.
Zero attitude floated around these guys. Truly guys you'd just want to sit at a pub and chat with about music or just about anything else. I felt honored to be in the presence of such talented men. And, I must say, they were quite cute as well... inside and out.
I don't know much about fiddle playing, but boy did their music strike the right chord with me literally. Passionate, fun and inspiring. I made sure that they knew that they were a joy to watch. You can truly tell that these guys love what they do, like each other and love their audiences.
The Zemlinsky Quartet. Truly awesome.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/fs.jpg
František SOUČEK - 1st violin
F. Souček has top prizes from the Kocian international competition (1994-1996). In 1995 he took part in the International Festival of H. Wieniawski (Poland). In 1996 and 1997 he participated in the summer academy in Semmering (Austria). He won the 1st prize in the Concertino Praga competition in 1997. In 1998 he won the Tribune of Young Artists UNESCO in Ljubljana (Slovenia). In 1998 he won the 1st prize (category up to 19 years) in the International Competition of L. van Beethoven (Czech Republic). In 1999-2003 he is regularly a full scholarship winner of Meadowmount School of Music (USA), where he studies with Prof. S. Shipps and where he also performed a string sextet together with Pinchas Zukerman in 2002. In 2001 he won the 3rd prize in the prestigious International Competition of Louis Spohr in Weimar (Germany). In 2002 he won the 2nd prize in the International Competition of L. van Beethoven. He studied with Prof. J. Foltýn in the Prague Conservatory and in 2005 he graduated in the class of Prof. I. Štraus at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/ps.jpg
Petr STŘÍŽEK - 2nd violin
P. Střížek played the violin concerts of Mozart and Bériot with the South Bohemian Philharmony and the Suk Chamber Orchestra. He participated in the summer school of Prof. T. Varga in Sion (Switzerland) in 1998. The same year, he won the 3rd prize in the International Competition of L. van Beethoven (Czech Republic). In 1995-2002 he was a student of the Prague Conservatory (Prof. P. Kudelásek) and then he studied in the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Prof. J. Pazdera.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/ph.jpg
Petr HOLMAN - viola
P. Holman graduated from the Charles University - Department of Mathematics and Physics in 1998. In 1993-94 he was a member of the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra (Chicago, USA). In June 2000 he won the 1st prize in the International Competition of L. van Beethoven (Czech Republic). In 1994-2001 he studied in the Prague Conservatory with Prof. K. Doležal. In 1997-2004 he was a member of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, in 2001 he also appeared as a soloist of this orchestra.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/vf.jpg
Vladimír FORTIN - violoncello
V. Fortin studied with Prof. M. Škampa since 1988. He finished the secondary school specialized in economy in 1996. In 1997 he participated in the masterclass in Semmering, Austria. In 2002, he graduated from the class of Prof. J. Chuchro in the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In his graduation concert, he also performed as a soloist with the Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra.
Last night, I volunteered at the Hawaii Chamber Music Society and helped welcome the Zemlinsky Quartet to Honolulu.
Warning: I know nothing about Chamber Music and know nada about classical music, but what I do know is that I had a splendid time and these men are amazingly talented.
They are musicians from the Czech Republic and are traveling the world showcasing their talents. If you get a chance to see them or get to purchase one of their CDs, do so. They way they play is quite powerful. They are quite entertaining to watch in concert and are quite easy on the eyes, too.
Last night, they played pieces from Zemlinsky, Mozart and Dvořák.
The best part of the evening was the reception afterward. The guys I work for hosted a buffet dinner at their apartment overlooking Downtown Honolulu and Ala Moana. It what there that I got to meet Vladimir, František and the two Petr's. They were extremely cool and quite funny too.
František is the 1st Violinist. At first, I thought 'uh oh, first violinist, he's going to be full of himself and completely arrogant.' He was not. Really nice guy. A tad bit on the serious side but extremely knowledgeable about music.
Petr STŘÍŽEK is the 2nd Violinist. Very funny and energetic guy. Someone you would absolutely love to party with. He donned his "party shades" at the end of the reception and was such a joy to talk to. A talented and enthusiastic man. His facial expression are classic when he plays, he graciously watches his fellow musicians with an admiration while he himself plays.
Petr HOLMAN plays the Viola. Such a great guy and, I believe, the manager of the group. He's got such a good head on his shoulders and was kind and responsible enough to call his wife (in the Czech Republic) from the party to check in on his kids. So cool. During the concert, he took time to look out into the audience to take them in as well instead of only the other way around. He seemed concerned that the audience was having a good time. And we were.
Valdimir the cellist was the quiet one. The rock of the group. Really cool guy who (and I don't blame him) wished he was at the beach instead of at the reception. His cello is from the 1800's and is quite beautiful. He was so nice and like the others talked to everyone at the party and was quite gracious about all the kudos he and his mates received.
Zero attitude floated around these guys. Truly guys you'd just want to sit at a pub and chat with about music or just about anything else. I felt honored to be in the presence of such talented men. And, I must say, they were quite cute as well... inside and out.
I don't know much about fiddle playing, but boy did their music strike the right chord with me literally. Passionate, fun and inspiring. I made sure that they knew that they were a joy to watch. You can truly tell that these guys love what they do, like each other and love their audiences.
The Zemlinsky Quartet. Truly awesome.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/fs.jpg
František SOUČEK - 1st violin
F. Souček has top prizes from the Kocian international competition (1994-1996). In 1995 he took part in the International Festival of H. Wieniawski (Poland). In 1996 and 1997 he participated in the summer academy in Semmering (Austria). He won the 1st prize in the Concertino Praga competition in 1997. In 1998 he won the Tribune of Young Artists UNESCO in Ljubljana (Slovenia). In 1998 he won the 1st prize (category up to 19 years) in the International Competition of L. van Beethoven (Czech Republic). In 1999-2003 he is regularly a full scholarship winner of Meadowmount School of Music (USA), where he studies with Prof. S. Shipps and where he also performed a string sextet together with Pinchas Zukerman in 2002. In 2001 he won the 3rd prize in the prestigious International Competition of Louis Spohr in Weimar (Germany). In 2002 he won the 2nd prize in the International Competition of L. van Beethoven. He studied with Prof. J. Foltýn in the Prague Conservatory and in 2005 he graduated in the class of Prof. I. Štraus at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/ps.jpg
Petr STŘÍŽEK - 2nd violin
P. Střížek played the violin concerts of Mozart and Bériot with the South Bohemian Philharmony and the Suk Chamber Orchestra. He participated in the summer school of Prof. T. Varga in Sion (Switzerland) in 1998. The same year, he won the 3rd prize in the International Competition of L. van Beethoven (Czech Republic). In 1995-2002 he was a student of the Prague Conservatory (Prof. P. Kudelásek) and then he studied in the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Prof. J. Pazdera.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/ph.jpg
Petr HOLMAN - viola
P. Holman graduated from the Charles University - Department of Mathematics and Physics in 1998. In 1993-94 he was a member of the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra (Chicago, USA). In June 2000 he won the 1st prize in the International Competition of L. van Beethoven (Czech Republic). In 1994-2001 he studied in the Prague Conservatory with Prof. K. Doležal. In 1997-2004 he was a member of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, in 2001 he also appeared as a soloist of this orchestra.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b268/braddoc310/vf.jpg
Vladimír FORTIN - violoncello
V. Fortin studied with Prof. M. Škampa since 1988. He finished the secondary school specialized in economy in 1996. In 1997 he participated in the masterclass in Semmering, Austria. In 2002, he graduated from the class of Prof. J. Chuchro in the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In his graduation concert, he also performed as a soloist with the Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra.