Six Sonatas for Viola da Gamba

Abstract

Petr Hejný, a cello and viola da gamba player, composer and also painter and sculptor, was born in Prague, to a sculptor's family. At the age of six he began to take violin lessons, and from nine studied the cello with professor Karel Pravoslav Sadlo. Soon he was accepted to the state conservatory prep school, where he later became a regular student in the class of Viktor Moucka, a member of the Vlach Quartet. But regarded an exceptional talent, Hejny moved on, straight to the Academy of Musical Arts. After a year he left the school for political reasons and continued his studies privately with professor Milos Sadlo. He was twice awarded the first prize at the international contest Concertino Praga, at the ages of twelve and sixteen. When he was twenty he won the special prize from the Ministry of Culture for the best interpretation of David Popper's composition, The Tarantella. From 1977 he played viola da gamba and baroque cello with The Prague Madrigalists. Since 1984 he regularly works with Pro arte antiqua Praha and in 1987 he became a member of the Dolezal Quartet. He performs solo recitals and duos with violinist Josef Suk, harpsichord players Giedre Luksaite-Mrazkova or Zuzana Ruzickova, flutist Jiri Stivin. His repertoire ranges from medieval works to contemporary compositions, including chamber music, solo concertos and improvisations. In his life as a visual artist Hejny focuses mostly on painting and plastic art, and out of all cello literature he prefers 19th and 20th century material.