ALL ABOUT MUSIC

Music, its presentation and perception have accompanied Petr throughout his life. He was born into a family of musicians and teachers. At the age of eight he started playing the cello at the Bohuslav Jeremiáš Music School in České Budějovice in the class of Rudolf Weiss. Later, at the age of about fourteen, he took up the double bass and was successfully prepared for the entrance exams to the České Budějovice Conservatory by Prof. Václav Fuka. In his third year he then transferred to the class of Prof. Miloslav Gajdoš at the P.J.Vejvanovský Conservatory in Kroměříž, who noticed his extraordinary talent and with his unique methodology led Petr to his first successes at national and international competitions. The double bassist Thomas Lom (WDR Stuttgart), a pupil of František Pošta, whose summer masterclasses he regularly attended, played a significant part in his musical journey. He completed his studies at the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague under Prof. Jiří Hudec.

During his studies he won numerous prizes at international competitions and won auditions for the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic. At the master's recital in Bohuslav Martinů Hall he performed, among others, famous sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven and César Franck in his transcriptions accompanied by Doc. Marie Synková.

Currently, as a member of the Venti Diversi and Haydn ensemble Prague, he is engaged in the interpretation of Baroque and Classical music under the direction of Martin Petrák and collaborates with, for example, harpsichordist Filip Dvořák. He is also a member of the Prague Chamber Soloists and works closely with hornist Radek Baborák.

The main focus of his professional activity is his work in the Czech Philharmonic, which fulfils him and thanks to which he has travelled almost all over the world.

 Petr Ries is often invited to juries of competitions and various master classes. He has been passing on his rich performing and teaching experience to students since 2003, when he was approached by the Czech Music Society to participate as a lecturer in the summer master classes in Bechyně. In 2006, the masterclasses moved to Litomyšl and he has been teaching at these courses ever since. These courses educate students of all types of schools, from elementary schools to universities, as well as amateur musicians.

 Petr Ries is also an arranger, his transcriptions and arrangements are not only dedicated to the double bass, but also include chamber music of various genres and groups. His arrangements of major masterpieces for strings are sought after, which he arranges for double bass with sensitivity and respect for the composers (Franck, Beethoven, Martinů, Sluka, etc.).

In symphonic and chamber music, he plays most often on a unique five-string instrument by Ernest Francis Lant (Great Britain) from 1971, which is owned by the Czech Philharmonic. In solo concerts he plays Reinhold Geipel's instrument from Stuttgart from 1956. 

 He has loved music since his early childhood, he likes Janáček's Jenufa or On the Overgrown Path, Bach's Goldberg Variations, Dvořák's Eighth etc. Most of all he listens to jazz, e.g. by Diana Krall, Lars Danielsson, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea etc.

In his free time, he enjoys sports, trips to the countryside with his family, fishing and books. 

He likes to work with wood in his workshop, he enjoys carving (puppets and jewelry) and small carpentry work.