Jiri Nemecek
When, at the age of six, I first took the violin in my hand, I had no idea what would await me in life. I had a very kind teacher at the music school in Česká Třebová. I’m grateful to him for making me like music at an early age. The first difficult moments came when I experienced what it actually means to study the violin professionally. My teacher at the Brno Conservatory didn’t spare me at all, and I, at first with my eyes popped out, gradually crammed various ridiculously difficult pieces, by Paganini and others. As for chamber music, I first “tasted” it in a piano trio. When, later on, at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, we founded the Bennewitz Quartet, none of us had much clue what it amounted to.A couple of people have already tried to research the way a quartet functions. As the audience sees only the final product (the concert or the recording), the preparation process remains a secret. Like every relationship, a quartet is an intimate bond between people, who not only play but also communicate together. It’s quite a complex process of both verbal and nonverbal dialogue, of constant balancing between the rational and the emotional. What may have been most beneficial for me in this regard was our two-year study stay in Madrid. The daily rehearsals, the quartet lessons, the Spanish lessons, but also the common household – all of that was a real acid test.
The desire for further perfecting brought us to Basel. Apart from the study itself, we, as the “Quartet in Residence”, could pass on the experience we gained to our younger colleagues. At that time, we realized how wonderful it is to work with young people, who, though coming from different corners of the world, share similar values. This immense inward enrichment bore its fruits in my personal life, too. At the Basel Academy, I got to know my girlfriend Martina, who gives me a lot of inspiration and support.
Jiří Němeček (1976) graduated from the Brno Conservatory and from the Academy of Performing Arts, Prague. As a soloist, he performed with several Czech orchestras. He also has valuable experience as a concertmaster (Academic Chamber Soloists, Basler Kammersolisten). Apart from the vocation in the Bennewitz Quartet, he occasionally performs with the pianist David Mareček, with his girlfriend, the violist Martina Bischof, and with the Jaroslav Kocian Chamber Orchestra.
Among his hobbies are travelling, rambling, piano playing, and, in general, any self-enrichment by the means of studying and gathering experience in various areas. The paradise on earth is, for him, Spain, the country of the sun, warm people, amazing history, and vivacious music. http://www.kevin-v-ton.com/gallery.php?foto=170&category=163
