Dissertation - International Bass Clarinet Research Center

CHAPTER 2
Due Boemi di Praga
Emma Kovárnová, born on August 20, 1930 in Prague, studied piano at the
Prague Academy with František Rauch. After moving to Prague in 1963, Josef worked
with three other pianists before meeting Emma. When they did finally work together,
their connection was immediate. Josef felt that she had a wonderful grasp of sound,
technique, and expression, and Emma was intrigued by the adventurous sounds of his
unconventional instrument. She was very interested in chamber music, and it had
become the focus of her professional career. She also felt that something important and
exciting was emerging with the idea of a bass clarinet and piano duo. They
complemented each other well both on and off stage. While Josef exhibited “endless
capacity for fantasy,” Emma was highly pragmatic and kept the group on track. 13
As
they had no sponsor or agent for the first 16 years of their career, she organized many of
the details involved with performing and traveling. They were very proud of being able
to work for themselves and freely choose the music they wished to perform.
Pamela Weston may have described Emma’s outlook on music and her inquisitive
personality best in her book Clarinet Virtuosi of Today when she wrote about Emma:
“Color became her objective; for four years she played the cello as her second
instrument, loving the low tones and the fact that you made the color directly, not
indirectly as on the piano. She then bought a flute to experience tone production
by blowing.” 14
13 Zaptletal, 3.
14 Weston, 133.
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