{"id":77,"date":"2026-01-19T10:01:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smetanaquartet.com\/?page_id=77"},"modified":"2026-02-18T15:34:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T15:34:42","slug":"spidlen-100-years","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.smetanaquartet.com\/en\/gallery\/spidlen-100-years\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0160pidlen 100th anniversary of birth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Czech StradivariusPřemysl Otakar Špidlen<\/strong>He was born on 18.6.1920. In honor of the centenary, a celebratory concert took place at the Mozarteum in Prague organized by his son Jan Baptist Špidlen with substantial support from his wife and daughter. Commemorative projections of photographs and videos reminding of this famous violin-making family across three generations were complemented by humorous commentary referring to the family’s sporting activities. Pavel Šporcl performed at the concert with violins crafted in the early fifties for Josef Suk. Also, the Zemlinsky Quartet, whose primarius František Souček played a 1963 Guarneri model violin and second violinist Petr Střížek played a 1972 Stradivarius model. Both instruments were created by Přemysl Otakar Špidlen for the Smetana Quartet’s primarius Jiří Novák. During the evening, he reminisced about his “competitor,” but also friend, violin maker Karel Vávra, whose family, like the Špidlen family, has a long tradition spanning several generations. Due to the high interest of the Špidlen family’s friends, two identical concerts were held on the same day in close succession.<\/p>