Petr Ries

Biography

“In the Czech Philharmonic, one is constantly inspired by the performing artistry of colleagues, of the conductors, and of guest soloists.”

The first deputy principal double bass player of the Czech Philharmonic, Petr Ries grew up in a musical family. “As a child, I spent lots of time at a music school, usually in the studio of one of my parents”, he says, adding that his path to the double bass was not direct. “First, my parents signed me up for piano, then I later switched to cello in the studio of Prof. Rudolf Weiss in České Budějovice. But it was on double bass that I auditioned to the conservatoire.” He began at the conservatoire in České Budějovice, then he went to Kroměříž, and finally to the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under the guidance of Jiří Hudec. While at university, he also made a study visit to the prestigious Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique in Paris in the studio of Jean-Paul Céléa.

A laureate of several competitions (Moravian Autumn in Brno, 1998 and 2003, International Musikwettbewerb in Markneukirchen in 1999, Internationale J. M. Sperger Musikwettbewerb in Michaelstein 2002, Talent of the Year 2002), he regards his participation at the Conservatoire Competition in 1996 in Teplice as one of the first times he felt inspired to be a musician. “That was when I realised I could be a good double bass player. Professor Ivan Měrka awarded me first prize, and that started me working to improve. I began being hard on myself, practising up to eight hours a day”, he recalls. He was also stimulated by participation at international symposiums and gatherings where he met the best soloists and teachers, and that always helped him take a big step forwards.

He joined the Czech Philharmonic in February 2004 while still studying at the academy. He was strongly supported in preparing for the audition by his teacher Jiří Hudec, who was the principal double bass player at the time. “There were also childhood memories in the background of all of this”, says Ries. “We often listened to Czech Philharmonic concerts at home, and already back then I was attracted by the idea of being a part of a big, prestigious orchestra.” Besides playing in the Czech Philharmonic, in 2001 he was a guest at the first desk of double bass players with the Staatskapelle Dresden and the NDR Symfonieorchester in Hamburg. He has appeared as a soloist with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Chamber Soloists, the Mecklenburgisches Kammerorchester, and the Pilsen Philharmonic, and he regularly gives solo recitals. He is a member of the Prague Chamber Soloists led by Radek Baborák and of the Haydn Ensemble led by Martin Petrák.

Besides classical music, he also plays jazz (since 2010 he has been a member of the Czech Philharmonic Jazz Band) and folk music, especially from Moravia and Slovakia. “That’s something dear to me because I have lived part of my life in Moravia (seven years in Moravian Wallachia and four years in Kroměříž at the conservatoire), and I did my compulsory military service in Brno playing in the ensemble Ondráš. Also, my wife plays the cimbalom”, he explains.

He taught at the International Conservatoire in Prague. Since 2003, he has been teaching every summer at courses of the Czech Musical Society in Litomyšl (originally in Bechyně), and he also teaches in the Orchestral Academy of the Czech Philharmonic. He is often invited to sit on juries and to give masterclasses in various places.

Besides his other activities, he also began doctoral studies. It is no wonder that he has no time left for composing, something he used to do. “I gave up my composing ambitions relatively early after I began my career, and the time I needed went to my family”, he explains. He can at least realise his creativity by making arrangements, mostly for double bass, of which he has written dozens. In his free time, he likes going on trips into the wilderness with his family, woodworking, reading, cooking, and sports.