Bittova, Willow

Born on July 22, 1958 in the city of Bruntal, in the former Czechoslovak Republic . The middle of the three daughters, she grew up in a musical family: her father, Koloman Bitto, was a famous multi-instrumentalist musician from the south of Slovakia (he played the guitar , trumpet , Hungarian cymbals and double bass in ensembles performing folk and academic music ), and her mother was Lyudmila Bitto, a singer speaking with professional groups. As a child, Iva took ballet and violin lessons in the city of Opava , and also played children's roles in the Silesian Theater Zdeněk Nejedlý . In 1971, her family moved to Brno , she throws music in favor of drama and studies at the Conservatory of Brno. In the next ten years, Bittova works as an actress, appears in several Czech feature films and local television and radio productions.

In the early 80s, Bittova returned to music and studied the violin under the direction of Rudolf Šťastný , professor at the Leos Janacek Academy in Brno . While studying at the Drama College, Willow received vocal training and quickly developed a unique way of singing and playing the violin. In 1985, she collaborated with percussionist Pavel Fajt from the Czech rock band Dunaj , the result of this collaboration was the album Bittová + Fajt , an alloy of rock music and influences of Slavic and gypsy folk music. After she recorded several solo mini-albums ( EP ; 1986) and for several years acted as a vocalist with the group Dunaj. A major breakthrough came in 1987 when she and Veit recorded the second joint album, Svatba , which was released internationally by Review Records . This caught the attention of English percussionist Chris Cutler ( Chris Cutler , ex- Henry Cow ), who reissued the duo's first solo album. The duo also caught the attention of English guitarist and former Henry Cow member Fred Frith , who showed young musicians in the documentary Step Across The Border , 1990, which allowed the duo to show themselves to a wider audience and to perform outside of Eastern Europe .

Bittova recorded her first full-fledged solo album in 1991 ( Iva Bittová ), followed by the first American edition - River of Milk . In 1997, she began exploring classical music , giving thematic concerts and recording an album of violin duets by composer Bela Bartok and Dorothea Kellerová . Collaboration with guitarist Vladimir Václavek will lead to the recording of the double album Bílé Inferno (1997). The success of this project allowed Bittova and Wenceslas to organize Čikori - an association of musicians involved in improvisational music.

Bittova collaborated with many avant-garde (and not only) musicians: Fred Frith , Chris Cutler, Tom Kora , Don Byron , Hamid Drake , Bang On A Can All Stars , Vladimir Godard , Škampa Quartet , Nederlsands Blazers Ensemble , Bill Frizzell , Bobby McFerrin , Mark Ribot , David Moss , George Mratz , Phil Milton and many others.

Bittova’s music is originally a mixture of East European folklore and rock music , but the farther, the more complicated and diverse her music becomes. In addition to folk and rock music, the influences of academic minimalism , jazz , improvisational music are felt, which brings a special touch, but most importantly, the presence of a unique musical language. Iva herself describes her music as “my own personal folk music”.

Her violin playing technique combines both a bow and a picicotto , and also plays the violin like a banjo . The style of singing combines both traditional and more abstract, for example, imitation of bird singing or deep throat singing , up to a simple noise. In his performances, Iva often improvises using both the violin and voice, and her body, based on her own theatrical skills.

Solo albums

• Iva Bittová ( EP , Panton , 1986)
• Balada pro Banditu ( EP , Panton, 1986)
• Iva Bittová ( LP , Pavian , 1991)
• River of Milk ( CD , EVA Records , 1991)
• Ne, Nehledej ( CD , BMG , 1994)
• Kolednice ( CD , BMG , 1995)
• Divná Slečinka ( CD , BMG , 1996)
• Solo ( CD , Nonesuch Records , 1997)

Collaborations

With Pavel Fight

• Bittová + Fajt ( LP , Panton , 1985)
• Svatba (The Wedding) ( LP , Review Records , 1987)

With Czech rock band Dunaj

• Dunaj a Iva Bittová ( LP , Panton , 1989)
• Pustit Musíš ( CD , Rachot Behemot , 1996)

With Dorothea Kellerova (Dorothea Kellerová)

• Béla Bartók: 44 Duets for Two Violins (CD, Rachot Behemot, 1997)

With Vladimir Václavek (Vladimír Václavek)

• Bílé Inferno (2x CD , Indies Records , 1997)

C Škampa Quartet

• Classic ( CD , Supraphon , 1998)
• Leoš Janáček: Moravian folk poetry in songs ( CD , Supraphon , 2004)

With Netherlands Blazers Ensemble

• Dance of the Vampires ( CD , NWE , 2000)

With Andreas Kröper

• Echoes ( CD , Supraphon , 2001)

With a group of Čikori

• Čikori ( CD , Indies Records , 2001)

C DJ Javas

• The Party ( CD , Indies Records , 2004)

With composer Vladimir Godard (Vladimír Godár)

• Mater ( CD , ECM , 2006)

With the Association of Contemporary Composers Bang on a Can

• Elida ( CD , Indies Records , 2006)

With Susumu Yokota

• Wonder Waltz ( CD , Skintone ( Japan ), 2006)

With musicians George Mraz, Emil Viklický and Lalo Tropp

• Moravian Gems ( CD , Cube Metier , 2007)

• 1976 - Pink Dreams (Ružové sny)
• 1976 - Island of the Silver Herons (Die Insel der Silberreiher)
• 1977 - "Jak se budí princezny"
• 1978 - The Ballad of the Bandit (Balada pro Banditu)
• 1983 - Únos Moravanky
• 1988 - "Mikola a Mikolko"
• 1991 - Tenderness (Něha)
• 1995 - Step Across the Border Dir. Nicholas Humbert and ^[1]
• 2000 - The Man Who Cried (The Man Who Cried; song for Christina Ricci)
• 2003 - еляelary
• 2007 - The Sadness of a Little Girl (Tajnosti)