Josef Fiala (3 February 1748 31 July 1816), was a composer, oboist, viola da gamba virtuoso, cellist, and pedagogue.

He was born in Lochovice

Lochovice

Lochovice is a municipality and village in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is best known as a burial place of Vaclav Hrabe, the most important Czech poet of the Beat Generation.-References:...

 in Bohemia

Bohemia

Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

 and began his professional career as an oboist in the service of Countess Netolicka. In 1777 he moved to Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 to serve in the court orchestra of Elector Maximilian Joseph. That year in Munich, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...

 was greatly impressed by the wind band trained by Fiala, and helped Fiala secure a position in 1778 after the death of the Elector. In 1785 Fiala moved to Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, and in 1786 to Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

 where he worked in the court of Catherine the Great. In 1790 he moved to Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

 where he served as a viola da gamba player in the court of Friedrich Wilhelm II

Frederick William II of Prussia

Frederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...

. Finally in 1792 he became Kapellmeister

Kapellmeister

Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...

 in Donaueschingen

Donaueschingen

Donaueschingen is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar Kreis. It stands near the confluence of the two sources of the river Danube ....

, where he spent the rest of his life.

Works

Fiala wrote one concerto for viola da gamba, various dances, chamber compositions and symphonies. A concerto for English horn in the form of a transcribed viola da gamba work, was published in 1957 in Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

.

Ancestry

Thomas Anthony Fiala (aka Tomasz Antoni Fiala) - (born 1965 - Living in the United States), is the Great Great Great Nephew of Josef Fiala (died 1816). Josef Fiala was the brother of Jan Karol Fiala (died 1830). Thomas is the Great Great Great Grandson of Jan Karol Fiala and the Great Great Grandson of Antoni Karol Fiala - (died 1878) and Great Grandson of Stefan Antoni Fiala (died 1940) and Grandson of Tadeuz Karol Fiala - (died 1982). Thomas's Father is Ryszard M. Fiala (born 1940 - living in the United States). Thomas has two sons; Thomas Anthony Fiala Jr. (born 1985 - living in the United States) and Robert Karol Fiala (born 1987 - living in the United States)

During Josef Fiala's tenure in the court of Friedrich Wilhelm II, The king honored Josef by giving him his own family crest, which still stands today outside of the City of Prague on street named after the family. (Fialova)

The heritage of this Fiala family stems back to Bohemia (currently the Czech Republic), which at the time of Stefan Antoni Fiala was moved to Poland. From the late 1800's to early 1900's the balance of the family was primarily living in Poland with future generations moving to the United Kingdom and the United States.