Božo Paradžik
International Professor of Double Bass
Božo Paradžik began learning the double bass in 1983 with Tihomir Vidović in Sarajevo and between 1987 and 1992 studied with Jiří Hudec at the Academy of Music in Prague.
After his studies Božo Paradžik began his successful career as an orchestral musician. He held principal positions with leading symphony orchestras such as the Residentie Orchestra in the Hague and the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart. In addition to this he often played with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and as principal double bassist with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich. In the course of his orchestral career he played often under conductors such as Georges Prêtre, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Neville Marriner, Guiseppe Sinopoli, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Carlo Maria Giulini and Franz Welser-Möst. On invitation by Claudio Abbado Božo Paradžik has played as principal double bassist in most of M° Abbado’s orchestral projects in 2008 and 2009 with Orchestra Mozart and Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
Today Božo Paradžik places more emphasis on his solo and chamber music activities. The release of his first solo CD with the pianist Ulrich Rademacher in 2000 made Božo Paradžik well-known as a soloist throughout the world. This was the first solo double bass CD ever to appear on the famous EMI / Virgin Classics label. As a soloist and chamber musician he has appeared in many famous concert halls in Europe. The internet videos on Božo Paradžik’s YouTube channel have been clicked more than one million times.
In recent years Božo Paradžik has dedicated his time to recording his repertoire. Many projects have been recorded using modern surround sound technology and will be released in the near future.
In addition to the solo double bass repertoire Božo Paradžik has had sensational success performing works which were originally composed for other instruments. In 2000 he performed the second cello part of Schubert’s String Quintet in C with the Apos Quartet in the Berlin Philharmonie, and in 2005 the Cello Concerto in C major by Haydn with the Zagreb Philharmonic. By means of EBU/Eurovision this performance was broadcast live in 74 countries. Big acknowledgement was also gained by the CD released in 2012 “Double Bass Goes Beethoven Vol.1” with Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas.
Božo Paradžik has a wide experience of public performance. First as an orchestral musician working with renowned conductors, and later as soloist and chamber music partner performing with the finest instrumentalists of our time. He enjoys passing this expertise on to the next generation.
He began teaching in 2000 at the Konservatorium Jan Sweenlinck in Amsterdam and shortly afterwards became Professor at the Musikhochschule in Detmold (from 2001 to 2004). Since 2003 he is Professor for double bass at the Musikhochschule Freiburg (D). From 2009 to 2011 he also taught at the Conservatoire de Musique HEMU in Sion and since 2010 in his place of residence- Lucerne (CH), at the Hochschule Luzern-Musik. Božo Paradžik’s teaching is internationally recognised and acknowledged specially by the accomplishments and successful careers of his students. He is regularly invited to give master classes at leading conservatories in Europe. These include Amsterdam, The Hague, London, Lyon, Manchester, Sion, and Paris.