Libor Pešek (22 June 1933 – 23 October 2022) was a Czech

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

. He was among the most famous conductors of his time, working regularly across Europe as chief conductor of orchestras in Prague, but also for ten years with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. His career spanned more than 70 years during which he won awards from Great Britain and others. He conducted Czech music by composers such as

Vítězslav Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important e ...

Josef Suk Josef Suk may refer to: * Josef Suk (composer) (1874–1935), Czech composer and violinist * Josef Suk (violinist) (1929–2011), his grandson, Czech violinist and conductor {{Hndis, Suk, Josef ...

and

Pavel Josef Vejvanovský Pavel Josef Vejvanovský (c. 1639 – 24 July 1693) was a Czechs, Czech-Moravian composer and trumpeter of the Baroque music, Baroque period. Life Vejvanovský was born probably in Hlučín (possibly in Hukvaldy), probably in 1639 or 1640 (1633 i ...

better known by performances and recordings.

Life and career

Pešek was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, on 22 June 1933. He attended a grammar school, where he established his own jazz band. He then studied conducting, piano, cello and trombone at the Academy of Musical Arts, with

Václav Smetáček Václav Smetáček (30 September 1906 in Brno – 18 February 1986 in Prague) was a Czech conductor, composer, and oboist. He studied in Prague among others with Jaroslav Křička, conducting with Metod Doležil and Pavel Dědeček, musicolog ...

and

Karel Ančerl Karel Ančerl (11 April 1908 – 3 July 1973) was a Czechoslovak conductor and composer, renowned especially for his performances of contemporary music and for his interpretations of music by Czech composers. Ančerl was born into a prosper ...

among his teachers. Pešek worked at the

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

Opera and the

Prague National Opera The State Opera (Czech: Státní opera) is an opera house in Prague, Czech Republic. It is part of the National Theatre of the Czech Republic, founded by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in 1992. The theatre itself originally opened in ...

. From 1958 to 1964, he was the director of Prague Chamber Harmony, which he founded. In the seventies, he directed orchestras in Leeuwarden and

Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...

, Netherlands. He also formed the Sebastian Orchestra. Pešek was chief conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic from 1981 to 1982, and from 1982 to 1990 was conductor-in-residence of 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 ...

. He served as the conductor at the inauguration of Václav Havel in December 1989. In the UK, Pešek was music director of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic (RLPO) from 1987 to 1998, and held the title of conductor laureate then, which included an annual concert. His work with the RLPO included leading the premiere of Anthony Powers' Horn Concerto, with Michael Thompson as the soloist. He led the orchestra in 1993 to open the

Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...

festival, the first foreign orchestra to be invited. He also took the group on its first tour of the United States. During his time with the RLPO, it was dubbed "the best Czech orchestra outside Prague". Beginning in 2007, Pešek was the chief conductor of the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. He stood down from this position at the close of the 2018–2019 season. Pešek was best known for his interpretations of Czech music. He was a champion of lesser known Czech composers, particularly

and

. His recordings included music of

. On 23 October 2022, Jan Hasenöhrl, a Czech trumpeter, announced Pesek´s death, Pesek was 89.

Awards and honours

Pešek was appointed an

Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(KBE) in 1996, on the occasion of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

's state visit to Prague. He was conferred the First Grade of the Czech Medal of Merit by Václav Havel one year later. In recognition of him selling 635,000 records, Pešek was given a diamond record by Supraphon in 2013.

References

External links

IMG Artists agency page on Libor Pešek
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pesek, Libor 1933 births 2022 deaths 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Czech male musicians 21st-century classical musicians 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century Czech male musicians Conductors (music) awarded knighthoods Czech conductors (music) Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Male conductors (music) Musicians from Prague Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic)