Jiří Stivín is at home in Všenory. The mill returned to life in a terrible state

The multi-instrumentalist has known the village of Všenory and the local mill since childhood, because his grandmother had a garden center a short distance away. "Here a stream flows from the pond from the village of Řitka to Berounka. The stream flowed through the garden in Černolice, which belonged to my grandmother, and the people from this mill kept complaining that my grandmother was taking their water because she had to water a lot. My grandmother therefore decided to buy the mill in order to have rooms from the locals. In this way, our family came to the mill, "describes the musician.

"My grandmother then gave the mill to my father, but the communists nationalized it for him and made a national defense warehouse there. I got him in restitution, at that time I was very surprised that there was something left after my father. However, it was a ruin, the building was really in a catastrophic condition. But I decided to put it together. We started reconstruction in the 1990s. At first I had only a small apartment in the basement, but gradually we managed to repair other spaces. The first wave of renovations ended in 2000. The second wave lasted until 2006. "

Today he is very happy to own it. Next to the study, it has a living area on the first floor, which consists of a kitchen connected to the living room and a bedroom, from where you can go to the terrace. The mill also includes a large garden with a swimming pool, in which Jiří once took pictures dressed for a poster for the concert of the Tribute to St. Cecilia. A gurgling stream flows through the garden, which the inhabitants of the house like to listen to, especially in the summer months.

The main room is multi-storey and has an incredible amount of notes and flutes. On the ground floor there is a rehearsal room, which is lined with a porch, serving as a study. Beams are decorated with a collection of old cameras, cameras and projectors, which is reminiscent of the original profession of Jiří Stivín - he is a graduate cameraman.

The owner of the house regularly holds workshops at this place. "In 1999, we founded the Center for Improvisation in the Arts, and in the studio we do workshops that take place on weekends and the participants improvise on a certain topic, such as blues, folk music or other inspirations. Improvisation is a thing that interests me a lot because it is unexplored. If anyone wants to log in, they can do so using our CaPART website. Cap means hat and art is art, "said a well-known musician in one of the areas he has been working on for a long time. In the next room he has a recording studio, in which he recorded records such as Jiří Suchý with Jitka Molavcová or Radůza.

Tools wherever you look

On a visit to Jiří Stivín, everyone is interested in a large number of musical instruments at first sight. "Everyone always asks me how many flutes I have. I counted it once and there are about three hundred. My problem is that I can't sell any tool because I always find out how amazing it is. The piano dates from 1899, I once bought it from the Czech Music Fund. The interesting thing about it is that it has its own passport, so you will find out exactly when someone owned it. If I wanted to have it repaired, they would give me its complete spare parts from 1899, "said the jazzman about his venerable collection of instruments, which is constantly growing.

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"I bought some tools, others I received as a gift. For example, a Tibetan oven is a gift from my daughter. I inherited the harmonium from my father, but I made the Lord's flute, for example, from water pipes myself, "Jiří boasted and started playing the hand-made instrument.

In addition to the paintings, the decorations on the walls also consist of photographs by the owner of the mill himself. "I was still doing selfies for a classic movie. I have about two thousand. I have a photo here, for example, with President Clinton, Havel and many others who meant something at the time. I was also at the show with these photos and people sometimes joke that I actually invented the selfie, "Jiří joked.

Pictures for posters for the concert Pocta sv. But Cecilia is the work of the musician's wife. Jiří Stivín has been organizing the Tribute to St. Cecilia, dedicated to the patron saint of musicians, where baroque, jazz and improvisation performed by top musicians meet. This year, the 29th edition will take place in Prague's Rudolfinum on 15 November. "If we live to health," adds Jiří Stivín.

Behind the scene