Vaclav Hudecek is a
Czech violinist, conductor, and teacher born on June 7, 1952. He is known for his effortless, natural
artistry and having been one of David Oistrakh’s last students. His recording of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (with
the Virtuosi di Praga - 1992) is the most successful classical recording in the
Czech Republic’s history. He has
recorded standard concertos under the direction of famous violinists, namely,
Igor Oistrakh, Pavel Kogan, and Dmitry Sitkovetsky, who are themselves sons of
famous Russian violinists. I do not know
who his first teacher was but I do know he later studied and graduated from the
Prague Conservatory. His studies with
David Oistrakh took place between 1970 (or 1971) and 1974. One of his early successes took place on
November 11, 1967 when he appeared as soloist with the Royal Philharmonic in
London. He was 15 years old. He has concertized throughout the world and
played in the most prestigious venues as well as participated or led renowned
music festivals in Europe, Japan, and Australia. Hudecek has also presented master classes in
Canada, Germany, and Japan, as well as other countries. He plays a 1729 violin constructed by
well-known violin maker Antonio Stradivari.
There are several YouTube videos of his performances, including this
one. His recordings are easy to find on
the internet.
Oldrich
Vlcek is a Czech violinist and conductor born (in Byk, Czechoslovakia) on May
18, 1939. (I could not find Byk on a map
of Czechoslovakia so I don’t know where it is.)
He is known for having recorded over 200 CDs with various European
chamber orchestras, although the vast majority (on various labels) have been
with the Prague Chamber Orchestra and the Virtuosi di Praga. He has also performed with some of the most
outstanding soloists of our time, including Mstislav Rostropovich, Josef Suk, Sergey
Krylov, and Placido Domingo. Among his
distinguished accomplishments has been his appointment (in 2004) as one of the
principal conductors of the orchestra of the Estates Theatre in Prague. You can read a little more about this famous
theatre here. After studying with
Bohumila Kotmela, Vlcek was a pupil of Nora Grumlikova at the Prague Academy of
Art (Academy of Performing Arts in Prague - film director Milos Forman [aka Jan Tomas Kohn] also studied there.) Vlcek also studied conducting with
Vaclav Neumann, the chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic (1968-1990). He was appointed concertmaster and conductor of
the Prague Chamber Orchestra (established in 1951) in 1980. In 1990, he re-established the Virtuosi di
Praga. He is given credit for quite successfully
navigating (with this ensemble) the hard economic times that came upon Czechoslovakia
after the fall of the Communist regime in 1990.
He had actually founded the Virtuosi di Praga in 1976 but the orchestra
had disbanded for reasons I know nothing about.
Besides Czechoslovakia, Vlcek has also guest conducted in Europe, Korea,
and Canada. As leader and soloist with
the Prague Chamber Orchestra and the Virtuosi di Praga, Vicek has toured
worldwide. His very interesting
recording of the Four Seasons is here. You
can hear Vlcek play Vivaldi here.
