Emil Viklicky was born in Olomouc on 23 November 1948. He graduated from Palacky University in mathematics in 1971. He was a keen jazz pianist and spent a lot of time as a student. He was awarded the Czechoslovak Amateur Jazz Festival prize for best soloist in 1974. In the same year, he joined Karel Velebny’s SHQ group. He was a winner at the jazz improvisation contest in Lyon in 1976. His composition Green Satin (Zeleny saten), earned him the first prize in Monaco’s music conservatory competition. In 1985, his Cacharel took second place in the same competition. He was granted a scholarship for a year to study composition and arrangement at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Jarmo Sermila and George Crumb continued his composition studies. He has been directing his own ensembles, primarily quintets, since his return to Prague. He also composes and arranges music. Since the passing of Karel Velebny, he is the director of the Summer Jazz Workshops of Frydlant. He also gave a lecture at a similar workshop in Glamorgan, Wales. Viklicky served as President of the Czech Jazz Society from 1991 to 1995. Since 1994, he has been working with the Ad lib Moravia group, whose performances mix elements of Moravian folk music and modern jazz. The ensemble performed a successful concert tour in Mexico and the United States in 1996. As pianist Viklicky often performs in international ensembles alongside musicians from the USA and other European countries – with the Lou Blackburn International Quartet and the Benny Bailey Quintet, for example, and with multi-instrumentalist Scott Robinson. He has been a frequent performer in Finland with the Finnczech Quartet, Jarmo Sermila, and the Norwegian Czech-Norwegian Big Band, and has also performed at the North Sea Festival in the Netherlands, Israel, Mexico, Israel and Luxembourg. Rolling Stone’s editor wrote that Viklicky was “a delight surprise to see such top-of the-line jazz in Prague.” Viklicky is known for his unique synthesis of contemporary jazz and Moravian folk songs. He also composes modern jazz that is’straight ahead’ and chamber and orchestral music that incorporates elements of the New Music. Sometimes, his music calls for a mix of jazz and classical musicians. He has composed soundtracks for many full-length television series and feature films, as well as incidental and film music. He has been composing contemporary classical music since the 1990s. His compositions include a wide range of instruments, from small chamber ensembles to electronic instruments to large symphony orchestras to choruses. Viklicky has received many prestigious awards for his work. From http://www.musica.cz
