Speak, bandmaster, speak!

Václav Hybš and Miloš Čepelka say of their book interview:

“We, the undersigned, have been meeting and talking over the past months, even years. As time went on and the conversation branched out, various names came up, some known perhaps only to one of us, but others famous, more famous, and most famous, whom the first of us, the musician, had met on his travels around the country and the world. His memories of meeting them, including the consequences that sometimes followed, were so interesting that the second undersigned suggested we turn them into a book.

The memoirist wouldn’t hear of it, saying he didn’t know how and that two books had already been written about him. But as his memory brought forth singers, fellow conductors, composers, arrangers, directors, sound engineers, photographers, painters, writers, filmmakers, actresses, and the ever-changing contemporary powers-that-be with the authority to decide, permit, or prohibit – it was such a rich parade of experiences that he finally agreed. He still objected that he had never written anything but musical notes and was at most willing to narrate, but as for putting it on paper – and this is a quote – ‘you have to do that!’ With the clear intention of never straying from the unvarnished truth, and on the condition that curiosity knows no bounds and that we would not be constrained by time, we set to work. We offer you the result. It takes the form of a conversation, to which we invite you more as listeners than readers, although it is printed and you can’t get through it without reading it. With the wish that you have fun, be amazed, but please believe us, we wish you a pleasant time with the book!”

The text is complemented by a whole range of photographs from the professional and personal life of Václav Hybš.