Jan Hudeček
Member of the National Theater Orchestra: 2nd lead BassoonBiography
The young Czech bassoonist Jan Hudeček (born in 1990 in České Budějovice) hails from a family of musicians. At the age of eight, he enrolled at the local Bohuslav Jeremiáš Primary Arts School and, while still a pupil, won a number of national and international children’s woodwind competitions. In late April 2005, at the age of 15, he gained great success in the 15th Concorso Internazionale per Giovani Musicisti “Citta di Barletta” in Italy, becoming the overall winner of all wind instrument categories (up to the age of 30).
In 2008 he received 1st prize in the Czech Concertino Praga radio competition and the laureate title at the international radio competition, on the basis of which he recorded for Prague Radio Jan Nepomuk Hummel’s bassoon concerto. In May 2014 he came first among 111 participants from all over the world and became a laureate in the Prague Spring competition. In this connection, he also received the Czech Music Fund Prize for best performance of a piece by a contemporary Czech composer, specially written for this occasion (Jiří Teml: Commedia for bassoon and piano).
One of the finest young Czech bassoonists, Jan Hudeček possesses an extensive and variegated scale of technical and expressive skills charged with torrential energy. Owing to the forcibility of his performances and great charisma, he is able to draw the audience into his conceptions, naturally combining emotional and conceptually analytical approaches. Jan Hudeček has also given concerts in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, France, Turkey, Spain, Japan and the USA.
At the present times, he is in his final year at the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, studying with Profs. František Herman and Jiří Seidl, and pursues solo concert activities. He is a champion of 20th-century music, particularly Czech.
Since the end of 2011, he has been solo bassoon of the National Theatre Orchestra in Prague, and also plays first bassoon in the Solistes Européens Luxembourg.
Photo: Jerom Dupont