Interview with cellist Pavel Ludvík

You won in an audition for your current place in 1998, when you were 25. What were your beginnings at Czech Radio like?

Far from easy. Previously, I had been a rank and file player in the Prague Chamber Philharmonic, so I arrived without any experience linked to the position of concertmaster. In addition, I was one of the youngest members, not only in the cello group but in the entire orchestra.

Taking in the symphony repertoire also took some doing. From one programme to the next I visited the municipal library to get to know, via recordings, the parts that awaited me. Nevertheless, I look back on those years fondly. They brought me new experiences and colourful adventures, both musical and non-arts related. And it must be said that I had the great support of members of my mother group as well as the other musicians.

Could you please weigh up those years for us? What did the years with the PRSO give you, or perhaps take from you?

This year is my 16th season at Czech Radio. Apart from a couple of exceptions, they’ve been happy years. I got to know a great amount of symphonic and also chamber music. I have been able to fulfil myself through solo recordings and concerts, and thanks to the orchestra fortune also smiled on me in my personal life; it was here I found the love of my life, today my wife.

What are you looking forward to in the current season?

Today’s concert, naturally! For every cellist, playing Dvořák with an orchestra is a great occasion and a reward, but it’s also a challenge. By the way, many regard it as the most beautiful concerto for cello and perhaps one of the most beautiful instrumental pieces there is. I’m also looking forward to Brahms’ violin concerto, Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Bernstein’s Candide, Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss and Orff’s cantata Carmina Burana. And apart from work? To a holiday and days of rest, of course, like every normal person…

What’s your impression of the renovated Studio 1? Is it a strong stimulus to doing further work?

I think that for all of us the most important fact is that we finally have our own headquarters, which we’d been waiting for a long time. It could do with a few adjustments to be completely satisfactory, but that’s just a detail. The studio has made an unusually futuristic impression on me. (You know, I’m somewhat conservative in this regard; I don’t like changing things or environments in which I feel good). But I’m starting to get used to it. Returning to our mother building in Vinohrady is certainly a stimulus to further work. And I’m glad that the nomadic manoeuvres of the last six years, so undignified for an ensemble like the PRSO, are definitely a thing of the past.

Alongside your work, do you have time for other activities, be they solo or chamber?

With me activities are always contingent on opportunity. To be honest, the time could be found, but recently chances to perform have become ever harder. So rather than rehearsing with a trio or quartet just for ourselves, I’d rather spend time with my wife in the countryside, where there’s always something to do. We’ve got a house left by my grandparents and I’m trying to renovate it as I want it to look as a place to live permanently.

That’s wise! But you’ve certainly set enough time aside for Dvořák. Did you listen to any recordings too during your preparations?

It would be foolish and vain to forego listening to the world’s greatest stars. Of course, I’ve got my favourites, who play absolutely sensationally, but I most certainly wouldn’t like to copy them. I try to follow my own path, “what my heart says”, and I believe that as a child of the Czech basin, Dvořák’s music is naturally close to me. The actual time on stage will be a question of the moment, mood and momentary inspiration. I never know until the last moment whether stage fright or joy will triumph. It’s in the hands of a higher power.

When did you actually learn the concerto? And which of your performances do you look back on fondly?

Dvořák’s cello concerto can’t just be studied and then, hey presto, you’ve got it. A person has to study such a concerto their whole life and a lot depends on what direction his life is taking and what experience he’s going through; all that subsequently influences one’s feelings, which are reflected in the interpretation. I’ve played the concerto with a full orchestra three times. I most fondly remember a performance five years ago with the Pilsen Philharmonic conducted by the great Jiří Stárek.

Given all of your artistic and professional experiences, what does music mean to you today?

I regard music as a wealth that nobody can ever take away from me. We, musicians, have an amazing opportunity to co-contribute in the interpretation of pieces by the most renowned composers in the world, and to perceive their most subtle harmonic nuances. Not to mention one’s emotions. I’m glad that my life has followed the path of music. I appreciate it that a lot and wouldn’t change a thing about it.