Biography

Jiří Valenta (1955) studied double bass with Miloslav Gajdoš in Kroměříž and at Prague Conservatoire with František Pošta. Further musical education he adquired at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague where he graduated with the assistance of Zdeněk Benda. In 1978 Jiří Valenta got the first prize at the František Gregora Double Bass Competition in Kroměříž. For a short time he played with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and since 1985 he has been member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. He cofounded important chamber ensembles Basetti Boemi (unique double bass quartet, with which he took part in numerous concerts and made many TV and radio recordings) and philharmonic ensemble Virtuosi di basso (8 violoncellos and 2 double basses), with which he presented himself not only in the Czech Republic but also in Germany and Japan. 

Since 1995 he has been teaching at the Prague Conservatoire; since 2006 as the head of the double bass department. Frequently, he is invited to be the jury member at various interpretation competitions and since 2001 he has regularly taught at the International Double Bass Courses in Brno, where he also plays solo. In 2005 he presented himself within the cycle “Prague Conservatoire Professors” with the solo recital in Rudolfinum in Prague. In 2008 he took part in the Third World Double Bass Festival in Wroclaw in Poland, in 2013 in Banská Bystrica in Slovakia both as the solo player and the teacher at the international master classes.He held masterclasses in Tokyo,Seoul, Melbourne and Wells (England).

With Jana Holmanová he recorded Adolf Míšek´s sonatas for the Czech Radio. On the ocassion of 200th anniversary of the foundation of Prague Conservatoire he recorded CD “200 hundred years of the Czech Double Bass” in cooperation with well known pianist Martin Kasík.