Zdenek Hnát
Encyclopedia
Zdeněk Hnát is a Czech
classical pianist
, known especially for his interpretations of Czech music and chamber music
.
Hnat was born in Liberec
, Czech Republic
. He studied piano with Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová
in Prague
, and Heinrich Neuhaus
(the latter at the Moscow Conservatory
). He won numerous prizes, including First Prize at the Prague Spring Competition in 1957.
He has made many broadcast and LP recordings, most of which have not yet been reissued on CD. The most celebrated records were those of Beethoven
Hammerclavier Sonata
, music by Prokofiev
, Scriabin
, works by Czech composers and chamber works. He appeared on stage in many important venues all around the world. Throughout his whole artistic career, he both performed and taught. He first taught at the Prague Conservatory
and later at the Janáček Academy of Music, for a long time also as a headmaster of the Piano Department. He also appeared as a member of faculty at the "International Kubalek
Piano Courses".
In 2006 he announced his retirement from the pedagogical life due to health reasons, but continues performing giving recitals in Prague
and other cities of his homeland.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
classical pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, known especially for his interpretations of Czech music and chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
.
Hnat was born in Liberec
Liberec
Liberec is a city in the Czech Republic. Located on the Lusatian Neisse and surrounded by the Jizera Mountains and Ještěd-Kozákov Ridge, it is the fifth-largest city in the Czech Republic....
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. He studied piano with Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová
Ilona Štepánová-Kurzová
Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová was a Czech concert pianist and piano teacher, a professor at the Prague Academy of Arts. Her students included Ivan Moravec. Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová was the mother of pianist Pavel Štěpán.- Biography :Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová belongs to notable representatives of the Czech...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, and Heinrich Neuhaus
Heinrich Neuhaus
Heinrich Gustavovich Neuhaus was a Soviet pianist and pedagogue of German extraction. He taught at the Moscow Conservatory from 1922 to 1964. He was made a People's Artist of the RSFSR in 1956...
(the latter at the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
). He won numerous prizes, including First Prize at the Prague Spring Competition in 1957.
He has made many broadcast and LP recordings, most of which have not yet been reissued on CD. The most celebrated records were those of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Hammerclavier Sonata
Piano Sonata No. 29 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 is a piano sonata widely considered to be one of the most important works of the composer's third period and among one of the great piano sonatas...
, music by Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, Scriabin
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...
, works by Czech composers and chamber works. He appeared on stage in many important venues all around the world. Throughout his whole artistic career, he both performed and taught. He first taught at the Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory, sometimes also Prague Conservatoire, in Czech Pražská konzervatoř, is a Czech secondary school in Prague dedicated to teaching the arts of music and theater acting.- Instruction :...
and later at the Janáček Academy of Music, for a long time also as a headmaster of the Piano Department. He also appeared as a member of faculty at the "International Kubalek
Antonin Kubalek
Antonín Kubálek was a Czech-Canadian classical pianist.Kubálek was born in Libkovice, Most District, Czechoslovakia and studied in Prague with Czech pianist František Maxián. He emigrated to Canada in 1968 and settled in Toronto...
Piano Courses".
In 2006 he announced his retirement from the pedagogical life due to health reasons, but continues performing giving recitals in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and other cities of his homeland.