Dissertation - International Bass Clarinet Research Center

Leaders in Achievement. Before the inception of Due Boemi di Praga, Josef received the
Gold Medal in a competition of wind instruments in 1958 and was a Prize Winner in the
Janácek Competition of 1960. 25
Due Boemi di Praga recorded a few LPs commercially during the 1970s around
the time of their affiliation with the Prague Conservatory. They later released the
majority of their CDs at their own expense, marking them non-commercial. This was to
avoid costs associated with producing recordings for copyright protecting organizations.
There was also not a large demand in the public sector for contemporary music,
especially with such an unknown instrument. Because of the Communist government’s
lack of support, a low profile with publishing also insured less hassle with legal issues.
Due Boemi di Praga did not want to attract any more attention to their activities than
necessary to insure that the government would allow them to pursue the traveling and
performing they wished to do. Regardless, they did record quite prolifically; Appendix C
consists of a discography of their output.
25 Jon Gifford, ed., Who’s Who in the 21 st Century (Cambridge, England: International
Biographical Centre, 2002), 355.
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