Pavel Štěpán (28 May 1925 – 30 September 1998) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

pianist whose domain was the interpretation of piano works by Josef Suk, Vitezslav Novak and

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's piano concertos. He has always been described as a man of unusual intelligence, great pianistic style and deep musicality.

Biography

Štěpán was born in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

. His career coincided with his family's musical tradition: he was the grandson of Professor

Vilém Kurz Vilém Kurz (23 December 1872 – 25 May 1945) was a Czechs, Czech pianist and renowned piano teacher. Career Kurz was born in Havlíčkův Brod, Německý Brod, Bohemia in 1872. He became a professor at the State Conservatory in Lviv and Vi ...

, a prominent Czech piano educator, and the son of piano virtuoso and teacher

Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová (19 November 1899 in Lviv – 25 September 1975 in Prague) was a Czechoslovak concert pianist and piano teacher, a professor at the Prague Academy of Arts. Her students included Ivan Moravec. Ilona Štěpánová-Kurz ...

and musicologist/pianist Václav Štěpán. His family maintained close personal contacts with the composer Josef Suk, and actually received instructions for the interpretation of his piano output from the composer himself. Pavel Štěpán made his first public appearance at the age of sixteen, two years later to make his debut performance with the

Czech Philharmonic The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title ...

playing

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's ''Piano Concerto No.24'' in C minor K 491 under the baton of

Rafael Kubelík Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer. Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 1 ...

. In 1971 and 1982 he received the

Wiener Flötenuhr The Wiener Flötenuhr or Viennese Musical Clock is a prize given by the Mozart Society of Vienna (German: Mozartgemeinde Wien) for notable recordings of works by Mozart. History The Musical Clock was designed by the sculptor Fritz Tiefenthaler f ...

award for the year's best Mozartian recording, and in 1978 his reading of the complete piano works of Josef Suk was presented

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. T ...

Golden Disc as recording of the year. He died, aged 73, in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Best known recordings

*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No.23 in A major K 488, dirigent Zdeněk Mácal, Czech Philharmonic, Wiener Flötenuhr 197
Supraphonline
*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No.27 in B major K 595, dirigent Zdeněk Mácal, Czech Philharmonic, Wiener Flötenuhr 197
Supraphonline
*Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No.24 in C minor K 491, dirigent Václav Neumann, Czech Philharmonic, Wiener Flötenuhr 1982 *Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Rondo in D major K.382, dirigent Václav Neumann, Czech Philharmonic, Wiener Flötenuhr 1982

Gallery

Image:Wiener_Flotenuhr1982.jpg, Wiener Flötenuhr 1982

References

External links

Suk: Piano Works
at

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stepan, Pavel Czech classical pianists 1925 births 1998 deaths 20th-century pianists Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery