Jan Panenka began his concert career in 1944, as a pupil of
František Maxián at the
Prague Conservatory. In 1951 he was awarded the 2nd prize at the Prague Spring International Music Competition. He attracted attention in 1959, on a concert tour to
Australia and
Japan with the
Czech Philharmonic. Panenka interrupted his career in 1979, due to hand problems. He worked as a conductor, but later returned to the piano and made recordings with the
Smetana Quartet. He worked also as a teacher at the
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. As a soloist with the Czech Philharmonic he made also a number of gramophone recordings, including the complete piano concertos of
Ludwig van Beethoven (1964–71). He was awarded the
Grand Prix du Disque for the recording of violin sonatas by
Leoš Janáček and
Claude Debussy, with
Josef Suk. == Discography ==