"century that a group of Czech patriots set out to re-establish Czech as a language and to renew the idea of a Czech nation, and tales like that of Divoka Sarka played an important role in this process: """"During the Czech National Revival, all of these old tales and legends were romanticised to emphasise Czech culture and history. They were written into books, operas were made out of them and thus they became part of our national consciousness and cultural heritage. There is even a symphonic poem written by our national composer, Bedrich Smetana, called Sarka in honour of this"
"Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer, one of the first to achieve worldwide recognition. Following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predecessor Bedřich Smetana, Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák's own style has been described as ""the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition, absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of using them"". Dvořák displayed his musical gifts at an early age, being an apt violin student from age"
"and became a village teacher. Later he was an organist at a lunatic asylum, the National Institute for the Mentally Ill, where he worked for 19 years. He was also a bandmaster of the Rifle Corps in Prague and a theatre conductor in Linz. He moved around frequently, staying longest at Vienna and Baden. He formed a well-respected orchestra for opera performances at the Czech Provisional Theatre. In 1862 it was permanently attached to the Theatre. Among its players were Antonín Dvořák (viola) and the composer's own son Karel Komzák II (violin). He was succeeded in this post by Bedřich"
"his status above that of his contemporaries and successors. However, relatively few of Smetana's works are in the international repertory, and most foreign commentators tend to regard Antonín Dvořák as a more significant Czech composer. Bedřich Smetana, first named Friedrich Smetana, was born on 2 March 1824, in Litomyšl (German: Leitomischl), east of Prague near the traditional border between Bohemia and Moravia, then provinces of the Habsburg Empire. He was the third child, and first son, of František Smetana and his third wife Barbora Lynková. František had fathered eight children in two earlier marriages, five daughters surviving infancy; he and"
"Hostinský, who considered the genre to be a uniquely ""Czech"" contribution to music history (based on the national origins of Georg Benda, whose melodramas had nevertheless been in German). Such sentiments provoked a large number of Czech composers to produce melodramas based on Czech romantic poetry such as the ""Kytice"" of Karel Jaromír Erben. The romantic composer Zdeněk Fibich in particular championed the genre as a means of setting Czech declamation correctly: his melodramas ""Štědrý den"" (1874) and ""Vodník"" (1883) use rhythmic durations to specify the alignment of spoken word and accompaniment. Fibich's main achievement was ""Hippodamie"" (1888–1891), a trilogy"
"a Suite for organ, a Requiem, choruses, and song cycles. He was a popular and renowned musical theorist. Karel Boleslav Jirák 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"
"specific Czech national music initiated by Adam Michna z Otradovic and brought to its culmination by Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák in the nineteenth century and Leoš Janáček and Bohuslav Martinů in the twentieth century. In 2013, Damian Thompson wrote of Zelenka, ""He belongs to a band of mavericks in musical history whose experiments with harmony seem to catapult them into another generation."" The rediscovery of Jan Dismas Zelenka's work is attributed to Bedřich Smetana, who rewrote some scores from the archives in Dresden and introduced one of the composer's orchestral suites in Prague's New Town Theatre festivals in 1863."
"as ""Capella regia musicalis"". The Czech classicism period is exemplified by František Xaver Brixi, Johann Baptist Wanhal, and Augustin Šenkýř. Among the 18th and 19th century composers are Vincenc Mašek , Jan Jakub Ryba, Jan August Vitásek. In the 19th century German and Austrian productions also had their place here. The founder of Czech national music Bedřich Smetana was inspired by the Bohemian Forest while creating his symphonic poem ""Vltava"". Antonín Dvořák was also inspired by the Bohemian Forest in his piece called ""Klid pro violoncello a orchestr"". The traditional music of Bohemia and Moravia influenced the work of composers"
"a creative art-music."" For many of these composers, chamber music was the natural vehicle for expressing their national characters. Czech composer Antonín Dvořák created in his chamber music a new voice for the music of his native Bohemia. In 14 string quartets, three string quintets, two piano quartets, a string sextet, four piano trios, and numerous other chamber compositions, Dvořák incorporates folk music and modes as an integral part of his compositions. For example, in the piano quintet in A major, Op. 81, the slow movement is a Dumka, a Slavic folk ballad that alternates between a slow expressive song"
"Moscow and St. Petersburg. In 1891, Dvořák received an honorary degree from the University of Cambridge, and was offered a position at the Prague Conservatory as professor of composition and instrumentation. At first he refused the offer, but then later accepted; this change of mind was seemingly a result of a quarrel with his publisher Simrock over payment for his Eighth Symphony. Dvořák's Requiem was premiered later that year in Birmingham at the Triennial Music Festival. In 1891 the Bohemian String Quartet, later called the Czech Quartet, was founded, with Karel Hoffmann, first violin, Josef Suk, second violin, Oskar Nedbal,"
"performance was not well received; the work was criticised for its length, its Czech theme and also for its alleged musical dependence on George Frideric Handel, Felix Mendelssohn, Richard Wagner, Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven. Dvořák later rewrote and reduced several parts of the composition. ""Saint Ludmila"" was premiered in Prague in 1901, and the first performance with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra took place on 3 April 1904. However, Dvořák was seriously ill and didn't attend this performance. Saint Ludmila has a long performance tradition on Czech concert stages. It was given at the third Prague Spring International Music"
"Karel Boleslav Jirák 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"
"the Prague Conservatory Orchestra (two movements had been heard 14 months earlier, conducted by Suk himself). On 3 June 1896, at the Prague Conservatory, Bennewitz conducted the first (semi-public) performances of Dvořák’s symphonic poems ""The Noon Witch"", ""The Water Goblin"" and ""The Golden Spinning Wheel"". In 1998 a new Bennewitz Quartet, named in honour of Antonín Bennewitz, was founded in Prague. Antonín Bennewitz Antonín Bennewitz (also Anton Bennewitz; 26 March 1833 – 29 May 1926) was a Bohemian violinist, conductor and teacher. He was in a line of violinists that extended back to Giovanni Battista Viotti, and forward to Jan"
"as brewer to Count Waldstein, whose Renaissance castle dominates the town. The elder Smetana, although uneducated, had a natural gift for music and played in a string quartet. Bedřich was introduced to music by his father and in October 1830, at the age of six, gave his first public performance. At a concert held in Litomyšl's Philosophical Academy he played a piano arrangement of Auber's overture to ""La muette de Portici"", to a rapturous reception. In 1831 the family moved to Jindřichův Hradec in the south of Bohemia—the region where, a generation later, Gustav Mahler grew up. Here, Smetana attended"
"Karel Bendl Karel Bendl, or , pseudonym: ""Podskalský"" (April 16, 1838, Prague, Bohemia, Austrian Empire September 20, 1897, Prague) was a Czech composer. Bendl was born and died in Prague. He studied at the organ school, where he met and befriended Antonín Dvořák one year before graduating with honors in 1858. By then he had already composed a number of small choral works. In 1861 his ""Poletuje holubice"" won a prize and at once became a favorite with the local choral societies. In 1864, Bendl went to Brussels, where for a short time he held the post of second conductor"
"Antonín Dvořák. He was among the founders of the Kammermusikverein, whose nationalist ideals stimulated Smetana to write his String Quartet in E minor ""From My Life"". Bennewitz's pupils included František Ondříček (who premiered the Dvořák concerto), Karel Halíř (who premiered the revised version of the Sibelius concerto), Otakar Ševčík, Franz Lehár, and three members of the Bohemian Quartet (later known as the Czech Quartet) - Karel Hoffmann and Josef Suk (violinists), and Oskar Nedbal (violist). On 25 February 1895, he conducted to great acclaim the first complete performance of Josef Suk's Serenade for Strings in E flat, Op. 6, with"
"masterclass at the Prague Conservatory. Notable students include composer Karel Navrátil. He died in Milan. As well as being a highly regarded violinist, Ondříček was also a composer, his works including a set of ""Bohemian Dances"" Op. 3 for violin and piano composed in 1883, a ""Bohemian Rhapsody"" Op. 21 for violin and piano from 1906, and a String Quartet Op. 22 from 1907. He also left cadenzas for several violin concertos, including those of Mozart and Brahms. František Ondříček František Ondříček (29 April 1857 – 12 April 1922) was a Czech violinist and composer. He gave the first performance"
"Zdeněk Fibich Zdeněk Fibich (, 21 December 1850 – 15 October 1900) was a Czech composer of classical music. Among his compositions are chamber works (including two string quartets, a piano trio, piano quartet and a quintet for piano, strings and winds), symphonic poems, three symphonies, at least seven operas (the most famous probably ""Šárka"" and ""The Bride of Messina""), melodramas including the substantial trilogy ""Hippodamia"", liturgical music including a mass – a ""missa brevis""; and a large cycle (almost 400 pieces, from the 1890s) of piano works called ""Moods, Impressions, and Reminiscences"". The piano cycle served as a diary"
"version. The composition was dedicated to the director of Prague Conservatory, Josef Krejčí, who was Dvořák's teacher of music theory at the Prague Organ School. No actual performance has been documented before 1888, when the revised version of the work was played at a concert of the ""Umělecká beseda"" (""Arts Discussion Group"") in the Rudolfinum in Prague. The players were members of the orchestra of the National Theatre, , Jan Pelikán, Petr Mareš and Alois Neruda. The work is composed in four movements: The approximate duration is 33 minutes. The strongest pointer to Dvořák's future mastership is in the three-part"
"Dussek in baroque era, Bedřich Smetana and Antonín Dvořák in romanticism, Gustav Mahler, Josef Suk, Leoš Janáček, Bohuslav Martinů, Vítězslav Novák, Zdeněk Fibich, Alois Hába, Viktor Ullmann, Ervín Schulhoff, Pavel Haas, Josef Bohuslav Foerster in modern classical music, Miloslav Kabeláč and Petr Eben in contemporary classical music. Other examples of famous musicians, interpreters and conductors are František Benda, Rafael Kubelík, Jan Kubelík, David Popper, Alice Herz-Sommer, Rudolf Serkin, Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst, Otakar Ševčík, Václav Neumann, Václav Talich, Karel Ančerl, Jiří Bělohlávek, Wojciech Żywny, Emma Destinnová, Magdalena Kožená, Rudolf Firkušný, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Panocha Quartet or non-classical musicians: Julius Fučík (brass"
"Oskar Nedbal Oskar Nedbal (26 March 1874 – 24 December 1930) was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music. Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Bennewitz. He was principal conductor with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra from 1896 to 1906 and was a founder member of the Bohemian String Quartet. Although a great admirer of his teacher Antonín Dvořák, Nedbal paid homage to other composers. For example, in his 1910 composition, ""Romantic Piece, Op. 18"" for cello and piano, Nedbal cleverly inserts a theme usually associated with"
"Ludvík Kundera (musicologist) Ludvík Kundera (17 August 1891 in Brno – 12 May 1971 in Brno) was a Czech musicologist, pianist and academic administrator. Kundera was born in Brno, Královo Pole as the youngest of seven siblings in a family which supported his passion for music from early childhood. He studied at German gymnasium and piano playing under Klotylda Schäfrová. His first public performance took place in 1912, with compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, Robert Schumann, Bedřich Smetana and Franz Liszt. During World War I, he served in the Czechoslovak Legion. He enlisted on 14 July 1914 and was assigned"
"opposed to a complete devotion to the Wagner school. In 1874, Dvořák submitted numerous works to apply for the Austrian State Stipendium, money offered to young poor artists by the Ministry of Education. On the panel of judges that awarded Dvořák the prize was Johannes Brahms, who became a longtime friend and supporter of the young Czech. And in Prague itself was the older and more revered Czech nationalistic composer Bedřich Smetana who eventually supported Dvořák by being among the first to program and conduct concerts that included his compositions. David Beveridge states, ""In 1880, with the composition of his"
"recent years, Nedbal's haunting ""Valse Triste"" (featured in his ballet ""The Tale of Simple Johnny"") has been a favorite stand-alone encore piece of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. http://www.johann-strauss.org.uk/composers-n-z.php?id=184 Oskar Nedbal Oskar Nedbal (26 March 1874 – 24 December 1930) was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music. Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Bennewitz. He was principal conductor with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra from 1896 to 1906 and was a founder member of the Bohemian String Quartet. Although a great admirer of his teacher Antonín Dvořák,"
"in 1983 with the designation of a 2.3-kilometer-long road in the district of Poruba. Bedřich Nikodém Bedřich Nikodém (also Friedrich Nikodem and Fritz Nikodem; August 12, 1909 - July 19, 1970) was a male Czech international table tennis player, later active as a composer, lyricist and musician. He appeared in the 1930s under the pseudonym Niki Němec. Nikodém was born in Vienna the son of an engineer. In 1921, the family moved to Brno, Czechoslovakia. According to his paternal wish, Friedrich Nikodem continued the family tradition and completed his engineering studies in Prague. His main interest, however, was sports and"
"along with several other unusual works for brass instruments. Johann Baptist Georg Neruda Johann Baptist Georg Neruda (Czech: """", – ) was a classical Czech composer. Relative to other composers of the Classical music era Neruda is little known, and his dates of birth and death (taken from the ""Grove Dictionary"") are only approximations. He was born in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic, to a well-respected musical family. After spending his earlier years gaining a good reputation as a violinist and conductor in Prague and Germany, Neruda became ""Konzertmeister"" of the Dresden court orchestra. His compositional output includes"
"1814, literally ""On music as a purely emotional art""), ""Petit traité d'harmonie pratique à 2 parties"" (c. 1814, a short ""practical treatise"" on harmony), a number of articles and the poem ""An Joseph Haydn"", published in the preface to ""36 fugues"" (which were dedicated to Haydn). General reference Scores Anton Reicha Anton (""Antonín"", ""Antoine"") Reicha (""Rejcha"") (26 February 1770 – 28 May 1836) was a Czech-born, later naturalized French composer. A contemporary and lifelong friend of Beethoven, he is now best remembered for his substantial early contributions to the wind quintet literature and his role as teacher of pupils including"
"Jan Josef Ignác Brentner Jan Josef Ignác Brentner (""Johann Joseph Ignaz"", surname also spelled Brenntner, Brendner, Brendtner, or Prentner) (November 3, 1689 – June 28, 1742), was a Czech composer of the Baroque era. Jan Josef Ignác Brentner was born into the family of the mayor of the small town of Dobřany in Western Bohemia. What we know about him comes mostly from time he spent in Prague, from 1717 to about 1720, where he published at least three major volumes of music. Brentner's opus 1 is a collection of 12 sacred arias for voice, strings, and continuo, ""Harmonica duodecatometria"
"Howard Craw to develop a new thematic catalog in 1964. Works are numbered in the order they were written prefixed by ""C"" or ""Craw""; works of dubious origin are listed in a separately numbered section prefixed by ""Craw D"". Jan Ladislav Dussek Jan Ladislav Dussek (baptized Jan Václav Dusík, with surname also written as Duschek or Düssek; 12 February 176020 March 1812) was a Czech composer and pianist. He was an important representative of Czech music abroad in the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Some of his more forward-looking piano works have"
"Otakar Hostinský Otakar Hostinský (2 January 1847, Martiněves (near Litoměřice) – 19 January 1910, Prague) was a Czech historian, musicologist, and professor of musical aesthetics. He is known primarily for his support of composer Bedřich Smetana and his contributions to Czech aesthetic theory, which influenced many cultural figures in early twentieth-century Prague, including Zdeněk Nejedlý, Otakar Zich, and Vladimír Helfert. He also wrote the opera librettos to Zdeněk Fibich's masterpiece, ""The Bride of Messina"", and Josef Rozkosný's ""Cinderella"". ""Art and Nationality"", 1869 ""Wagnerianism and Czech National Identity"", 1870 ""On ""Program"" Music"", 1873 ""Das Musikalisch-Schöne und das Gesamtkunstwerk vom Standpunkte der"
"high standard of English orchestras and choirs, and particularly by their performances of oratorios. On the other hand, he was also inspired by his own religiousness; he composed many works to Christian religious texts, as well as ""Hussite Overture"", a ""protestant"" instrumental work. Chronologically ""Saint Ludmila"" follows Symphony No. 7 in D Minor (finished in March, 1885), and both works are influenced by the actual historical events of that time. The year 1884 was restless for the Czechs; they organized demonstrations and patriotic manifestations of solidarity in the fight for freedom, the Austrian police had forbidden the singing of Czech"
"to the collections of songs. Adam Václav Michna z Otradovic Adam Václav Michna z Otradovic – literally ""Adam Václav Michna of Otradovice"" – ( 1600 – 2 November 1676, Jindřichův Hradec) was a Czech Catholic poet, composer, hymn writer, organist and choir leader of the early Baroque era. He is also known in simplified form as Adam Michna and during his life as Adamus Wenceslaus Michna de Ottradowicz. He was the most important Czech composer and poet of the early Baroque who initiated the development of Czech art in that era and became a significant inspiration for Czech artists of"
"Bohemian Quartet The Bohemian Quartet (; known as the Czech Quartet after 1918) was a Czech string quartet of international repute that was founded in 1891 and disbanded in 1934. The Quartet was founded in Prague by three pupils of Antonín Bennewitz (Karel Hoffmann, Josef Suk and Oskar Nedbal) and a pupil of Hanuš Wihan (Otakar Berger); Bennewitz and Wihan were both teachers at the Prague Conservatory. Wihan had himself studied at Prague, and was cellist of the chamber quartet of Ludwig II in Munich, becoming Professor at Prague in 1888. He replaced his student Otakar Berger as cellist in"