Twenty-one Reminiscenses of a Piano Veteran - Vlastimil Lejsek
Vlastimil Lejsek (1927–2010) was a pianist, composer, teacher and co-founder of a piano duet he formed together with his wife Věra, née Králová. They were true groundbreakers in this field in Czechoslovakia.
Thanks to their extensive concert activity and a plentiful number of recordings at the Czech Radio and on LPs, they stimulated authors to create new compositions, and premiered many contemporary pieces, both Czech and of foreign origin. In 1978 they established the International Schubert Competition for Piano Duets in the town of Jeseník, which currently belongs to prominent competitions worldwide.
Vlastimil Lejsek wrote both for solo piano (Preludes, Měsíční suita /Moon Suite/, Pianisté a koně /Pianists and Horses/, Písničky ze sklepa /Songs from the Cellar/, Sonatella, etc.), and for piano duets (Duets, Balady z Moravy /Ballads from Moravia/, Brazilské tance /BrazilDances/, Tanečky mistrů /Dances of the Masters/, Sonata, Quattuor ludibria, etc.). Many of his works were dedicated to children and the youth. Surprisingly, he never considered himself a composer, although he was a member of the Club of Moravian Composers. He referred to himself as a composing pianist who writes for pleasure.
After all, even the title of 21 Reminiscences of a Piano Veteran evokes a pianist’s recollections of authors, whose works he had encountered during his life.