Who
could have foreseen that Konicek would one day make Hamilton
just a little bit more beautiful through his years of work
and music?
Konicek was born in Bosnia, Yugoslavia. While still a youngster,
his family moved
to Bratislava. His parents weren’t musical, but "they
had a very advanced idea how
to educate," he said. When it was discovered that he had
absolute pitch, his parents
started his musical training when he was five or six. He began
his musical training on the piano and violin then after a year,
added the cello.
Prior to the war, Konicek moved to Prague to study. His first
professional activity was playing in the opera pit. "It
was not very encouraging to me because I was very disappointed
to play and hear (only) a part of the whole opera. And of course
to play very often the same operas, Bartered Bride, and so on," he
said.
He soon joined the Prague Symphony as principal cellist and also
played with the Czech Philharmonic. After a few years, he felt
the same way about playing in an orchestra.
"You cannot express your personality, you have to just watch and follow
strictly what the conductor wants."
Konicek had special feelings for string quartets from his student
days. "When I listened to the string quartet,
I had the feeling that I can hear the feelings, sadness and more
intimate feelings I missed in the orchestra,"
Together with the principal string players of the Prague Symphony,
Zdenek formed the Prague Quartet. This ensemble built a solid
reputation, first at home, then in Austria. The Czechoslovakian
state concert agency, Pragokoncert, booked them around the world.
The quartet traveled alone and was never accompanied by a state
agent. No one in the quartet was a member of the Communist party,
though one of them was required to report to the state on the
quartet’s activities after each trip.
When the Soviets invaded Prague in August 1968, the quartet had
a tête-à- tête in Yugoslavia. Konicek and
the quartet’s violist decided to defect. They hooked up
with two other Czech émigrés, and formed the Czech
Quartet. Mariedi Anders, who was the Prague Quartet’s American
manager, also became the Czech Quartet’s manager. It was
through her that Boris Brott found out about Konicek’s
new group. Brott convinced them to come to Hamilton in 1971 and
help build the HPO. Konicek played with the HPO for a few years.
His favourite memory is performing Louis Appelbaum’s Place
Setting, a work commissioned for the 1973 opening of Hamilton
Place.
He also built a reputation as a respected teacher. "Immediately
when I came to Hamilton I started with Marta Hidy to establish
a good standard of Suzuki (string program for youth)," said
Konicek. He taught privately as well as at McMaster and the University
of Western Ontario. He was also the artistic director at the
short-lived Royal Hamilton College of Music. Between 1989 and
1997, he served on the faculty of SOCMI, a summer institute for
young chamber musicians and donated much of his music library
to this institute.
Konicek who became a widower in 1977, credits his second wife,
Lida, as "a big support" in all his work.
Before he left, Konicek organized Chamber Music Hamilton’s
'06-'07 season, contracting the Lafayette and Fine Arts quartets.
He will be missed.
Leonard Turnevicius is a music educator and organist.
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