Czechoslovakia on Music Theory Print

Adolf Strauss (composer)

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Adolf Strauss (16 August 1902 – 28 September 1944) was a Czech pianist, violinist, accordion and harmonica player, composer and kapellmeister. Biography Strauss was born to Jewish parents, Josef and Rosa Strauss, in Žatec, a historic town in Louny District, Ústí nad Labem Region, in the Czech Republic (at the time still part of the Austrian Empire). He was killed on 28 September 1944 in Auschwitz concentration camp, Poland, under the Nazi regime. He studied music at the Prague Conservatory, earning his living by playing music in Prague’s cafes. Due to an antisemitic incident in Prague, he eventually continued his studies at the conservatory in Leipzig, Germany. There, he became the conductor at the Leipzig Kristallpalast. In Leipzig, he also published his first composition, “Karawanen Fox Trott” (Caravan Fox Trot), which was published by the Fritz Brandt Musikverlag Leipzig in 1923, and which was often played in the radio at the time. When the Nazis gained in power in Germany and the musicians refused to play under a Jewish conductor, Adolf and his wife Maria, herself a musician from Bohemia (singer, violinist and pianist) decided to go back to Czechoslovakia. They opened a shoe sh

Alexander Moyzes

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Alexander Moyzes (4 September 1906 – 20 November 1984) was a Slovak neoromantic composer. Biography Moyzes was born into a musical family in 1906 at Kláštor pod Znievom, Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father was the composer and educator Mikuláš Moyzes. After earlier technical studies, in 1925 he entered the Prague Conservatory, where he studied organ, conducting and composition. He graduated in 1929 and went on to study in the master class of Vítězslav Novák, from which he graduated in the following year with his Overture for Orchestra, Opus 10. It was Novák who directed his attention to Slovak music, the source of his inspiration. In 1929, Moyzes was appointed to the teaching staff of the Music and Drama Academy for Slovakia in Bratislava. He became professor of composition at the Bratislava Conservatory in 1941 and spent a number of years as principal music advisor to Radio Bratislava, until compelled to resign in 1948. On its foundation he was appointed professor of composition at the Bratislava Music Academy, where he taught no less than three generations of Slovak composers. He headed the Academy as Rector from 1965 until 1971, and over the years undertook many important functi

Alfred Grünfeld

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Alfred Grünfeld (4 July 1852 in Prague – 4 January 1924 in Vienna) was an Austrian pianist and composer. Life Alfred Grünfeld was born as the second of eight children to Jewish leather merchant Moritz Grünfeld (born 1817 Kolín nad Labem) and his wife Regina, nee Pick (born 1826 Osek), in Prague – New Town. Moritz Grünfeld was a leather merchant, and Grünfeld grew up in a middle-class, musical Jewish family. His siblings included: the cellist Heinrich Grünfeld; Ludwig Grünfeld, who worked for Deutsche Grammophon, and Siegmund Grünfeld, répétiteur at the Vienna Hofoper. The family lived at Zeltnergasse 38. He gave his first public concert on 12 April 1865 in the Konviktsaal in Prague. Grünfeld then studied under Josef Krejčí and Bedřich Smetana at the Prague Conservatory, and later at Theodor Kullak’s Neue Akademie der Tonkunst in Berlin. In the winter of 1871, Gustav Mahler was sent by his father to school in Prague, and boarded with the Grünfeld family. This proved to be an unpleasant experience for the eleven-year-old Mahler, and his wife Alma Mahler reported that his “clothes and shoes were taken from him and worn by others and he had to go barefoot and hungry also”. She also wro

Alois Hába

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Alois Hába (21 June 1893 – 18 November 1973) was a Czech composer, music theorist and teacher. He belongs to the important discoverers in modern classical music, and to the major composers of microtonal music, especially using the quarter-tone scale, though he used others such as sixth-tones (e.g., in the 5th, 10th and 11th String Quartets), fifth-tones (Sixteenth String Quartet), and twelfth-tones. From the other microtonal conceptions, he discussed a “three-quarter tone” system (see three-quarter tone flat and the neutral second) in his theoretical works but he used scales in this tuning in sections of some of his compositions. In his prolific career, Hába composed three operas, an enormous collection of chamber music including 16 string quartets, piano, organ and choral pieces, some orchestral works and songs. He also had special keyboard and woodwind instruments constructed that were capable of playing quarter-tone scales. Life Alois Hába was born in the small town of Vizovice in Moravian Wallachia, into a family of 10 children. When he was five years old it was discovered that he had absolute pitch. He and his family often played and sang their native Wallachian folk songs, ac

Anatol Provazník

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Anatol Provazník (10 March 1887 in Rychnov nad Kněžnou – 24 September 1950 in Prague) was a Czech organist and composer. Anatol Provazník was son of Alois Provazník, a regional composer. He studied at the gymnasium in Rychnov nad Kněžnou and then at the music conservatory in Prague, finishing in 1907. During 1907–1911 he worked as an organist in the St Vitus Cathedral, later he moved to Berlin. Provazník became very interested in the emerging radio broadcasting. He studied “radiophony” in Berlin and after return to Prague he helped to set up the music department of the Czech Radio. Since 1930 he worked, for sixteen years, as the proxy director of this department. Provazník was a friend with Karel Hašler and other artists. Provazník is author of about 240 musical works including several operas and five operettas. He also adapted many classical piano and orchestra works to fit in radio broadcasting. These adaptations were performed for long time after his death. Selected works ;Stage * Akrobat, Comic Opera in 1 act (1928); libretto by Ladislav Novák after Gottfried August Bell * Ghitta, Opera in 3 acts (1937); libretto by the composer ;Orchestral * Valse des morts (1909) * Suita z ve

Antonín Tučapský

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Antonín Tučapský (27 March 1928 – 9 September 2014) was a Czech composer. From 1973 until his death he lived in the United Kingdom. Biography Tučapský was born in 1928 in Opatovice (part of Vyškov) in Czechoslovakia. In 1947 he graduated from the Teachers’ Training College in Valašské Meziříčí. He studied in Brno before beginning his career as composer, teacher and conductor. From 1950 to 1951 he studied Choral Conducting at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, Brno. In 1951 he graduated from Masaryk University, Brno, in Music Education and Musicology. Privately he studied composition with Jan Kunc, who was a pupil of Leoš Janáček. In 1951 he took up a teaching post at the Higher Music School in Kroměříž. In the same year he became a member of the well-known Moravian Teachers’ Male Voice Choir and from 1964 to 1972 he was a choirmaster of that choir. In 1955 Tučapský moved to Nový Jičín, where he accepted a teaching post at the Teachers’ Training College and also conducted the local mixed choir. In 1959 he moved to Ostrava and became a lecturer at the Pedagogical Faculty there. From 1961 he conducted the Children’s Choir of Ostrava Radio. In 1964 he became musical dire

August Stradal

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August Stradal (17 May 1860 – 13 March 1930) was a Czech virtuoso pianist, arranger, composer, author and music teacher. Career Stradal was born on 17 May 1860 in Teplice, Bohemia, Austrian Empire (now the Czech Republic). He attended the grammar school in Litoměřice and then the Vienna Conservatory, where he studied piano with Anton Door. He also became a composition student of Anton Bruckner and studied piano further with Theodor Leschetizky and (from late 1884) with Franz Liszt, appearing in the latter’s master classes in Weimar, Rome, and Pest, where he played some of Liszt’s most difficult works. After returning to Teplice, Stradal was active as a teacher until 1890. For some years he travelled widely as a recitalist on the Continent and in London, particularly admired as a Liszt interpreter. He married Rosa Zweigelt from Krásná Lípa. Then he devoted himself to making piano transcriptions. He arranged music from Bach (most of the organ works and concertos, including the six Brandenburgs), Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner (Symphonies 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8), Buxtehude, Handel (the organ concertos), Liszt (the 13 Symphonic Poems and the Dante Symphony), Mozart, Paganini, Purcell, Reubke,

Bedřich Antonín Wiedermann

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Bedřich Antonín Wiedermann (10 November 1883 – 5 November 1951) was a Czech organist, composer, teacher and organ builder. Life Bedřich Antonín Wiedermann was born on 10 November 1883 in Ivanovice na Hané, Moravia, Austria-Hungary. He graduated from the classical lyceum in Prague, where his teacher for elective singing was the organist Josef Klička (who also taught at the Prague Conservatory). He worked briefly as a finance clerk in Kroměříž before deciding to study theology at Olomouc. During his studies in Olomouc, he was the organist and choirmaster at the St. Wenceslas cathedral. After seven semesters of study, shortly before he would have graduated, he abandoned theology and enrolled in the Prague Conservatory, where he would study from 1908 to 1910, organ with Josef Klička and composition with Vítězslav Novák. Between 1910 and 1919 he worked as a church organist, first at the cathedral in Brno, then in Prague at the Emmaus Church and at the Church of Cyril and Methodius in Karlín. At the same time, he played the viola in the Czech Philharmonic for three years. In the meantime, he also joined the faculty of the Prague Conservatory, where he would teach from 1917 to 1944 and ag

Bohumil Fidler

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Bohumil Fidler (also Fiedler) (May 27, 1860 - June 2, 1944) was a Czech composer, choirmaster, choral conductor and music teacher. He was born in Příbram, where he lived and worked his entire life. Biography Fidler was a foremost figure in the musical life of Příbram and the surrounding region. Upon completing his education, he taught at the local teachers college until 1889, and subsequently served as choir director at St. Jacob’s Church. For more than 15 years Fidler was also the choirmaster of Příbram’s “Lumir-Dobromila” choral association. Additionally, he founded the Příbram Philharmonic Orchestra and was its conductor from 1908-1913. Style Bohumil Fidler’s compositions include two Missa brevi, two Pastorale Masses, a celebratory Mass for mixed choir, soloists, orchestra and organ, and numerous smaller works for chorus as well as songs for solo voice. For the stage he wrote music for two fairy tales: Mikeš Lumidřevo and Zvířátka a Petrovští. His Slavonic Waltz was composed for the Příbram Philharmonic Orchestra; he also wrote 20 funeral marches for military band. Selected works Church music: *Missa solemnis in D major (1901) - performed in 1903 *Missa pastoralis II. (1937) *Mi

Bohuslav Martinů

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1890–1923: Polička and Prague#

The setting of Martinů’s birth was unusual. He was born in the tower of the St. Jakub Church in Polička, a town in Bohemia, close to the Moravian border. His father, Ferdinand, a shoemaker, also worked as the church sexton and town fire watchman. For this, he and his family were allowed to live in the tower apartment. As a small boy Bohuslav was sickly, and frequently had to be carried up the 193 steps to the tower on the back of his father or his older sister. In school he was known to be very shy, and did not participate in the plays or pageants with his classmates. But as violinist, he excelled and developed a strong reputation, giving his first public concert in his hometown in 1905. The townspeople raised enough money to fund his schooling, and in 1906 he left the countryside to begin studies at the Prague Conservatory. Whilst there he fared poorly as a student, showing little interest in the rigid pedagogy or the hours of violin practice required. He was far more interested in exploring Prague and learning on his own, attending concerts and reading books on many subjects. This was in contrast to his roommate, Stanislav Novák, an excellent student and brilliant violinist. They frequently attended concerts together at which Martinů became engrossed in analyzing new music, particularly French impressionist works. He could memorize much of it, to the extent that when back in their room, he could write out large parts of the score almost perfectly. Novák was astonished at how meticulously Martinů could do this. He became convinced that his roommate, while lacking in other subjects, possessed an incredible brain for analyzing and memorizing music. They became friends for life. Dropped from the violin program, Martinů was moved to the organ department that taught composition, but dismissed in 1910 for “incorrigible negligence”. Martinů spent the next several years living back home in Polička, attempting to gain some standing in the musical world. He had written several compositions by this time, including the Elegie for violin and piano, and the symphonic poems Angel of Death (Anděl smrti) and Death of Tintagiles (Smrt Tintagilova), and submitted samples of his work to Josef Suk, a leading Czech composer. Suk encouraged him to pursue formal composition training, but this would not be possible for years. In the meantime, he passed the state teaching examination and maintained a studio in Polička throughout World War I, while continuing to compose and study on his own. It was during this time that he studied the ancient choral hymns of the Bohemian Brethren, which influenced his style and musical scope. As World War I drew to a close and Czechoslovakia was declared an independent republic, Martinů composed the celebratory cantata Czech Rhapsody (Česká rapsodie), which premiered in 1919 to great acclaim. He toured Europe as a violinist with the National Theatre Orchestra, and in 1920 became a full member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra that was led by the inspired young conductor Václav Talich, who was the first major conductor to promote Martinů. He also began formal composition study under Suk. During these last years in Prague he completed his first string quartet and two ballets: Who is the Most Powerful in the World? (Kdo je na světě nejmocnější?) and Istar.

Dol Dauber

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Adolf Dauber (known also as Dol, Doli or Dolfi Dauber) (born 27 July 1894 – died 15 September 1950) was a jazz violinist, bandleader, composer and music arranger of Jewish origin, who was active in the first half of the 20th century in Central Europe, mainly in Austria, Czechoslovakia and Germany. During his career, he collaborated with international jazz personalities, led numerous orchestras and ensembles, and created music for several films. Biography Dauber was born to a musical family in Vyzhnytsia (Wijnitz), Bukovina, Ukraine (then Austria-Hungary). He started his musical education at the age of 4, under the mentorship of his older sister, Clara. While still in his childhood, his sister arranged an audience with Carl Flesch, a violin virtuoso and teacher at the Bucharest Conservatory. His talent impressed Flesch and Dauber joined his class as the youngest pupil to be accepted. In 1911, Flesh recommended him to the renowned Czech violinist and teacher, Otakar Ševčík. The performances were noted particularly for inventive and modern arrangements of classical repertoire, operetta melodies and waltzes. For this label he recorded hundreds of songs over the course of the next 15 ye

Elia Cmíral

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Elia David Cmíral (; born October 1, 1950) is a Czech composer for film, television, ballet, and video games. He has worked on numerous projects across multiple genres, though he is arguably best known for his work in the thriller and horror cinema, and has collaborated with filmmakers like Wes Craven, John Frankenheimer, John Travolta, and Ernest Dickerson. Early life and career Cmíral was born in Czechoslovakia, to an actress and a stage director, and was the grandson of one of Antonín Dvořák’s pupils. Cmiral attended the Prague Conservatory, where he studied composition and double bass. His first scoring opportunity came with his father’s production of Cyrano de Bergerac. He also composed music for the award-winning adventure game The Last Express and the third-person shooter Spec Ops: The Line. As well as working in Hollywood, he has also composed numerous scores for films made in Sweden and the Czech Republic. Personal life Cmíral currently resides in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles. Filmography Feature films *2019 - Safe Inside *2016 - Doubles *2015 - Any Day *2014 - Atlas Shrugged Part III: Who Is John Galt? *2014 - Cam2Cam *2012 - Piranha 3DD *2012 - Rites of Passage *2011 - Atla

Emil Hlobil

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Emil Hlobil (11 October 1901 – 25 January 1987) was a Czech composer and music professor based in Prague. Biography Hlobil was born in Veselí nad Lužnicí, but lived most of his life in Prague. Between 1924 and 1930 he studied at the Prague Conservatory under Josef Suk and Jaroslav Křička, and taught music and composition at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts. He also taught at the Prague Conservatory (1941–1958) before moving to the Academy. He married Czech painter Marie-Hlobilová Mrkvičková, and after World War II they bought a cottage in the Krkonoše mountains as a summer home. Hlobil died in Prague in 1987. Music Hlobil composed in the Romantic tradition of the Nineteenth Century, almost untouched by modern trends, which was possibly a reflection of the politics of the time and place. A review by Gramaphone in 1961 described him as follows: Emil Hlobil, 60-year-old professor of composition at the Prague Conservatoire, has the most original creative imagination of our twelve composers, I would say. In his Quartet for harpsichord and string trio (1944) , he uses a fairly simple diatonic idiom, but shows a Janáček-like boldness in his apparently inconsequential changing of the

Erwin Schulhoff

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Erwin Schulhoff (; 8 June 189418 August 1942) was an Austro-Czech composer and pianist. He was one of the figures in the generation of European musicians whose successful careers were prematurely terminated by the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany and whose works have been rarely noted or performed beyond Czechoslovakia until the 1980s. Life Schulhoff was born in Prague into a German family of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. His father Gustav Schulhoff was a wool merchant from Prague and his mother Louise Wolff from Frankfurt. The pianist and composer Julius Schulhoff was his great-uncle. Antonín Dvořák encouraged Schulhoff’s earliest musical studies, which began at the Prague Conservatory when he was ten years old. , and Cologne; where his teachers included Claude Debussy, Max Reger, Fritz Steinbach, and Willi Thern. He won the Mendelssohn Prize twice, for piano in 1913 and for composition in 1918. He served on the Russian front in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I. He was wounded and was in an Italian prisoner-of-war camp when the war ended. He lived in Germany after the war before returning in 1923 to Prague, where he joined the faculty of the conservatory in 1929. Schulh

Evelyn Faltis

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Evelyn Faltis (20 February 1887 – 13 May 1937 ) was a Czech composer. Life Evelyn Faltis was born in Trutnov, Bohemia, in 1887, the second of three daughters of Carl Johann and Maria Anna Cecilia Magdalena Faltis (born Wiesenburg) who were Viennese bourgeoisie. She began her music studies at the Assomption convent in Paris and later studied at the Vienna Music Academy with Robert Fuchs and Eusebius Mandyczewski. She also studied at the Dresden Conservatory with Felix Draeseke and Eduard Reus, and in Munich with Sophie Menter. After completing her studies she moved to Berlin, but settled in Vienna in 1933. She became the first female coach at Bayreuth and worked as an accompanist at the Nuremberg Stadttheater am Ring and the Darmstadt Hoftheater, and after 1924 at the Städtische Oper in Berlin. She died in Vienna of pneumonia. Works Faltis composed for orchestra, chamber ensemble, instruments and chorus. *Sonata in B minor for piano (no Op., about 1909) *Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 1 *Fantastic symphony for orchestra, Op. 2a *Hamlet symphonic poem, Op. 2b *Piano Concerto, Op. 3 *Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 4 *Andante and Slavic Dance, Op 5. (Op. 5 was counted twice) *Adagio for Violin

František Brož

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František Brož (10 April 1896 – 21 July 1962) was a Czech violist, composer, conductor and music educator. Biography Brož was born on 10 April 1896 in Prague. He studied violin at the Prague Conservatory with Jindřich Baštař. He later studied composition with Josef Bohuslav Foerster and Vítězslav Novák, and conducting under Otakar Ostrčil and Václav Talich. He played viola in the Czech Philharmonic as well as orchestras in Vienna and Istanbul, and was choirmaster of various choral societies in Prague. For several years Brož was active in Hranice in Moravia conducting the symphony orchestra and choir. He returned to Prague in 1940 where he taught music and conducted the Studio Opera Company. From 1945, Brož taught music theory at the Prague Conservatory, and was also a lecturer at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague from 1947 to 1950. Brož’s compositions include a ballet, music for orchestra, chamber music, as well as songs and choral works. In 1948 he published a book on basso continuo and figured bass musical notation. Brož died on 21 July 1962 in Prague. Selected works ;Stage * Pokušení sv. Antonína (The Temptation of St. Anthony), Ballet-Pantomime, Op. 7 (1934, première in

František Gregor Emmert

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František Gregor Emmert (19 May 1940 – 17 April 2015) was a Czech composer of classical and incidental music. Biography Emmert’s ancestors came from the north of Bavaria, in the area around Weiden, Waldmünchen, and Ippesheim. Their history is documented in the local books until the beginning of the 17th century. Gregor Emmert, father of the composer, was born in Bavaria, and the Emmert family moved to Bohemia after World War I. Emmert was born in Mstišov, today a part of Dubí near Teplice in North Bohemia. In 1954, he went to study in Prague. He graduated from High School of Music Education and went on to take classes at the Prague Conservatory in piano, under Lev Esch, and composition, privately under Jan Zdeněk Bartoš. Later he continued his composition studies at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts (JAMU) in Brno, under Jan Kapr and Miloslav Ištvan. After his graduation in 1975, he started to teach composition at JAMU himself. As a Catholic, Emmert was never a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. He represented an alternative to the “Compositional School of Brno” (rationally and numerically composed music by Miloslav Ištvan and Alois Piňos), and many lat

Gideon Klein

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Gideon Klein (6 December 1919 – c. January 1945) was a Czech pianist, classical music composer, educator and organizer of cultural life at Theresienstadt concentration camp. Klein was murdered in the Holocaust. Life Klein was born into a Moravian Jewish family in Přerov and, showing musical talent early, studied piano with Růžena Kurzová and Vilém Kurz, and composition with Alois Hába (in 1939–1940). He was forced to abort his university studies in 1940 when the Nazis closed all institutions of higher learning following their occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. Since compositions and performances by Jewish musicians were banned, his own works could not be performed, though he managed to perform as a concert pianist under several aliases for a time, e.g., under the pseudonym Karel Vránek. Despite those harsh circumstances Klein managed to continue composing. In 1940 he was offered a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music in London, but by that time anti-Jewish legislation prevented his emigration. In December 1941 he was deported by the Nazis to Theresienstadt Ghetto concentration camp, where along with Leoš Janáček’s pupil Pavel Haas, Hans Krása, and Schoenberg’s pupil V

Ilja Hurník

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Ilja Hurník (25 November 1922 – 7 September 2013) was a Czech composer and essayist. Biography Hurnik was born in Poruba, now part of Ostrava. He entered the Prague Conservatory, then went on to the Prague Academy of Arts, where he studied with Ilona Štěpánová-Kurzová, daughter of Vilém Kurz. His 1952 Sonata da camera, for flute, oboe, cello and harpsichord, has been recorded on Cedille Records. A 2008 Supraphon CD (SU 3944–2) contains two of Hurník’s instrumental compositions: the colorful ballet music Ondráš, written in 1951, and his Four Seasons Chamber Suite, written in 1952. Both are performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra led by Karel Ančerl. He is father of Lukáš Hurník, brother-in-law of Petr Eben and uncle of Marek Eben. Ilja Hurník died in Prague on 7 September 2013 at the age of 90. Selected works ;Stage * Ondráš, Ballet, Silesian Folk Ballad (1949) * Dáma a lupiči (The Lady and the Robbers; Die Dame und die Räuber), Comic Opera in 4 acts (1966); libretto by the composer loosely based on the film The Ladykillers * Mudrci a bloudi (Wisemen and Fools), Opera in 3 Scenes on Themes of Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times (1986); libretto by the composer * Diogen

Iša Krejčí

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Iša František Krejčí (10 July 1904 – 6 March 1968) was a Czech neoclassicist composer, conductor and dramaturge. Life Krejčí was born in Prague. He studied history and musicology at Charles University and concurrently piano playing with Albín Šíma and composition at the Prague Conservatory with Karel Boleslav Jirák and Vítězslav Novák and conducting with Václav Talich. He worked for the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava in 1928–32, Czech Radio in 1934–45, Olomouc Opera in 1945–58, and Prague National Theatre since 1958. As a conductor, he concentrated especially on the contemporary French repertoire and Igor Stravinsky’s compositions. His reputation as a composer was established in 1925 with a Divertimento (or Cassation) for four wind instruments. With this work, based on Classical forms, he became known as a Czech representative of neoclassicism . He wrote the operas Antigone (“Antigona”, after Sophocles, 1934) and An Uproar in Efes (“Pozdvižení v Efesu”, after Shakespeare, 1943) as well as four symphonies. He died in Prague. Selected works Stage works * Small Ballet, to the theme of Pantomime by Vítězslav Nezval, also as a composition for chamber orchestra (1926) * Pozdvižení

Jan Klusák

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Jan Klusák (born 18 April 1934 in Prague as Jan Porges) is a contemporary Czech composer, author of film, television and incidental music. Life Klusák was born to a Czech Jewish family, who owned a farm in Prosek, Prague. After he graduated from the gymnasium, he pursued his studies at the Prague Music Academy as a pupil of Jaroslav Řídký and Pavel Bořkovec (in 1953-57 ). Later he concentrated solely on composing. He has never worked directly with music groups or schools, Following the Velvet Revolution in 1989, he began to participate in public life again, and worked as a member and director of various cultural institutions in the Czech Republic. He was awarded a “Classic 1995” Award for his compositions and for his String Quartet No. 5 in particular. Since the 1960s he occasionally acted in films, such as A Report on the Party and the Guests (1966) or Valerie and Her Week of Wonder (1970). Selected works Compositions *Partita for viola solo (1954) *Concertino for flute, violin, viola and cello (1955) *Contrappunto fiorito for flute, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and piano (1955–1956) *Eight Inventions for Various Instrumental Arrangement (1961–73) - his ke

Jan Novák (composer)

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Jan Novák (8 April 1921, Nová Říše – 17 November 1984, Neu Ulm) was a Czech composer of classical music. Novák was primarily active in the 1960s and composed the music for several films of Karel Kachyňa. Novák also composed music for the films of animators Jiří Trnka and Karel Zeman, the leading figures of the Czech animated film, as well as for Wir (1982, TV film) (based on We, the 1921 Russian novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin). Jan Novák was also a Contemporary Latin poet, under the pen name Ianus Novak. In 1970 he was awarded the magna laus at the Amsterdam Latin poetry competition, the . Selected works * Concerto for oboe and orchestra (1952) * Baletti a 9 for nonett (1955) * Concerto for two pianos and orchestra (1955) * Concertino for wind quintett (1957) * Capriccio for cello and orchestra (1958) * Dulces cantilenae for soprana and cello (1961) * Passer Catulli for bass and nonett (1962) * Ioci vernales for bass, octet and tape (1964) * Dido, cantata for mezzosopran, speaker, men’s choir and orchestra (1967) * Exercitia mythologica for four- to eight-part mixed choir (1968) * Ignis pro Ioanne Palach for choir and orchestra (1969) * Apicius modulatus for voice and guitar (1971) * Od

Jan Rychlík

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Jan Rychlík (27 April 1916 – 20 January 1964) was a Czech composer and music theorist. He was one of the most important exponents of the Czech New Music in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Rychlik was born and died in Prague. His parents wanted him to study economics, but he was attracted by the music and foreign languages from an early age. In 1939, during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia he began to study at the Prague Conservatory. In addition to his drumming abilities, he was an excellent pianist and also played some other instruments. Shortly afterwards he focused also on orchestral compositions. Following World War II he devoted himself mainly to film music. He composed the score for the well-known musical comedy Limonádový Joe aneb Koňská opera. Some of the songs from the film became evergreens (“Arizona” and “So far”). He is also known as the author of the music for the French film La Création du Monde by Jean Effel. Jan Rychlík died at the age of 48. Following his death, Czech composer Otmar Mácha composed a memorial work, Variations on a Theme and on the Death of Jan Rychlík, for symphonic orchestra. Style Rychlík’s music output has two different poles, much like the

Jan Zdeněk Bartoš

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Jan Zdeněk Bartoš (4 June 1908 – 1 June 1981) was a Czech composer. Biography Bartoš was born on 4 June 1908 in Dvůr Králové nad Labem. He started to play the violin as a pupil of Karel Hršel in Hradec Králové. In 1924, after he graduated from business school, Bartoš left for France. He played as a concertmaster of the Messageries Maritimes naval company in Marseille. From 1929 to 1931 he travelled with that company to Africa, Asia and Madagascar. Bartoš died on 1 June 1981 in Prague, shortly before his 73rd birthday. Selected works ;Stage * Král manéže (Master of the Ring), Burlesque Ballet-Pantomime in 14 scenes * Prokletý zámek (The Cursed Mansion), Opera in 1 act (1951); libretto by Zdeněk Lorenc ;Orchestra * Symphony No.1 for large orchestra, Op.65 (1952) * Symphony No.2 for (chamber) orchestra, Op.78 (1956–1957) * Symphony No.3 for string orchestra (1964–1965) * Symphony No.5 * Symphony No.6 for brass quartet and string orchestra (1974) * Symphony No.7 (1977) ;Concert band * Z podkrkonošského špalíčku (1973) ;Concertante * Introdukce a rondo (Introduction and Rondo) for violin and orchestra, Op.13 (1937) * Concertino for bassoon and orchestra, Op.34 (1943) * Staří přátele (Ol

Jana Obrovská

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Jana Obrovská (13 September 1930 – 4 April 1987) was a Czech composer. Biography Jana Obrovská was born in Prague, the daughter of painter and sculptor Jakub Obrovský. Her early studies were piano with B. Kabeláčová-Rixová and theory with Jaroslav Řídký. At the Prague Conservatory she studied with M. Krejčí and Emil Hlobil from 1949-55. She won a prize in the 1972 Concours International de Guitarre in Paris for Passocaglia und Toccata. Her Hommage a Béla Bartók became compulsory in the same Paris competition in 1975. Obrovská also composed music for orchestra and chamber ensembles. Obrovská married guitar virtuoso Milan Zelenka and the couple had a son, guitarist Vilém Zelenka (b. 1987) who often plays in a duo with his father. Works Obrovská’s compositions have been recorded and issued on CD, including: Selective discography *Passacaglia and Toccata for guitar, A. Artzt, Helios CD CDH88026 (1989) *Due Musici and Concerto for Two Guitars and Orchestra, M. Zelenka and L. Brabec with Radio Symphony Orchestra Pilsen, Supraphon VT2789-2 (2018) *Homage to Béla Bartók for guitar, R. Aussel HARMONIA MUNDI CD in MAN4802 (1992) *Four images of Japan for guitar, Tribute to Hiroshige - Homage

Jaromír Vejvoda

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Jaromír Vejvoda (28 March 1902 – 13 November 1988) was a Czech composer. He is best known as the author of the “Beer Barrel Polka”. Life and work Vejvoda was born and died in Prague-Zbraslav. From 1936 to 1960, he lived in Vrané nad Vltavou, after he married the local native Božena Zamrazilová. He learned to play the fiddle and flugelhorn in a band led by his father. Later he played these instruments in a military band. He started to compose in the 1920s while he worked as a bartender in a pub owned by his father-in-law. In 1929 he wrote the Modřanská polka named after Modřany, a suburb of Prague where it was played the first time. This catchy tune became a hit and allowed Vejvoda to pursue music as a full-time professional. It was published in 1934 with lyrics Škoda lásky, kterou jsem tobě dala… Publishing house Shapiro Bernstein acquired the rights shortly before World War II and the polka, now the “Beer Barrel Polka” with the English lyrics “Roll out the barrel…”, became the most popular song of the Allies in the West, although the original Czech lyrics have a very different meaning and do not speak about beer. After the war this polka became popular around the world, in Ger

Jaroslav Ježek (composer)

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Jaroslav Ježek () (September 25, 1906 – January 1, 1942) was a Czech composer, pianist and conductor, author of jazz, classical, incidental and film music. Life Ježek was born in the Prague quarter of Žižkov to the family of a tailor. He was almost blind from a young age. He studied composition at the Prague Conservatory as a pupil of Karel Boleslav Jirák (1924–1927), at the master school of composition with Josef Suk (1927–1930), and shortly also with Alois Hába (1927–1928). Ježek met the playwrights/comedians Jan Werich and Jiří Voskovec, leaders of the Osvobozené divadlo (Prague Liberated Theatre) in Prague, and took up the post of main composer and conductor for the theatre. During the next decade (from 1928 to 1939), he composed incidental music, songs, dances, and ballets for the comic and satirical plays of Voskovec and Werich. In 1934 he became a member of Czech Group of Surrealists. Forced to leave Czechoslovakia following the Nazi occupation, Ježek, Voskovec and Werich went into exile in New York City. He worked as a piano teacher and choirmaster there, and continued to work with Voskovec and Werich. In 1942, the long-ill Ježek died of chronic kidney disease in New York.

Jaroslav Kocian

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Jaroslav Kocian (22 February 1883 – 8 March 1950) was a Czech violinist, classical composer and teacher. Together with Jan Kubelík he is considered as the most important representative of “Ševčík’s school”. He was celebrated as an interpreter of violin compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach. As a composer he is especially noted for his compositions for the violin, which have been recorded most often by his student Josef Suk. Life Kocian was born in Ústí nad Orlicí on 22 February 1883. His father, Julius Kocian, was a violinist, teacher and a former classmate of famous virtuoso Otakar Ševčík. Kocian’s three sisters were also gifted, but he surpassed them with his exceptional talent. He received his first violin at the age of four. He made his first public appearance in 1887 at the annual music festival in Ústí nad Orlicí. His first teacher after his father was Josef Zábrodský, who also prepared him for the conservatory exams. In 1893 Kocian went to Prague to take the exams for the Prague Conservatory, which he passed, but was not accepted to study due to his poor health and small stature. Only in 1897 he was accepted into Otakar Ševčík’s class. He also studied piano and composition w

Jaroslav Kvapil (composer)

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Jaroslav Kvapil (21 April 1892 – 18 February 1958) was a Czech composer, teacher, conductor and pianist. Life and career Born in Fryšták, he studied with Josef Nešvera and worked as a chorister in Olomouc from 1902 to 1906. He then studied at the Brno School of Organists under Leoš Janáček, earning a diploma in 1909. He studied with Max Reger at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1911 through 1913. Kvapil was an excellent accompanist, noted for his skill in sight reading. As the choirmaster and conductor of the Brno Beseda (1919–47) he gave the world première of Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass, and the Czech premières of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion (1923), Arthur Honegger’s Judith (1933) and Karol Szymanowski’s Stabat mater (1937). He received the Award of Merit in 1955. He taught at the School of Organists and at the Brno Conservatory, and he was appointed professor of composition at the academy in 1947. His students included Hana Janků, Miloslav Ištvan, Ctirad Kohoutek, Čestmír Gregor and Jiří Matys. Death He died in Brno at the age of 65. Selected works ;Orchestra * Dnes a zítra (Today and Tomorrow), Symphonic Overture * Notturno (1911) * Symphony No.2 * Symphony No.4 * Svít

Jaroslav Řídký

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Jaroslav Řídký (25 August 1897 – 14 August 1956) was a Czech composer, conductor, harpist, and music teacher. Life 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. In 1928 Řídký attended as a conductor the premiere of Leoš Janáček´s chamber composition Capriccio. He died at Poděbrady. Style He composed seven symphonies and one sinfonietta, one string serenade, concertos for violin (1), piano (1), and cello (2), chamber music, pieces for piano, cantatas, and also prepared his own arrangements of folk songs. His work is composed rather in traditional style, first compositions are influenced by romanticism, later he composed in traditional, neo-classical style. His oeuvre contains 47 numbered opuses, both in chamber and orchestral instrumentation. Řídký composed also violin, piano and two violoncello concertos. In 1954 he was awarded National Prize for his Piano Concerto

Jindřich Feld

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Jindřich Feld (19 February 1925 in Prague, Czechoslovakia – 8 July 2007 in Prague, Czech Republic ) was a Czech composer of classical music. Feld was born into a musical family, his father a well-known professor of violin at the Prague Conservatory which followed the tradition of Otakar Ševčík, the master of Jan Kubelík. His mother was a violinist. While he studied violin and viola with his father, he began studying composition early, studying at the Prague Conservatory and then graduating from the Academy of Music (HAMU) in 1952. In this year, he also earned his doctorate from the Charles University in Prague, with degrees in musicology, aesthetics and philosophy. In 1968 and 1969, Feld accepted an invitation to be a Guest Professor of Composition at Adelaide University in Australia. He also continued to teach at the Prague Conservatory, where he was Professor of Composition from 1972 until 1986. He was a guest lecturer at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana in 1981 and 1984. His teaching has also taken him to positions at other American universities as well as ones in Denmark, Norway, Germany, France, England, and 1991 in Japan. Among his notable students are Ivan Romanoff

Jiří Reinberger

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Jiří Emil Reinberger (14 April 1914 – 28 May 1977) was a Czech organist, organ expert, music educator and composer. Early life Jiří Reinberger was born on 14 April 1914 in Brno, Moravia, Austria-Hungary. He was the son of the Brno high school teacher of the same name and his wife Růžena (née Grünwald). He attended the high school in Holešov from 1925 to 1929. He graduated from a gymnasium in Brno in 1933. As part of extracurricular studies, he had already obtained a degree in organ performance at the Brno Conservatory under Eduard Tregler in 1932. Privately, he furthered his organ studies with Bedřich Antonín Wiedermann in Prague and with Günther Ramin and Karl Straube in Leipzig. At the Brno Conservatory, he earned his degree in 1938 under Vilém Petrželka obtained a degree in Composition. He then furthered his knowledge and skills at the Prague Conservatory in the master class of the composer Vítězslav Novák, graduating with a diploma in 1940. Career From February 1945, he taught organ at the Brno Conservatory and from 1945 to 1951 at the Prague Conservatory. From 1946, he worked as a music educator at the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. There, he was ap

Josef Berg

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Josef Berg (8 March 1927 – 26 February 1971) was a Czech composer, musicologist and librettist. His work represents a remarkable value in the context of Czech music after World War II. Life From 1946 to 1950 he studied at the Brno Conservatory, in the class of Vilém Petrželka. Simultaneously he attended the music lectures at the Faculty of Philosophy on Brno university given by Jan Racek and Bohumír Štědroň. He worked as a music editor in the Czechoslovak Radio in Brno (1950–53), and also wrote reviews for the journals and newspapers. Later he concentrated exclusively on composing. Berg founded an association of young composers called Group A. The members of the group strived in their program to connect convincing artistic activity with the new musical language, and also to promote new musical trends in Czechoslovakia. Style Even though the Berg’s style was at first influenced by Moravian folk music, his mature compositions are very individual and take advantage of new composition techniques and principles. Selected works *Months. Piano cycle (1956) *Seven Preludies for Piano (1959) *Sextet for Harp, Piano and String Quartet (1959) *Nonet for Two Harps, Piano, Cembalo, Glockenspiel

Josef Bohuslav Foerster

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Josef Bohuslav Foerster (30 December 1859 – 29 May 1951) was a Czech composer and musicologist. He is often referred to as J. B. Foerster, and his surname is sometimes spelled Förster. Life Foerster was born in Prague. His ancestors were of Bohemian German ethnicity, but had assimilated into the Czech community. The family normally lived in Prague and was musical. His father, a composer also named Josef Foerster, taught at the Conservatory. (His father’s students included Franz Lehár. ) His brother was artist Viktor Foerster. Josef was educated accordingly, and duly studied there. He also showed an early interest in the theatre, and thought of becoming an actor. He taught music; one of his early students was composer and Stuttgart court pianist Anna Sick. From 1884 Foerster worked as a critic, and he would prove to be a writer of distinction. In 1893 he married the leading Czech soprano Berta Lautererová (Bertha Lauterer) in Hamburg, during ten years making his living there as a critic, and she was engaged at the Hamburg Staatsoper. In 1901 he became a teacher at the Hamburg Conservatory. In 1903 Berta went to sing at the Vienna Hofoper, and so Josef moved there with her, continuin

Josef Suk (composer)

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Josef Suk (4 January 1874 – 29 May 1935) was a Czech composer, violinist, and Olympic silver medalist. He studied under Antonín Dvořák, whose daughter he married. Biography From a young age, Josef Suk (born in Křečovice, Bohemia) was deeply involved and well trained in music. He learned organ, violin, and piano from his father, Josef Suk Sr., and was trained further in violin by the Czech violinist Antonín Bennewitz. His theory studies were conducted with several other composers including Josef Bohuslav Foerster, , and . He later focused his writing on chamber works under the teachings of Hanuš Wihan. Despite extensive musical training, his musical skill was often said to be largely inherited. Though he continued his lessons with Wihan another year after the completion of his schooling, Suk’s greatest inspiration came from another of his teachers, Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. Known as one of Dvořák’s favorite pupils, Suk also became personally close to his mentor. Underlying this was Dvořák’s respect for Suk, reflected in Suk’s 1898 marriage to Dvořák’s daughter, Otilie, marking some of the happiest times in the composer’s life and music. However, the last portion of Suk’s life w

Julie Reisserová

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Julie Reisserová née Kühnlova (9 October 1888 – 25 February 1938) was a Czech composer and music publicist. Biography Julie Reisserová was born in Prague. She studied piano with Adolf Mikeš and singing with Richard Figar. From 1919 until 1921 she studied composition in Prague with Josef Bohuslav Foerster. She continued her composition studies in Bern with Ernst Hohlfeld and with Albert Roussel (1924–1929) and Nadia Boulanger. Reisserová translated into Czech language Le testament de la tante Caroline (Aunt Caroline’s Last Will), by operetta by composer Albert Roussel and librettist Nino (Michel Veber). The operetta premiered on 14 November 1936 in Olomouc and was also staged on 18 April 1937 in Prague. She died in Prague in 1938, age 49. Selected works Notable works include: ; Orchestral music *Suite for Orchestra (), 1928–1931 *Pastorale Maritimo for Orchestra (), 1933 *Early Spring (), 1936 ; Solo piano *Esquisses, 1935 *Deux Allegros ; Vocal music *March (; orchestral songs), 1934 *Sous la neige (, ; song cycle for voice and piano), 1936 *Festive Day (; for women’s choir), 1936, dedicated to Františka Plamínková Reisserová also wrote In Margin Vitae, a book of her poems written

Juraj Lexmann

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Juraj Lexmann (19 January 1941 – 12 November 2025) was a Slovak musicologist, composer, film editor, and academic. He is best known for codifying modern Slovak Roman Catholic liturgical hymnals and for composing music for more than 120 films, as well as for his contributions to documentary sound design and musicological scholarship. Early life and career Juraj Lexmann was born in Bratislava on 19 January 1941. He began his career in 1958 as a laborer at an organ factory in Krnov. He later studied at the Industrial School for Musical Instrument Production in Kraslice while simultaneously completing studies in musical composition at the Ostrava Gymnasium. In 1964, he joined the public broadcaster as a film editor responsible for sound design, marking the beginning of his long-term professional involvement with film and music. His career combined practical work in sound and composition with theoretical reflection on film music. In the 1970s, he studied musicology at the Comenius University. After graduating, he founded the Department of Sound Composition at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava and served as Director of the Institute of Musicology of the Slovak Academy of Scien

Karel Berman

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Karel Berman (14 April 1919 in Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia – 11 August 1995 in Prague, Czech Republic) was a Jewish Czech opera singer, composer, opera director, and translator. Life After extensive musical education, Karel Berman started his career as a bass singer of opera in Opava. In 1944 he composed Suite Terezin in three movements (‘Terezin’, ‘Horror’, and ‘Alone’); a work which musicologist Bret Web described as “a rare in situ tone portrait of life in a Nazi camp”. Later he was also imprisoned in Kaufering and Auschwitz. He taught at the Prague Conservatory from 1961 to 1971, and from 1964 at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Works * 1944 Poupata (“Buds”) Bass-baritone songs and piano **Majové ráno (Eva Nonfriedová) **Co se děje při probuzení (Kamil Bednář) **Děti si hrají (Josef Hora) **Před usnutím č. 1 (František Halas) **Velikonoční (František Halas) * 1938 - 1945 Reminiscences Suite Piano (first published in 2000) *Terezín Suite Piano *Broučci (“Glow-worms” - after the children’s book by Jan Karafiát) Soprano and piano (later made world-famous by Jiří Trnka as a cartoon) Recordings *Historical recording opera arias, conducted František Dyk Notes Reference

Karel Boleslav Jirák

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Karel Boleslav Jirák (né Karel Bohuslav Jirák; January 28, 1891, Prague, Bohemia – January 30, 1972, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) was a Czechoslovak composer and conductor. Jirák became a pupil of Josef Bohuslav Foerster and Vítězslav Novák at the Charles University and at music academy in Prague. From 1915-18 he was the Kapellmeister at the Hamburg Opera and worked from 1918 to 1919 as a conductor at the National Theatre in Brno and Ostrava. From 1920-30, he was a composition teacher at the Prague Conservatory, and principal conductor of the Czechoslovak Radio Orchestra until 1945. In 1947, he emigrated to the United States, where from 1948 to 1967 a professor at Roosevelt University, Chicago, and, in 1967, a composition teacher at the Conservatory college in Chicago. He remained in this position until 1971. Jirák’s opera was Apolonius z Tyany (Apollonius of Tyana, 1912–1913), which was initially ignored by Prague’s National Theatre and later accepted under the title Žena a Bůh (The Woman and the God, 1936). He wrote six symphonies and several symphonic variations. In 1952, he wrote a Symphonic Scherzo for volume. He also wrote many suites and overtures, numerous pieces of chamber mus

Karel Janovický

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Karel Janovický (18 February 1930 – 9 January 2024) was a Czech composer, pianist, BBC producer and administrator who lived in the United Kingdom from 1950. He was one of the youngest of the group of European émigré composers who came to live and work in Britain during the 1930s and 1940s to avoid persecution at home. Education and career Janovický was born in Plzeň as Bohuš František Šimsa. He was the son of Bohuslav Šimsa, a baritone soloist at the Plzeň Opera. Growing up under the German occupation, he studied piano from an early age and later composition with Josef Bartovský (1884–1964). In 1949 he was unsuccessful in applying to study at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (HAMU) for political reasons. (The Czech coup of February 1948 had resulted in Communist Party control over the Czech Government). So in October of that year he left with his future wife Sylva Maiwaldová for Germany, arriving a year later in England. Once there he continued his studies: first at the Surrey College of Music, Fitznells Manor in Ewell under Percy Turnbull; then at The Royal College of Music where he completed a Master of Music degree; and also privately with Matyas Seiber (composition) and

Karel Navrátil

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Karel Navrátil (24 April 1867 – 23 December 1936) was a Czech violinist, composer and music educator. He was born in Prague, and studied in Vienna under Guido Adler and František Ondříček, afterward working as a composer and music teacher in Prague. Notable students include composers Helen Hopekirk, Arthur Hinton and John Powell. He died in Prague. Some sources have confused him with Karl Nawratil (1836–1914), attributing to him a substantial output of chamber music actually composed by the latter. Selected works Navrátil’s compositions include opera, symphonies and symphonic poems, piano and violin concertos, chamber music and piano pieces, songs and choral works. ;Opera * Heřman, Op. 21 * Herman a Dorothea * Salambo ;Orchestral * Symphony in G minor, Op. 4 sic (manuscript score dated 1902) * Koncertní ouvertura (Concert Overture), Op. 5 (1872) * Jan Hus, Symphonic Poem * Žižka, Symphonic Poem * Bílá hora (White Mountain; Blanche montagne), Symphonic Poem * Indianerlegende for string orchestra with harp ;Concertante * Piano Concerto in F minor * Violin Concerto in E major ;Piano * Variace na norské lidové písně (Variations on a Norwegian Folk Song; Variationen über ein norwegische

Karel Reiner

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Karel Reiner (27 June 1910 – 17 October 1979) was a Czech composer and pianist. He was persecuted by Nazis as a Jew and by communists as a formalist. He was the only classical composer to survive the concentration camp in Theresienstadt. Life He was born in Žatec, Bohemia into a Jewish family. His father Josef was a kantor in Žatec’s synagogue. He studied law, and acquired his doctorate in 1934. In 1929 he also studied composition privately with Alois Hába and composed Fantasia for Quarter - tone piano. In 1931 he graduated from the Master School of Composition with Orchestral suite, as a student of Josef Suk. Reiner was also a concert pianist who cooperated with Theatre of Emil František Burian (1934–1938). During World War II; he was imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps, first in Theresienstadt (deported on 7 July 1943), he participated in musical activities there, created incidental music for the play Esther, directed by Norbert Frýd. Later, on 28 September 1944, he was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, afterwards to Landsberg and finally to Kaufering, a subcamp of the Dachau camp. Following the death march and liberation he returned to Prague, where he reunited with his wife Ha

Kateřina Emingerová

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Kateřina Emingerová (13 July 1856 – 9 September 1934) was a Czech composer, pianist and music educator. She was also a prolific music writer and journalist, producing numerous books, essays, reviews and articles on music. Biography Emingerová was born on 13 July 1856 in Prague, the daughter of lawyer Jan Eminger and his wife Julie Emingerová. Kateřina’s sister Helena (1858–1943) became known as a painter and graphic artist. Kateřina completed early studies under František Škroup, Bedřich Smetana, Adolf Čech, František Zdeněk Skuherský, Ludevít Procházka, Vojtěch Hřímalý, Jan Hřímalý, Josef Paleček and Viennese tenor Gustav Walter. She then studied with Josef Jiránek, Karel ze Slavkovských, Ludevít Procházka, and Jindřich Kaan. In Berlin her teacher was Karl-Heinrich Barth at the Hochschule für Musik (1882–1883). She studied composition privately with Zdeněk Fibich and Vítězslav Novák and began composing at the age of thirteen. Emingerová performed her first solo concert at age nineteen in the Konvikt concert hall. In the 1870s Emingerová began composing dances, especially polkas, which were popular at the Prague balls. She also composed for orchestra, chamber ensembles, choir and s

Ladislav Burlas

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Ladislav Burlas (3 April 1927 – 11 February 2024) was a Slovak composer and musicologist. He worked at the institute of musicology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava from 1951 to 1990, as director of the institution from 1964 to 1974. The focus of his studies was the music history of Slovakia, especially of the 20th century. He was dean of the faculty of performing arts at the Academy of Arts in Banská Bystrica from 2001 to 2005. He composed music in many genres with a focus on choral music and educational pieces. Life and career Born in Trnava on 3 April 1927, he completed school there in 1946 and studied from 1946 to 1951, composition with Alexander Moyzes and conducting at the and musicology at the Comenius University. He gained a PhD with a dissertation, “Cantus Catholici – prispevok k analýze hudby feudálnej spoločnosti na Slovensku” (Cantus Catholici – a contribution to the analysis of music in the feudal society of Slovakia). From 1951 he studied composition further with Moyzes, then at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. Burlas composed in many genres, for orchestra, chamber music, piano music and other works for solo instruments, with a focus on chor

Ladislav Kupkovič

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Ladislav Kupkovič (17 March 1936 – 15 June 2016) was a Slovak composer and conductor. Life Kupkovič was born in Bratislava, and studied violin and conducting there, first at the conservatory, then at the Academy of Performing Arts. He played violin in the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra from 1960 to 1965, and then began to write music for television and film to make a living. At the same time, he was writing more experimental music for concerts. In 1969 he won a music scholarship to West Berlin, and emigrated there the following year. In 1971, he conducted the premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Mixtur in Cologne, a piece dedicated to Kupkovič himself. In the same year, he began to teach music theory at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover, and lived in Haste near Hannover until his death. During the 1970s he was associated with the Cologne School . Wandelkonzerte Kupkovič has probably become best known for his experiments with the concert form in the 1970s. In Musik für das Ruhrfestspielhaus (1970), he arranged forty performers to play a number of pieces in a concert hall in Recklinghausen over the course of three hours. The pieces were played in various parts of the buildi

Leoš Janáček

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1854–1872: Early life and family#

Leoš Janáček, son of schoolmaster Jiří Janacek and Amálie Janáčková (née Grulichová), was born in Hukvaldy, Moravia (then part of the Austrian Empire) on 3 July 1854. He was born with six surviving siblings, and baptised as Leo Eugen. He was a gifted child in a family of limited means, and showed an early musical talent in choral singing. His father wanted him to follow the family tradition and become a teacher, but he deferred to Janáček’s obvious musical abilities. In 1865, young Janáček enrolled as a ward of the foundation of the St Thomas’s Abbey, Brno, where he took part in choral singing under Pavel Křížkovský and occasionally played the organ. One of his classmates, František Neumann, later described Janáček as an “excellent pianist, who played Beethoven symphonies perfectly in a piano duet with a classmate, under Křížkovský’s supervision”. Křížkovský found him a problematic and wayward student but recommended his entry to the Prague Organ School. Janáček later remembered Křížkovský as a great conductor and teacher.

Luboš Fišer

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Luboš Fišer (30 September 1935 – 22 June 1999) was a Czech composer, born in Prague. He was known both for his soundtracks and chamber music. From 1952 to 1956 he studied composition at the Prague Conservatory as a pupil of Emil Hlobil. From 1956 he studied at the AMU in Prague. His first publicly performed compositions were Four Pieces for Violin and Piano (1954). Selected compositions ;Orchestra & Wind Ensemble * Patnáct listů podle Dürerovy Apokalypsy (Fifteen Prints after Dürer’s Apocalypse) (1965) * Double (1969) * Lament for chamber orchestra (1971) * Report for wind ensemble (1971) * Labyrinth (1977) * Serenády pro Salzburg (Serenades for Salzburg) for chamber orchestra (1979) * Meridián (1980) * Sonata for orchestra (1998) ;Concertante * Concerto da camera for piano and orchestra (two versions, 1964 with full orchestra, 1970 with wind) * Concerto for piano and orchestra (1979) * Romance for violin and orchestra (1980) * Concerto for two pianos and orchestra (1983) * Concerto for violin and orchestra (1998) * Sonata per Leonardo for guitar and orchestra * Pastorale per Giuseppe Tartini for guitar and orchestra ;Chamber * Dialogue for trumpet and organ (1996) * Impromptu for

Ludvík Vítězslav Čelanský

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Ludvík Vítězslav Čelanský () (17 July 1870 in Vienna – 27 October 1931 in Prague) was a Czech conductor and composer. He was founder and first principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Biography Jan Čelanský, Ludvík’s father, worked as a kapellmeister in Horní Krupá (Havlíčkův Brod district). Ludvík studied at the gymnasium in Havlíčkův Brod, and from 1887 to 1891 at the teaching institute in Kutná Hora. He worked as a teacher in Dolní Krupá for one year before devoting himself exclusively to music. From 1892 to 1894 he studied composition with K. Stecker at the Prague Conservatory, then at the dramatic school of the National Theatre and at Pivoda Operatic School. Orchestra *Premiéra na vsi (Premiere in the Countryside), Overture (1900) *Vzkříšení Polsky (Resurrection of Poland), Overture (1904) * Symphony “From My Life” in five movements *Duchovní vývoj člověka dle starého zákona (The Spiritual Evolution of Man According to Ancient Law), Symphonic Trilogy (1915–1918) :# Adam :# Noe (Noah) :# Mojžíš (Moses) *Hymnus slunci (Hymn to the Sun), Symphonic Poem (1919) Songs *Nálady (Moods) (1895); words by the composer *Melancholické písně (Melancholic Songs) (1895); words

Marek Kopelent

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Marek Kopelent (; 28 April 193212 March 2023) was a Czech composer, music editor and academic teacher, who is considered to have been at the forefront of the “New Music” movement, and was one of the most-published Czech composers of the second half of the 20th century. After studies in Prague, he worked as a music editor. In 1959 he became interested in European avantgarde music and incorporated its developments in his style. He received international recognition when his String Quartet No. 3 was performed at festivals throughout Europe. He co-founded and directed a contemporary music ensemble in Prague, Musica Viva Pragensis, and composed chamber music for them. He studied further for one year in West Berlin on a scholarship by Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst. When he returned, politics had changed to censorship of contemporary music; he lost his job, and his music was banned. For 15 years, he worked as an accompanist at a music school, and composed pieces for foreign commissions that he could not hear being performed. In 1989, he was able to return, and was appointed professor of composition at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. He was chairman of the Czech section of th

Mikuláš Moyzes

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Mikuláš Moyzes (born December 6, 1872; died April 2, 1944) was a Slovak composer, organist and pedagogue. As a young man, he worked in various parts of Transleithania, in what is now Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. At the age of twenty he became an organist in Eger and two years later an organist and music teacher in Oradea. Later he became a professor of music at the teacher training institute in Čurgov, in Kláštor pod Znievom and in Prešov. He was active in the cultural and social sphere of Prešov for 36 years, from his arrival in 1908 until his death in 1944. A marble monument in the shape of a lyre was erected in his memory in Prešov. He is considered a direct predecessor of Slovak musical modernity. Life Moyzes was born into a family of teachers in Zvolenská Slatina in 1872. At the age of three, he relocated with his family to Divín, where he was first introduced to music. Later on, he completed his high school education in Banská Bystrica and Revúcá, and upon finishing high school, he opted for a teacher training institute in Kláštor pod Znievom. In 1895, the age of twenty, he became an organist in Eger. In 1908, Moyzes moved to Prešov to study at the State Teachers’ Institute

Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský

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Mikuláš Schneider-Trnavský KSG (24 May 1881, Trnava – 28 May 1958, Bratislava) was a Slovak composer, conductor and pedagogue. He was popular mostly because of his songs, some becoming traditional. Life In 1900, he passed his maturita exam in Trnava. From 1900 to 1901, he studied composition at the Budapestian conservatory with Hans von Koessler. From 1901 to 1903, he studied at the conservatory in Vienna with Hermann Graedener. Finally, from 1903 to 1905, he studied organ playing in Prague with Josef Klička and composition with Carl Stecker. After his studies, he became regenschori in Zrenjanin, Serbia. In 1908, he performed together with Czech barytonist Bohumír Nepomucký on the concert tour through Europe. After returning to Trnava, in 1909, he became regenschori at the Saint Nicholas Cathedral in Trnava and remained at this post until his death. Works His most known achievement is a compilation of Catholic songs Jednotný katolícky spevník (Standard Catholic hymnbook) created on demand by Spolok svätého Vojtecha (St. Vojtech Society). It was published in 1937 after about fifteen years of work and contains over 500 songs, nearly half of them auctorial. Some of the songs were take

Milan Zelenka

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Milan Zelenka (born 4 June 1939) is a Czech guitarist, composer and music arranger. Music career Zelenka was born in Czechoslovakia and studied guitar at the Prague Conservatory with Štěpán Urban. While a student, he took first place in music competitions in Moscow in 1957 and again in Vienna in 1959. After graduation, he conducted a career as a concert guitarist, appearing internationally. He also gives master classes. He is best known for arrangements of traditional Czech songs, but also commissions new works for performance. In recent years he has composed original works. From 1963 to 1981, Zelenka worked as professor at the Prague Conservatory. Notable students include Rudolf Dašek and Pavel Steidl. Zalenka married Czech composer Jana Obrovská and the couple had a son, Vilém (born 1987). Vilém Zelenka graduated from Czech Technical University and often plays in a guitar duo with his father. Discography Selected works include: *Moderní České Skladby Pro Kytaru (LP, Album, Mono), Supraphon (1970) *Antonio Vivaldi, Joseph Haydn, Fernando Carulli, Milan Zelenka - Koncerty Pro Kytaru A Orchestr, Supraphon (1973) *Kytarový Recitál Ze Skladeb J.S.Bacha, Supraphon (1978) *Jana Obrovská

Oldřich František Korte

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Oldřich František Korte (26 April 1926; Šaľa, Slovakia – 10 September 2014; Prague) was a Czech composer, pianist, publicist and writer. From 1943 to 1949 he studied at the Prague Conservatory, as a pupil of F. Pícha. He was forced to interrupt his studies in 1944–45, when he was imprisoned in a concentration camp. Following the communist Victorious February in 1948 Korte was once more affected by the political situation in former Czechoslovakia. He was forced to find work out of the artistic professions. Nevertheless, he never gave up his musical and literary activities, and gradually became a respected composer and pianist. Korte cooperated with the important Czech experimental theatre Laterna Magika, whose director Alfréd Radok offered him the post of pianist. He toured four continents with the ensemble of Laterna Magika, and played in more than 3000 performances. Style Korte in his whole musical and literary output takes a non-conformist attitude; he is not a “composer of one style”, in whose compositions a strict sense of logic musical rules prevails. He is partly influenced by the works of Bohuslav Martinů and Albert Roussel. Selected works Music *Sinfonietta (1947) - influen

Oskar Morawetz

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Oskar Morawetz, (January 17, 1917 – June 13, 2007) was a Canadian composer, teacher and pianist. Biography Morawetz was born in Světlá nad Sázavou, Bohemia (now in the Czech Republic), into a Jewish family. He studied piano and theory in Prague and, following the Nazi takeover of his country in 1938, studied in Vienna and Paris. At age 19 he was recommended by George Szell for the assistant conductor’s post with the Prague Opera. In 1940 he left Europe for Canada where he began teaching at the Royal Conservatory of Music in 1946, and in 1952 was appointed to the University of Toronto where he was professor of composition until his retirement in 1982. His work was also part of the music event in the art competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Morawetz’s 1971 piece From the Diary of Anne Frank won a Juno Award for Best Classical Composition in 2001. His Concerto for Harp and Orchestra also won a Juno in 1989. On three occasions, Morawetz was awarded a Canada Council Senior Arts Fellowship (1960, 1967, 1974) for his contribution to Canadian music. In 1987, Morawetz received the Order of Ontario and in 1989 he received the Order of Canada. The Society of Composers, Authors and Music P

Oskar Nedbal

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Oskar Nedbal (26 March 1874 – 24 December 1930) was a Czech violist, composer and conductor of classical music. Early life Nedbal was born in Tábor in Bohemia, Austria-Hungary. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Bennewitz, theory under and , and composition with Antonín Dvořák. Career In 1891 he founded the Bohemian String Quartet, later known as the Czech Quartet, which disbanded in 1933. The original members, alongside Nedbal on viola, were Karel Hoffmann, Josef Suk and . He was principal conductor with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra from 1896 to 1906. From 1907 until 1917 he lived in Vienna and conducted the Wiener Tonkünstler-Orchester. In recent years, Nedbal’s haunting Valse Triste featured in his ballet Der Faule Hans (The Tale of Simple Johnny) has been a favorite stand-alone encore piece of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. The waltz is also played on the piano at a key moment by one of the characters in Heimito von Doderer’s novel of the inter-war years in Vienna, The Demons (Die Dämonen) (1956). Since 2019, the Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition has commemorated Nedbal’s name. Selected works ;Opera * Sedlák Jakub (Jakub the Peasant

Otakar Jeremiáš

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Otakar Jeremiáš (17 October 1892 – 5 March 1962) was a Czech composer, conductor and teacher. He was the son of composer Bohuslav Jeremiáš and the brother of composer Jaroslav Jeremiáš. Life Jeremiáš was born in Písek. An accomplished cellist and pianist, he studied at the Prague Conservatory of Music. He lived in České Budějovice, where he directed a local music school until February 1929, when he was appointed head conductor of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. When he succeeded Charvat as conductor of the Radiojournal Orchestra in 1929, there were only 27 players, but he managed to increase its size to 45 by 1931 and by 1936 there were 70, achieved by much negotiation, good salaries for the players, as well as his own charisma. In 1945 Jeremiáš left the Radio Symphony Orchestra to become president of the Prague National Theatre Opera. From 1949 he was chairman of the Federation of Czechoslovak Composers (Svaz československých skadatelů). He died in Prague. Jeremiáš’s view of conducting was set out in an article in 1943 where he wrote “My ideal is a creative orchestra, whose members, in accord with the efforts of the conductor, creatively collaborate during their performance”.

Otakar Ostrčil

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Otakar Ostrčil (25 February 1879 in Prague – 20 August 1935 in Prague) was a Czech composer and conductor. He is noted for symphonic works Impromptu, Suite in C Minor, and Symfonietta, and in his opera compositions Poupě and Honzovo království. Compositional career Ostrčil was born, and spent his entire life, in Prague, the center of the Czech musical community of his generation. He studied philosophy at Charles University, attending the classes of Otakar Hostinský, and simultaneously studied composition and music theory privately under Zdeněk Fibich. From his early student days he was a close friend of Zdeněk Nejedlý, whose outspoken voice in musicology formed Ostrčil’s greatest critical support. He worked as a conductor at the Vinohrady Theater (1914–1919) and later at the National Theatre (Prague) (1920–1935), which was one of the most influential positions in Czech musical life. He also worked as a pedagogue at the Prague Conservatory, teaching conducting. Ostrčil wrote six operas: Jan Zhořelecký (written as a student under Fibich, 1898, unperformed), Vlasty skon (Vlasta’s passing, premiered 1904, to a libretto previously considered by Smetana and Fibich), Kunálovy oči (Kunál’s

Otakar Zich

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Otakar Zich (25 March 1879 – 9 July 1934) was a Czech composer and aesthetician. Biography Zich was born on 25 March 1879 in Městec Králové. In his music education he studied as a self-taught man. Years later, he became a pupil of the prominent nineteenth-century Czech aesthetician Otakar Hostinský, and a protégé of the iconoclastic musicologist and critic Zdeněk Nejedlý. In the years 1903–1906 he taught physics and mathematics at the High School in Domažlice. In the years leading up to the First World War Zich lived in Prague, actively participating in musical life as a critic. In this capacity he supported the efforts of Nejedlý’s pro-Smetana faction against the intellectual descendants of Antonín Dvořák, especially during the so-called Dvořák Affair of 1911–1914, when he called into question the artistic integrity of Dvořák’s compositional language. These activities firmly allied Zich with Nejedlý’s academic circle at Charles University, where, in 1924, he was appointed professor of Aesthetics. He held this position until his death. He died on 9 July 1934 in Ouběnice (today part of Bystřice). Style As a composer, Zich was largely self-taught, although he can be said to belong to

Otto Albert Tichý

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Otto Albert Tichý (14 August 1890 – 21 October 1973) was a Czech composer, teacher and organist. Early life and education Otto Albert Tichý was born in Martínkov, Moravia, in a Catholic family of a provincial teacher. He studied different instruments and played the organ from an early age. He began composing as a boy. He became a devoted student of Vítězslav Novák at the Prague Conservatory. However, he interrupted his study to work nine years at the most spiritual publisher of this time, Josef Florian, solely for room and board. In 1919 he resumed his study as a pupil of French composer and teacher Vincent d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum. Tichý initially studied organ, Gregorian chant and composition, then contrapuntalism and concord. At Schola Cantorum he got the opportunity to experience music from the 16th to the 18th centuries in vocal polyphony. Career After he successfully finished his study, he lived as a private music teacher and organist. He spent six years in France and after his marriage moved to Lausanne with his family, where he worked as organist in cathedral Notre Dame and as professor of music at Dominican gymnasium. In 1936 he returned to Czechoslovakia. After ten y

Petr Eben

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Petr Eben (22 January 1929 – 24 October 2007) was a Czech composer of modern and contemporary classical music, and an organist and choirmaster. Life and career Born in Žamberk in northeastern Bohemia, Eben spent most of his childhood and early adolescence in Český Krumlov in southern Bohemia. There he studied piano, and later cello and organ. The years of World War II were especially difficult for the young man. Although Eben was raised as a Catholic, his father was a Jew and thus fell foul of the National Socialist occupiers of his homeland. In 1943, aged 14, Eben was captured and imprisoned by the Nazis in Buchenwald, remaining there for the duration of the war. After being released, he was admitted to the Prague Academy for Music, and there he studied piano with František Rauch and composition with Pavel Bořkovec. He graduated in 1954. Eben improvised and developed a cycle of organ movements in the years from 1991 to 2003 based on excerpts from John Comenius’ famous book, Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart that became a published work in response to positive reception. His music has been widely performed and recorded since about 1980, with his popularity still

Petr Kotik

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Petr Kotik (surname originally Kotík) (born January 27, 1942, in Prague, Czech Republic) is a composer, conductor and flutist based in New York City. In Prague, he founded and directed Musica Viva Pragensis (1961–64) and the QUAX Ensemble (1966–69). He moved to the United States in 1969 at the invitation of Lukas Foss and Lejaren Hiller to join the Center for Creative and Performing Arts at the University at Buffalo. He has lived in New York City since 1983. Education Kotik entered a conservatory at the age of 14 and began composing in his late teens. He graduated from Prague Conservatory in 1961, the Vienna Music Academy in 1966, and AMU Prague in 1969. From 1960 to 1963, Kotik studied composition with composer Jan Rychlík in Prague. From 1963 to 1966 Kotik studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Karl Schieske, Hans Jelinek and Friedrich Cerha. In 1968 he performed electronic music with the Czech psychedelic rock band Rebels, that was formed in 1967 by Jiří Korn. Career Kotik is the director of the S.E.M. Ensemble, which he founded in 1970. Kotik has given performances as conductor and performer, aka the Orchestra of the S.E.M. Ensemble. Kotik has receiv

Petr Skoumal

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Petr Skoumal (7 March 1938 – 28 September 2014) was a Czech musician and composer. He is best known as a composer of music for films and theatre performances. Biography Petr Skoumal was born on 7 March 1938 in Prague to Aloys Skoumal and Hana Skoumalová, both notable translators from English. He learned to play the piano from childhood and also received lessons in London when his father worked there as a cultural attaché after World War II. Because he had a small finger span, he was not accepted to study piano at university. He studied conducting at the Prague Conservatory and then choir management at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno. After his studies, he worked on stage music, especially at The Drama Club in Prague, where he was a director and musical dramaturg. In the 1960s, he began collaborating with the writer Jan Vodňanský there. Their parody performances were a great success. He died in the Military Hospital in Prague on 28 September 2014, aged 76. His funeral was held at the Strašnice Crematorium in Prague. Musical work Petr Skoumal is best known as a composer of film music. Among the films he has composed music for are Jára Cimrman Lying, Sleeping, Dissolved

Radim Drejsl

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Radim Drejsl (29 April 1923 – 20 April 1953) was a Czech composer, pianist and conductor. He is considered an important composer of politically engaged songs promoting visions of Czechoslovak communist regime in the 1950s. Drejsl applied the ideas of socialist realism in his music. Biography Drejsl was born on 29 April 1923 in Dobruška, Czechoslovakia. Following his graduation at the gymnasium in Rychnov nad Kněžnou in 1942 he continued his studies at the Prague Conservatory. From 1942 to 1946 he studied composition with Karel Janeček and Pavel Bořkovec; and conducting as a pupil of Pavel Dědeček. Later (from 1946 to 1950) he deepened his musical skills at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. In 1949 he became director of the Vít Nejedlý Army Artistic Ensemble (Armádní umělecký soubor Víta Nejedlého) in Prague. In April, 1953, shortly after his return to Prague from the Soviet Union, Drejsl committed suicide. He was allegedly so disappointed by the terrible life conditions in the Soviet communist world that his enthusiastic devotion to the communist ideas was destroyed. However, the speculations of murder were unproven. His alleged suicide has been identified by communists as

Rudolf Karel

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Rudolf Karel (9 November 1880 – 6 March 1945) was a distinguished Czech composer. Biography Rudolf Karel was a son of a railway employee. He studied law at Charles University and then composition from 1899 to 1904 with Antonín Dvořák and organ with Josef Klička. When WWI started he was visiting Russia. He was arrested, but managed to escape. He joined Czechoslovak Legions and served as a conductor of their orchestra. In 1923 he became a professor at Prague Conservatory. During WWII he took part in the resistance and in March 1943 was arrested. After being interned and tortured at Pankrác prison for two years (1943–1945) Karel was sent to Theresienstadt prison. The conditions in the prison were dire and he became ill with dysentery and pneumonia. SS-Oberscharführer Stefan Rojko sent all ill prisoners outside in freezing cold to disinfect the cell. As a result Karel and 8 other prisoners died on 6 March 1945. Ih Pankrác and Theresienstadt he continued working. He composed five-act fairy-tale opera Three Hairs of the Wise Old Man, writing on toilet paper using pencil or medicinal charcoal. The 240 sheets containing a detailed sketch of the opera was secretly passed to a friendly warde

Svatopluk Havelka

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Svatopluk Havelka (born 2 May 1925 – 24 February 2009) was a Czech composer. Biography Svatopluk Havelka was born in the village of Vrbice in the North Moravian region of Czechoslovakia. He studied composition privately with Karel Boleslav Jirák from 1945 to 1947, while a student of musicology at the Faculty of Philosophy of Charles University under Josef Hutter and Antonín Sychra. Havelka subsequently became a member of the music department of Czechoslovak Radio in Ostrava. At the same time he was the founder and artistic director of the NOTA Ensemble (1949–1950). His wife was the actress Libuše Havelková, with whom he had a son, musician and actor Ondřej Havelka. Havelka died on 24 February 2009 in Prague. Selected list of works * The Rose of Wounds. Songs for a middle voice and piano (also for orchestra) to texts by Baroque poets, 1944, CHF, o PA 8’ * Night Music for orchestra, 1944, manuscript 20’ * Suite for Small Orchestra, 1947, manuscript 16’ * Symphony No. 1, 1956, SU, o Su 42’ * Four Music-dramatic Suites to texts of Moravian folk poetry for solo voice, chamber ensemble, reciter, voiceband and chamber orchestra - 1948, 1949, 1951 - manuscript each 30’ * Spring. Vocal Rhap

Theodor Schaefer

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Theodor Schaefer (23 January 1904 – 19 March 1969) was a Czech composer and pedagogue. Life Theodor Schaefer was born in Telč, Moravia, Austria-Hungary on 23 January 1904. During 1922–1926, he studied composition with Jaroslav Kvapil and conducting with František Neumann at the Brno Conservatory. He continued his music education at the Prague Conservatory where he studied composition under Vítězslav Novák (1926–1929). During 1930–1934, he taught at the Municipal Music School in Kutná Hora. In 1934, Schaefer moved to Brno where he taught composition and music theory, first at the private music school of Václav Kaprál (1934–1940) and later at the Brno Conservatory (1940–1959). In 1959, Schaefer became a professor of composition at the Janáček Academy of Music in Brno. For several years he also conducted Brněnské orchestrální sdružení and Brno Radiojournal Ensemble. During 1960s he served as chair of the Union of Czechoslovak Composers (Brno branch) and was instrumental in founding the Brno International Music Festival. Theodor Schaefer died on 19 March 1969 in Brno. Selected works ;Stage * Švanda dudák (Švanda the Bagpiper), Children’s Opera (1925); libretto by F. Tomek * Honza dobrá

Tomáš Svoboda (composer)

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Tomáš Svoboda (December 6, 1939 – November 17, 2022) was a French-born Czech-American contemporary classical composer and pianist, whose debut took place in Prague, Czechoslovakia on September 7, 1957, with the world premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Of Nature) with the FOK Prague Symphony conducted by Václav Smetáček. Svoboda’s catalog contains over 200 compositions, including six symphonies and five concerti. His music is performed worldwide and recordings of more than 50 works have now been released. Svoboda’s Piano Trios CD recording received a 2001 “Critics Choice Award” from the American Record Guide and his Marimba Concerto received recognition in a 2003 Grammy Award nomination for the Oregon Symphony. Works Selected recordings * Children’s Treasure Box, Vols. 1-4, for Piano, North Pacific Music (NPM LD 026), Recording by Tomas Svoboda. * Chamber Works, Vol. 1, With Clarinet, North Pacific Music (NPM LD 016), Recording by members of Oregon Festival of American Music & Tomas Svoboda. * Four Visions, Music for 1, 2 & 3 Pianos, North Pacific Music (NPM LD 013), Recording by Daniel Wiesner, David Svec & Tomas Svoboda. * Nine Etudes in Fugue Style, Vols. 1 & 2, for Piano, North Pac

Václav Dobiáš

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Václav Dobiáš (22 September 1909 – 18 May 1978) was a Czech composer. Life Dobiáš was born in Radčice, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, on 22 September 1909. He studied in Prague with Josef Bohuslav Foerster (in 1930–1931) and then at the Prague Conservatory under Vítězslav Novák (in 1937–1939). Many of his early works show considerable influence from folk music. Later in his life he became interested in quarter tone composition, especially after studying with Alois Hába. After working in the Czech Ministry of Information, he became professor at the Prague Academy of Music in 1950. Some of his 1940s and 1950s works, especially his cantatas, were written in praise of communism. His work was also part of the music event in the art competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics. Dobiáš died in Prague on 18 May 1978. Works Chamber music *String Quartet No. 1 (1931) *Sonata for Violin and Piano (1936) *String Quartet No. 2 (1936) *Říkadla, Nonet (1938) *String Quartet No. 3 (1938) *Sonata for Cello and Piano (1939) *Lento for 3 harps, 1940 *String Quartet No. 4 (1942) *Pastorální dechový kvintet, wind quintet (1943) *Ballade for Viola and Piano (1944) *Little Suite for Cello and Piano (1944) *4 Noctu

Václav Nelhýbel

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Václav Nelhýbel (September 24, 1919 – March 22, 1996) was a Czech-American composer, mainly of works for student performers. Life and career Nelhýbel was born the youngest of five children in Polanka nad Odrou, Ostrava, Czechoslovakia. He received his early musical training in Prague, going to both Charles University in Prague and Prague Conservatory. In 1942 he went to Switzerland, where he studied at University of Fribourg; after 1947 he taught there. In 1957 he came to the United States, where he taught at several schools, including Lowell State College. He served as composer-in-residence at University of Scranton for several years until his death. The university’s Department of Performance Music continues to house his full collection of works. Some of his music is for wind instruments or concert band, and most of his published music is designed for student performers. He used non-functional modal writing, pandiatonicism, and motor rhythms extensively. He was an advocate of the use of a flute in F, sitting between (and notably aurally bridging) the standard (and far more common) C Flute and C Piccolo. Although such a flute is now commercially available from Kotato, he wrote of i

Václav Smetáček

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Václav Smetáček (30 September 1906 – 18 February 1986) was a Czech conductor, composer and oboist. Life and career Smetáček was born on 30 September 1906 in Brno. He studied in Prague among others with Jaroslav Křička, conducting with and , musicology, aesthetics, and philosophy at Charles University, receiving his doctorate in musicology in 1933. He was the founder and a member of the Prague Wind Quintet (1928), for whom he also composed and arranged compositions. Smetáček died on 18 February 1986 in Prague. References

Václav Trojan

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Václav Trojan (24 April 1907, Plzeň – 5 July 1983) was a Czech composer of classical music best known for his film scores. Trojan studied composition at the Prague Conservatory under Jaroslav Křička and Otakar Ostrčil from 1923 to 1927. He continued his studies in the composition masterclasses of Alois Hába, Josef Suk and Vítězslav Novák until 1929. A composer and arranger of dance and jazz music in the 1930s, he was a music director for Radio Prague from 1937 to 1945. After the end of World War II, Trojan composed most frequently for film, stage and radio, and developed a close association with director Jiří Trnka, earning international fame for his music for Trnka’s popular animated puppet films. Trojan’s music is mostly written in a neo-classical style, and he often drew inspiration from the traditions of Czech folk music. In 1940 he was given the Czech National Prize for his remarkable children’s opera Kolotoč (‘The Merry-Go-Round’), and in 1960 the K. Gottwald State Prize for his music for Sen noci svatojánské (‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’). Works Orchestral Compositions *Merry-go-round. Suite from an opera (1940) 24’ *Tarantella for symphonic orchestra (1940), CHF, r SU 5’ *Fa

Václav Vačkář

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Václav Vačkář (12 August 1881 – 4 February 1954) was a Czech composer and conductor of the late romantic era. He is well known for his marches, especially for his march “Šohaj”. Vačkář is also a very prolific composer with over 300 original pieces of music. Biography Vačkář received military training in Przemyśl, Poland, from 1895 to 1898 during which he began learning about music through a military program. After his time in Poland Váckář began to play and conduct in various local orchestras including the Czech Philharmonic. In 1952 he wrote the book Instrumentace symfonického orchestru a hudby dechové (“Instrumentation for the Symphony Orchestra and Wind Music”) with his aforementioned son Dalibor C. Vačkář which is still taught in Czech conservatories. Influences Vaćkář’s predecessor Bedřich Smetana innovated the Czech nationalistic style. A style that embodied the desire many Czechs felt to secede from the Austrian Empire and was also adopted by many Czech composers — including Vaćkář. Another significant influence on Vačkář was Antonín Dvořák who was also a champion of Czech nationalism. Dvořak composed a series of Bohemian dances called the Slavonic Dances which impart inspir

Vadim Petrov

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Vadim Petrov (24 May 1932 – 7 December 2020) was a Czech composer of Russian descent. Biography Petrov was a pianist and composer of classical and popular music. He stemmed from the family of a Russian emigrant of aristocratic origin (family Repnin), a family doctor, resident in Prague-Žižkov. At first, he attended a Russian high school in Prague district Pankrác, during which time he was preparing for his future piano and composition studies at the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts (AMU), taking piano lessons with Berta Kabeláčová and music theory and composition lessons with Miloslav Kabeláč. At the Academy he was Jaroslav Řídký’s student from 1952 to 1956. His graduation composition was the symphonic poem The Vítkov Hill (Vítkov – the place of the decisive battle in 1420 near Prague). He worked in the Prague Municipal Education Centre, where he was in charge of the Folk Entertainment department. In the 1960s he founded the People’s Conservatory specialising in dance-music and jazz (now Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory and College), and became its first director. His granddaughter is model Linda Vojtová. Filmography # Tobogan (1989) # Sedmé nebe (1987) # Úsměv diabla (19

Vítězslav Novák

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important example of Czech modernism. He worked towards a strong Czech identity in culture after the country became independent in 1918. His compositions include operas and orchestral works. Biography Early years Novák (baptized Viktor Novák) was born in Kamenice nad Lipou, a small town in Southern Bohemia. In 1872 the family moved to Počátky, where Novák first studied the violin with Antonín Šilhan and the piano with Marie Krejčová. After the death of his father in 1882, the family moved to Jindřichův Hradec, where Novák continued his studies at grammar school . An elementary school in the town is named after Novák today. In his late teens, he moved to Prague to study at the Prague Conservatory, changing his name to Vítězslav to identify more closely with his Czech identity, as many of those of his generation had already done. At the conservatory, he studied piano and attended Antonín Dvořák’s masterclasses in composition where his fellow students included Jose

Vítězslava Kaprálová

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Vítězslava Kaprálová (; 24 January 1915 – 16 June 1940) was a Czech composer and conductor of 20th-century classical music. Life and career Vítězslava Kaprálová was born in Brno, Moravia, Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic), a daughter of composer Václav Kaprál and singer Vítězslava Kaprálová (née Viktorie Uhlířová). From 1930 to 1935 she studied composition with Vilém Petrželka and conducting with Zdeněk Chalabala at the Brno Conservatory. She continued her musical education with Vítězslav Novák (1935–37) and Václav Talich (1935–36) in Prague and with Bohuslav Martinů, Charles Munch (1937–39) and, according to some unverified accounts, with Nadia Boulanger (1940) in Paris. In 1937 she conducted the Czech Philharmonic and a year later the BBC Orchestra in her composition Military Sinfonietta. Her husband was the Czech writer Jiří Mucha, whom she married two months before she died. Despite her untimely death, which may have been caused by typhoid fever, in Montpellier, France at the age of 25, Kaprálová created an impressive body of work. Her music was admired by Rafael Kubelík, who premiered her orchestral song Waving Farewell and also conducted her other orchestral works. Amo

Zbyněk Vostřák

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Zbyněk Vostřák (10 June 1920 – 4 August 1985) was a prominent Czech composer of New Music. Life He studied composition privately with Rudolf Karel and was a conducting student of Pavel Dědeček in Prague. From 1939 to 1943 he was a member of the Prague Radio Orchestra. Vostřák held many jobs, including pedagogical jobs and conducting jobs for Czech radio and the National Theatre. He nonetheless spent the majority of his time on his compositions Style Vostřák initiated his work in the generic Romantic style. Beginning with his cycle of songs entitled While Falling Asleep, he turned to dodecaphony and techniques proceeding from this particular principle. In the following years Vostřák employed the style known by the general title of New Music. During the late 1960s and early 1970s he was widely engaged in composing electronic music which he sometimes combined with live performers. During the first stage of his career Vostřák wrote several successful operas and ballets. The following phase featured almost exclusively concert compositions with a predominance of instrumental music. Many of Vostřák’s works are regarded as pioneering achievements in this field. As a result of Czechoslovaki

Zdeněk Lukáš

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Zdeněk Lukáš (21 August 1928 – 13 July 2007) was a Czech composer. He authored over 330 works. Biography Lukáš was born on 21 August 1928 in Prague. He graduated from a teachers’ college and worked as a teacher from 1953 to 1963. He was a musical editor and program director at the national broadcasting company in Plzeň and conducted the , a choir in Plzeň. He died on 13 July 2007 in Prague, at the age of 78. Selected works Opera * Ať žije mrtvý (Let the Dead Live), Op.52 (1967); 3 scenes; libretto by Jiří Hurt * O smutné princezně Upolíně (Upolína, the Sad Princess), Op.57 (1968); little children’s opera for radio; libretto by Kamil Bednář * Domácí karneval (The Local Carnival), Op.60 (1968); Chamber opera for radio (or television); libretto by Zdeněk Barborka * Planeta s tiše fialovou září (The Planet with the Light Purple Glow), Astronomical Opera, Op.141 (1979); libretto by Jiří Suchý * Falkenštejn, Op.197 (1984–1985); libretto by Dagmar Ledečová * Veta za vetu (Measure for Measure), Op.206 (1986); 2 acts (6 scenes); libretto by Dagmar Ledečová after William Shakespeare Orchestra * Pathetická předehra (Pathétique Overture), Op. 2 * Rej (Rondo), Op.3 * Matce (To Mother), Symphoni