Miroslav Langer
5. 5. 1945 Prostějov – 28. 10. 2010 Prague
Miroslav Langer was an acclaimed Czech pianist and educator. As a performer, he appeared in numerous concerts, and made many recordings for the Czech Radio, Czech TV, as well as for Radio France Musique. His extensive repertoire did not focus exclusively on a single style or period. Nevertheless, his particular favourites included, above all, the Romantics (Liszt), as well as the French Impressionists and piano compositions by Janáček and Dvořák. (He recorded a CD of Slavonic Dances and Legends, as transcribed by the composer for piano four hands, using Dvořák’s actual period instrument.) His performances of Beethoven'stwo piano concertos (No. 2 in B-flat major and No. 4 in G major), or the Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor by Camille Saint-Saëns, Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor by Rachmaninov, Piano Concerto No. 1 in D-flat major by Prokofiev remain particularly memorable.
Miroslav Langer began his music education at the music school in his home town of Prostějov. From 1960 to 1965, he continued his studies at the Brno Conservatoire, a major music centre in then Czechoslovakia, as a pupil of František Schäfer, and more importantly, Inessa Janíčková, herself a graduate of the Leningrad Conservatoire under Professor Pavel Serebryakov. She used the methods of the Russian piano school in the instruction of her pupils. In 1965, still just a student at the Brno Conservatoire, he was awarded an honorary diploma at the 7th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, Warsaw. Afterwards, his education continued at the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, as a pupil of Josef Páleníček. This proved to be an exceptionally fortunate encounter, because he formed a special rapport with his teacher based on the closeness of their personalities, and felt a deep respect for him that endured throughout his life. It was Páleníček who opened the door to the world of French music and culture for him.
His greatest competition achievements came in 1968, with an award from the Vianna da Motta Competition in Lisbon, and again in 1972, when he won the UNESCO International Music Council Competition. After his graduation in 1972, Langer stayed at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague as a postgraduate student of fine arts until 1976. The next two years (1976–1978) spent as a postgraduate student at the Conservatoire Supérieur in Paris under Vlado Perlemuter and Suzanne Roche had an immense influence on his further career. The government of France awarded him a scholarship for his victory at the 1972 competition. The time spent in France further intensified his admiration for and affection for France, the French culture and language, in which he became admirably proficient.
A significant portion of Langer’s life was connected with his work as an educator. He started teaching at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague in 1978 as a lecturer. In 1991 he achieved the academic rank of Associate Professor and was to remain at the school until the end of his life, except for a short period in 1988–1990, when he taught at the conservatoire in Jyväskylä, Finland. He was very much in demand as an educator and he fostered the talents of dozens of young pianists, many of whom have gone on to become leading performance artists. Later on, he served on the juries of numerous music competitions (including the Prague Spring, Concertino Praga, and Amadeus).
Besides his accomplished professionalism, he also shared with his students his knowledge of world literature, fine arts and history, in which he was deeply knowledgeable. In 2000, health concerns forced him to discontinue his performance career, and he fully focused on teaching. Working with his students and young graduates had always been an important mission for him, but during the last ten years it became a source of deep personal fulfilment.