Karel Plíhal
Encyclopedia
Karel Plíhal is a Czech folk and jazz musician, singer, songwriter and record producer.
He graduated from the Industrial College of Engineering and then worked as a designer and boilerman in the Olomouc
theatre, finally becoming a singer (even though he had no formal musical education). He has played the guitar since he was 15 year old. First, he played in various underground country-swing bands in Olomouc: Hučka, Falešní hráči and Plíharmonyje. He produced his first solo album in 1983. Between 1985 and 1993, Plíhal worked with Emil Pospíšil, and from 1995 to 1999 he produced music with Petr Freund. He has also won four Porta folk music
awards as of 2006. His 2005 album Karel Plíhal in Olomouc was recorded in his home town in Moravia
in a 2004 concert.
Plíhal has composed music for numerous productions at the Moravian Theatre in Olomouc, among others Zlatovláska, Sluha dvou pánů, Utrpení Dona Perlimplína, Manon Lescaut, Cyrano, Zimní pohádka, Pašije and Giroflé-Giroflá. He has set music to a few of Josef Kainar's poems, and he has directed recording for albums by artists such as Jarek Nohavica, Petr Fiala, Eben brothers and Bokomara band.
He starred as himself in Petr Zelenka
's mockumentary Year of the Devil
.
He graduated from the Industrial College of Engineering and then worked as a designer and boilerman in the Olomouc
Olomouc
Olomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic. The city is located on the Morava river and is the ecclesiastical metropolis and historical capital city of Moravia. Nowadays, it is an administrative centre of the Olomouc Region and sixth largest city in the Czech Republic...
theatre, finally becoming a singer (even though he had no formal musical education). He has played the guitar since he was 15 year old. First, he played in various underground country-swing bands in Olomouc: Hučka, Falešní hráči and Plíharmonyje. He produced his first solo album in 1983. Between 1985 and 1993, Plíhal worked with Emil Pospíšil, and from 1995 to 1999 he produced music with Petr Freund. He has also won four Porta folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
awards as of 2006. His 2005 album Karel Plíhal in Olomouc was recorded in his home town in Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
in a 2004 concert.
Plíhal has composed music for numerous productions at the Moravian Theatre in Olomouc, among others Zlatovláska, Sluha dvou pánů, Utrpení Dona Perlimplína, Manon Lescaut, Cyrano, Zimní pohádka, Pašije and Giroflé-Giroflá. He has set music to a few of Josef Kainar's poems, and he has directed recording for albums by artists such as Jarek Nohavica, Petr Fiala, Eben brothers and Bokomara band.
He starred as himself in Petr Zelenka
Petr Zelenka
Petr Zelenka is an award-winning Czech playwright and director of theatre and film. His films have been recognized at international festivals in Moscow and Rotterdam...
's mockumentary Year of the Devil
Year of The Devil
Year of the Devil is a 2002 Czech film directed by Petr Zelenka. It stars musicians who act as themselves: Czech folk music band Čechomor, musicians and poets Jaromír Nohavica, Karel Plihal and British musician and composer Jaz Coleman...
.
Discography
- Karel Plíhal v Olomouci (2005) - two CDCompact DiscThe Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
recording of a concert in Olomouc - Karel Plíhal v Telči (2005) - DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
recording of a concert in TelčTelcTelč is a town in southern Moravia, near Jihlava, in the Czech Republic. The town was founded in 13th century as a royal water fort on the crossroads of busy merchant routes between Bohemia, Moravia and Austria.... - Nebe počká (2004) – poems of Josef Kainar, in collaboration with Zuzana NavarováZuzana NavarováZuzana Navarová de Tejada was a Czech singer and songwriter. She began her career in the early 1980s as a member of Nerez, and gradually become one of the most significant personalities of the Czech folk and world music scene...
- Rok Ďábla (2002) – music for the movie of the same name
- Kluziště (2000) - album with new arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s of old songs - Napadl Sníh (Sova Sněžná) (2000) - a singleSingle (music)In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
released as a ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
CD of Česká spořitelna - Králíci, ptáci a hvězdy (1996)
- Takhle nějak to bylo ... (1994)
- Karel Plíhal 1985-89 (1992) – summary edition of the two previous albums with added song Žlutí sokoli
- Karel Plíhal...Emil Pospíšil... (1989)
- Karel Plíhal (1985)
- Plíharmonyje - concert bootleg
- Mávej, mávej - concert bootleg