Piano Department

The piano department has been an integral part of the Janáček Academy since its post-war beginnings. The founding professor of JAMU, pianist Ludvík Kundera, a pupil of Janáček and briefly of Cortot, became first the dean and then the first rector of the Academy for thirteen years. To this day, we can still draw on his analyses and insights into Janáček’s piano compositions, for example, and we can also find Kundera’s recordings in the archives. Among the seven founding professors was also the pianist František Schäfer, fondly remembered both professionally and humanly. Another important personality and head of the department was Prof. Otakar Vondrovic, a graduate of the Ecole normal in Paris in Cortot’s piano class, who was the first and still the only Czech pianist to perform a set of 32 Beethoven piano sonatas in a series of eight recitals at the Rudolfinum in Prague. It was mostly the successful graduates of these professors who created the next generation of the department’s teachers, many of whom are members of the current teaching staff. The style of interpretation and teaching was thus influenced by both the domestic tradition and the French school, but not only by the latter. The principles of the Russian piano school were enriched by the St. Petersburg-born Prof. Inesa Janickova (whose three graduates also currently teach at the department), and Prof. Zdeněk Hnát, the first Czech winner of the Prague Spring Festival and former head of the department, also studied in Moscow with Nejgauze. Among the teachers who are no longer working at the department, we cannot forget prof. Alena Vesela (a prominent organist, the first rector of the JAMU after 1989) and pianist Prof. Jiří Skovajsa (the first Dean of the Faculty of Music after 1989, long-time head of the Keyboard Department and director of the International Janáček Competition and International Performance Courses). Vratislav Bělský left an indelible mark in the field of historically informed performance, and future generations will draw on his publishing, editing and translation activities.

Tools

Piano lessons take place in four classrooms with two long wings. In total, the department has at its disposal in its classrooms and practice rooms top pianos of world-class brands: five Steinway D-274 grand pianos, as well as Bösendorfer 280, Steingraeber E-272, Petrof P284 Mistral, Yamaha CF6, Petrof P194 Storm, Steinway A-188, and six other shorter instruments from Yamaha, Petrof and Bohemia.
Class and graduate concerts are held in the faculty concert hall on Steinway D-274 or Shigeru Kawai EX-278 pianos. The hall is equipped with automatic air conditioning and, especially for the pianos, humidity control to keep the air humidity below 40%.
Class and chamber concerts can also be held in the chamber hall on the Steingraeber B-192.
Some faculty projects, such as concerts with the academic orchestra, take place in the Orlí Theatre (part of the JAMU) on a Steinway C-227, or in the Besední dom (Brno Philharmonic) – 2x Steinway D-274.
Piano students have dedicated practice rooms with grand pianos in the HF building and shared rooms with grand pianos in the Astorka dormitory building. In addition, they have the option of renting several Clavinho’s year-round, free of charge, for dormitory or residence hall use, for quiet practice.

For loan to students

Seaboard Grand
Canon camcorder
Portable audio recorder

Recording options

Audio demos can be taken self-service using the stable equipment in the concert hall.
Professional audio or video recording of the demo or concert will be provided upon request by AVS (part of the JAMU HF) or the studio of the Orlí Theatre (Shigeru Kawai EX-278 piano).