Saša Večtomov

Saša Večtomov
Memorial plaque on Saša Večtomov's gravestone, contributed by erstwhile students, at Hrbitov Veselí nad Lužnicí, Czech Republic
Born	Alexander Večtomov (1930-12-12)December 12, 1930 Prague, Czechoslovakia
Died	December 29, 1989 (age 59) Prague
Occupation	cellist
Years active	1945–1989
Spouse(s)	Jana Andrsová (m. 1964–1989, his death)
Children	Veronica, Andrea, Johana
Parent(s)	Ivan Večtomov, cellist, music pedagogue; Jarmila Večtomov, née Černá, pianist, music pedagogue

Saša Večtomov (December 12, 1930 – December 29, 1989) was a Czechoslovakian cellist and music pedagogue.

Večtomov first studied piano and cello with his father, cellist/composer Ivan Večtomov (1902–81), who was a soloist in the Czech Philharmonic, then at Prague Conservatory under the tutelage of his father, and later at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alongside and Josef Chuchro under the tutelage of cellist/pedagogue , followed by graduate studies at Moscow Conservatory alongside Mstislav Rostropovich under the tutelage of until 1957, and master classes at Accademia Musicale Chigiana under the tutelage of French cellist André Navarra.

In 1951, together with Josef Suk (violin) and Jiří Hubička (piano), Večtomov cofounded the renowned concert ensemble Suk Trio. In 1956 he took over Miloš Sádlo's cello seat in the Czech Trio, in which he continued to concertize and record until his death, ie 33 years. He was among the leading concert soloists at home and abroad, recording many works on LP and CD as well as for radio and television broadcasts. Concomitantly he performed and recorded with his brother, the guitarist Vladimír Večtomov, as Prague String Duo, phonograph recordings of whom appeared on the Supraphon, Panton, and Melodiya labels. In 2015 the Czech music label Uneventful Records released a CD and digital album of Prague String Duo's archive recordings. In his day Saša Večtomov was considered, along with Sádlo, one of Czechoslovakia's leading classical artists, drawing comparisons in the international press to his Russian contemporary Rostropovich. Večtomov was best known for his inimitably sweet tone. “As the concerto develops, it is clear that Večtomov, so august a member of the Czech Trio, was certainly a big enough concerto soloist, but one who does not seek to impose his personality onto the music. Instead he illuminates it from within.” Of the same recording, Fanfare observed: “I am glad to have discovered Saša Večtomov’s playing, for on this evidence he was a world-class artist … his aristocratic playing deserves a hearing, and the disc should certainly be of interest to cellists and collectors."