Zdeněk Starý

His parents were not musicians but a former Czech Philharmonic player’s mother happened to live two floors below his family’s flat in Lovosice, and so he started playing the violin at the age of five.

When deciding between a grammar school specialising in mathematics and conservatory, he chose music and studied at the Teplice Conservatory with Professor Jiřina Dlouhá. In his graduation concert, he performed Brahms’ violin concerto with the Jascha Heifetz cadenza, accompanied by the North Czech Philharmonic Teplice and Jan Valta. During his studies, he played in the first violin group of that orchestra. In 1994, he was accepted to Professor Jindřich Pazdera’s class at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. After five years in the North Czech Philharmonic Teplice, he joined the Czech Philharmonic. He repeatedly attended Jan Tomeš’s courses in Hradec Králové (Czech Republic), twice won the 3^rd prize at the Jan Kocian International Competition and once took the 3^rd prize at Beethoven’s Hradec.

He collects 8-bit computers (dating back to the 1980s), even manages to bring them back to life from time to time, and has a puzzle collection. He enjoys elaborated compositions by Paul Hindemith, very entertaining but unfortunately only seldom performed, and also likes Béla Bartók, Igor Stravinsky, Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev and Arthur Honegger.