Vincent Houška

Vincent Houška (; 21 January 1766 – 1840) was a Czech-Austrian composer and musician who played mandolin and cello. He was good enough a musician that he was able to tour Europe and give concerts. He was a friend and associate with Ludwig van Beethoven. Life and career Houška was born on 21 January 1766 in Mies, Bohemia (now Stříbro, Czech Republic). He was a son of the schoolmaster of Mies, and when eight years of age moved with his parents to Prague, where his father had been appointed to a school. Houška studied music in this city, and took up the mandolin as his first instrument. He also entered the cathedral as a chorister and later received systematic instruction from Josef Seeger and Ferdinand Laube, “the father of the violin virtuoso.” Houška devoted himself to the cello and mandolin and made remarkable progress on both, and a few years afterwards continued the cello studies under Christ, one of the most celebrated Bohemian virtuosi. At sixteen years of age he entered the orchestra of the Count of Thun and remained in his service till the death of the Count two years later, when the orchestra was disbanded. He then made a concert tour through Austria and Germany, visiting K