CD Dým v tvých očích / CD Smoke in Your Eyes

Even as a child I was attracted to improvisation on the piano. When I was studying piano at what was then called a People s Arts School, I often used to take a break from the assigned compositions, and improvise on themes from well known melodies in my free time. This playing for relaxation was just a spontaneous thing at the beginning. It was only later, at the Prague Conservatory that I got to know the general principles and rules of piano improvisation. In this context I have to mention one of my conservatory teachers, PhDr. Arne Linka, CSc., who was himself an outstanding improviser and at my request initiated me into the secrets of this branch of music. I learned, for example, that improvisation could be either entirely impulsive, unprepared and based on the immediate idea of the moment, or could be to a certain extent prepared, i.e. thought out beforehand in terms of musical form or particular harmonic progressions. In my view, however, the improvisations offered on this compact disc cannot be precisely classified in any one category. They are not, for example, improvisations in the sense of modifications and development of the main melodies, but are in some cases more like variations, and in others contain my own original musical passages. To ensure contrast between the individual parts of the CD. I have in some places made major changes to the original tempo of the pieces but I have still tried to preserve the genre and style of the evergreens. Of course, there are some exceptions, for example in Moscow Nights. The first and last pieces on the CD are four-handed performances. I wanted to record a half hour or so of music that would create a relaxed, agreeable mood. If I have succeeded, then I shall be satisfied.