Antonin Kubalek, pianist

I consider myself a very lucky man to have had the opportunity to know Oskar not only as a fabulous musician but also, and foremost, as a fine human being. As soon as I arrived in Canada, Oskar took on an instrumental role at introducing me to the local musical community: CBC Radio, T.V. as well as prominent musical personalities such as Glenn Gould... among many others. For this, I will stay eternally grateful.

As a musician, Oskar is a fascinating composer, a man of immense and encyclopedic musical knowledge. I had the honor to study, perform and record his masterful piano suite Prelude, Nocturne, Dance (Echiquier Retrospectives Vol. 1 (ECD 003)), with the composer at my side on several occasions. During those unforgettable sessions I realized how deeply his mind was, at all times, preoccupied with music; a few days before I went into the recording studio, we were going over everything (especially tempi) at his home. With typically hospitable efforts, he poured us some tea... into cups which were upside-down. This remained unnoticed until I warned him of the tea flood.

Antonin Kubalek, May 2005