Řídký was born at Reichenberg, now Liberec. From 1919 to 1923 he studied at the Prague Conservatory with Josef Bohuslav Foerster, Karel Boleslav Jirák, and Jaroslav Křička. Besides teaching at the Conservatory from 1924 to 1949, he also played the harp for the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra between 1924 and 1938, and conducted the Philharmonic choir from 1925 to 1930.
