Ludvík Podéšť
Encyclopedia
Ludvík Podéšť, pseudonym
Ludvík Binovský (19 December 1921 in Dubňany
– 27 February 1968 in Prague
), was a Czech composer
, conductor
, music journalist and editor.
under Jaroslav Kvapil
from 1941, graduating in 1948. He became a music reporter for the Czech Radio studio in Brno
while studying musicology
at Masaryk University
under Bohumír Štědroň and Jan Racek. In Brno, he also worked as director of the Radost Youth Choir, for whom he wrote a large number of choral works. For the years 1953–1956, Podéšť replaced Radim Drejsl
(1923–1953) as director of the Vít Nejedlý Army Artistic Ensemble (Armádní umělecký soubor Víta Nejedlého) in Prague, then during 1958–1961, he worked as an editor of music broadcasts for Czechoslovak Television
. After 1961 he devoted himself exclusively to composition, only occasionally working as a freelancer. From 1966 until his death, Podéšť lived in Morocco
with his wife, who was a doctor.
Podéšť composed two opera
s, five operetta
s, music for Czech feature films
, orchestra
l music, vocal
and chamber
works. His first classical works were influenced by constructivism
(such as the String Quartet No. 1, the piano fantasies Písně smutné paní, the Woodwind Quintet and Cello Sonata), but later found inspiration in folklore
and in the work of the Moravian
composer Leoš Janáček
(for example the symphonic poem Raymonda Dienová, the orchestral rhapsody Advent and Maminka for children's chorus and orchestra). With the works created during his years in Morocco, Podéšť utilized elements of the local music culture and began to modernize his musical language (for example Hamada for orchestra and the Partita for strings, guitar and percussion).
His composing style contains contradictory elements; he composed classical music as well as popular songs promoting optimistic visions of the Czechoslovak communist régime. Following the suicide of Radim Drejsl he became one of the most important Czech composers of the politically engaged songs called "budovatelské písně". Podéšť composed a number of songs within the genre of popular music
and "trampská hudba
". His songs are catchy, especially noted for their pleasing melodies and jolly optimism.
Podéšť is the author of several professional journal studies such as Za odkazem V. Nejedlého (Vít Nejedlý Legacy; Hudební rozhledy, Vol. 8, 1955), Harmonická práce L. Janáčka (The Harmonic Work of Leoš Janáček; Hudební rozhledy, Vol. 10, 1957) and Hovoříme o hudbě (Talking about Music; Blok, Vol. 3, p. 302).
Orchestral
Concertante
Chamber music
Piano
Vocal
Choral
Film scores
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Ludvík Binovský (19 December 1921 in Dubňany
Dubnany
Dubňany is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 6,850 inhabitants.-External links:*...
– 27 February 1968 in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
), was a Czech composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, music journalist and editor.
Life and career
Podéšť studied music composition at Brno ConservatoryBrno Conservatory
The Brno Conservatory, also Brno Conservatoire , was established in Brno on 25 September 1919 by Moravian composer Leoš Janáček.- History :...
under Jaroslav Kvapil
Jaroslav Kvapil (composer)
Jaroslav Kvapil was a Czech composer, teacher, conductor and pianist.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...
from 1941, graduating in 1948. He became a music reporter for the Czech Radio studio in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
while studying musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
at Masaryk University
Masaryk University
Masaryk University is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the third Czech university , it now consists of nine faculties and 42,182 students...
under Bohumír Štědroň and Jan Racek. In Brno, he also worked as director of the Radost Youth Choir, for whom he wrote a large number of choral works. For the years 1953–1956, Podéšť replaced Radim Drejsl
Radim Drejsl
Radim Drejsl 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 in Dobruška...
(1923–1953) as director of the Vít Nejedlý Army Artistic Ensemble (Armádní umělecký soubor Víta Nejedlého) in Prague, then during 1958–1961, he worked as an editor of music broadcasts for Czechoslovak Television
Czechoslovak Television
Czechoslovak Television was founded on 1 May 1953 in the former Czechoslovakia. Around its dissolution into Czechia and Slovakia in the end of 1992, ČST was abolished, and the new companies, public service broadcasters, emerged:...
. After 1961 he devoted himself exclusively to composition, only occasionally working as a freelancer. From 1966 until his death, Podéšť lived in Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
with his wife, who was a doctor.
Podéšť composed two opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, five operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
s, music for Czech feature films
Cinema of the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic was a seedbed for many acclaimed film directors.Three Czech/Czechoslovak movies that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film were The Shop on Main Street by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos in 1965, Closely Watched Trains by Jiří Menzel in 1967 and...
, orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l music, vocal
Vocal music
Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...
and chamber
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
works. His first classical works were influenced by constructivism
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
(such as the String Quartet No. 1, the piano fantasies Písně smutné paní, the Woodwind Quintet and Cello Sonata), but later found inspiration in folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
and in the work of the Moravian
Moravians (ethnic group)
Moravians are the modern West Slavic inhabitants of the historical land of Moravia, the easternmost part of the Czech Republic, which includes the Moravian Slovakia. They speak the two main groups of Moravian dialects , the transitional Bohemian-Moravian dialect subgroup and standard Czech...
composer Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
(for example the symphonic poem Raymonda Dienová, the orchestral rhapsody Advent and Maminka for children's chorus and orchestra). With the works created during his years in Morocco, Podéšť utilized elements of the local music culture and began to modernize his musical language (for example Hamada for orchestra and the Partita for strings, guitar and percussion).
His composing style contains contradictory elements; he composed classical music as well as popular songs promoting optimistic visions of the Czechoslovak communist régime. Following the suicide of Radim Drejsl he became one of the most important Czech composers of the politically engaged songs called "budovatelské písně". Podéšť composed a number of songs within the genre of popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
and "trampská hudba
Czech Tramping
Czech tramping or in Czech, simply, tramping, is a movement that combines a trajectory towards nature with imaginative play based on ideas of "Amerika." It manifests itself in distinctive clothing style and weekend and vacation trips, and even musical performance.Czech interest in "Amerika" dates...
". His songs are catchy, especially noted for their pleasing melodies and jolly optimism.
Podéšť is the author of several professional journal studies such as Za odkazem V. Nejedlého (Vít Nejedlý Legacy; Hudební rozhledy, Vol. 8, 1955), Harmonická práce L. Janáčka (The Harmonic Work of Leoš Janáček; Hudební rozhledy, Vol. 10, 1957) and Hovoříme o hudbě (Talking about Music; Blok, Vol. 3, p. 302).
Selected works
Stage- Když se Anička vdávala (When Anička Married), Operetta (1950); libretto by Pantůček and Jiří Štuchal
- Slepice a kostelník, Operetta (1951); libretto by Jaroslav Zrotal and Pantůček
- Bez cymbálu nejsou hody, Operetta (1953); libretto by Michal Sedloň
- Tři apokryfy, 3 One-Act Chamber Operas after stories from Apocryphal Tales by Karel ČapekKarel CapekKarel Čapek was Czech writer of the 20th century.-Biography:Born in 1890 in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice to an overbearing, emotional mother and a distant yet adored father, Čapek was the youngest of three siblings...
(1957–1958); libretto by the composer
-
- Staré zlaté časy, t. pod názvem O úpadku doby (The Good Old Days)
- Svatá noc (Holy Night)
- Romeo a Julie (Romeo and Juliet)
- Hrátky s čertem (Playing with the Devil), Comic Opera in 7 scenes (1957–1960); libretto by the composer after the playPlaying with the DevilPlaying with the Devil is a 1945 Czech fairy-tale comedy play by playwright Jan Drda. It was adapted into a 1956 film directed by Josef Mach, with animated decorations by Josef Lada, and starring popular actor Josef Bek. In 1979, another film adaptation was made in Poland which is the one more...
by Jan DrdaJan DrdaJan Drda was a Czech prose writer and playwright.He was a member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia since 1945... - Emílek a dynamit, Operetta (1960); libretto by Vilém Dubský and Josef Barchánek
- Filmová hvězda (Film-Star), Operetta (1960); libretto by K. M. Walló
- Noci na seně (A Night on the Hay), Operetta in 3 acts; libretto by Zdeněk Endris and Zdeněk Borovec
- Hrátky s čertem (Playing with the Devil), Comic Opera in 7 scenes (1957–1960); libretto by the composer after the play
Orchestral
- Symfonie (1947–1948)
- Fašaňk, Suite for orchestra (1951)
- Raymonda Dienová, Symphonic Poem (1950, revised 1952)
- Dva moravské tance (2 Moravian Dances) for orchestra (1953)
-
- Odzemek
- Cigáň
- Čínské jaro (Chinese Spring), Suite from the film for orchestra (1954)
- Advent, Rhapsody on themes from the film score after Jarmila Glazarová for large orchestra (1956)
- Suite for orchestra (1956)
- Siciliana, Variations for orchestra (1957)
- Azurové moře for orchestra (1967)
- Hamada, Study in Monotony for orchestra (1967)
- Partita pro smyčce, kytaru a bicí for electric guitar, percussion (4 players) and string orchestra (1967)
Concertante
- Hudba ve starém slohu (Music in Old Style) for piano and string orchestra (1949)
- Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra (1952, revised 1953)
- Concerto "Jarní serenáda" (Spring Serenade) for violin and orchestra (1953)
- Concerto No. 2 for piano and orchestra (1958–1959)
- Concertino for 2 cimbaloms and orchestra (1962)
- Concertino for 2 cellos and chamber orchestra (1965)
- Valčíkové variace (Waltz Variations) for trumpet and orchestra (1965)
Chamber music
- String Quartet No. 1 (1942)
- Litanie, String Quartet in 1 movement (1944)
- Hojačky for 2 clarinets and piano (1945)
- Woodwind Quintet (1946)
- Sonata for violin and piano (1947)
- Pět jarních dní (Five Spring Days), String Quartet No. 2 (1948)
- Suite for viola and piano (1956)
- Sonata for 2 cellos and piano (1957)
- Tři skladby (3 Pieces) for violin and piano (1958)
Piano
- Písně smutné paní, 4 Fantasies (1941)
- Sonatina (1945)
- Stesky, Cycle of Miniatures (1946)
- Suite (1946)
- Sonata (1946)
Vocal
- Gitandžalí for low voice and piano (1942); words by I. Hubíková (1942)
- Písně na slova Olgy Scheinpflugové (Songs on Words of Olga ScheinpflugováOlga ScheinpflugováOlga Scheinpflugová was a Czech actress and writer. She was a daughter of writer, journalist and playwright Karel Scheinpflug. In 1935, she married the writer Karel Čapek.-Biography:...
) for alto and piano (1943) - Maminčiny písně for soprano and piano (1943); words by Jaroslav SeifertJaroslav SeifertJaroslav Seifert was a Nobel Prize winning Czech writer, poet and journalist.Born in Žižkov, a suburb of Prague in what was then part of Austria-Hungary, his first collection of poems was published in 1921...
- Popěvky o vojácích for soprano, tenor and orchestra (1945); words by the composer
- Písně a popěvky for medium voice and chamber ensemble (1946); words by Vítězslav NezvalVítezslav NezvalVítězslav Nezval was one of the most prolific avant-garde Czech writers in the first half of the twentieth century and a co-founder of the Surrealist movement in Czechoslovakia....
(1946) - Písně z koncentráku for baritone and orchestra (1946); words by Josef ČapekJosef CapekJosef Čapek was a Czech artist who was best known as a painter, but who was also noted as a writer and a poet. He invented the word robot, which was introduced into literature by his brother, Karel Čapek.- Biography :...
- Legendy o panně Marii (Legends of the Virgin Mary) for alto (1947)
- Měsíce (The Moon), Song Cycle on Poems of Karel TomanKarel TomanKarel Toman was a Czech poet, remembered for his epic love poems and Romantic inspirations.-External links:*...
for soprano and orchestra (1948, revised 1957–1958) - Květomluva for child soloist and chamber ensemble (1948)
- Každodenní malé písně for medium voice and piano (1948); words by the composer
- Tiše for voice and piano (1948–1949); words by František HalasFrantišek HalasFrantišek Halas was one of the most significant Czech lyric poets of the 20th century, an essayist, and a translator.- Life :...
- Moja rodná for tenor and orchestra (1949); words by Ján Kostra
- Domů jedu domovinou svou for tenor and orchestra (1954); words by Oldřich Mikulášek; won first prize in the 1955 Great Jubilee Competition of the Czech Composers Union (Velká jubilejní soutěž Svazu českých skladatelů)
- Maminka (The Mummy), Song for medium voice and piano (1954); words by Jaroslav SeifertJaroslav SeifertJaroslav Seifert was a Nobel Prize winning Czech writer, poet and journalist.Born in Žižkov, a suburb of Prague in what was then part of Austria-Hungary, his first collection of poems was published in 1921...
- Písně na staré motivy (Songs on Ancient Themes) for baritone (or alto) and chamber orchestra (1955–1956)
- Divoký chmel, 4 Songs for baritone and piano (1960); words by Ivan Skála
- Každodenní malé písně, Song Cycle for high voice and piano (1967–1968)
- Tesknice for low voice, flute, viola, cello and piano; words by František HalasFrantišek HalasFrantišek Halas was one of the most significant Czech lyric poets of the 20th century, an essayist, and a translator.- Life :...
Choral
- Smrt (Death), Cantata (1942); words by Olga ScheinpflugováOlga ScheinpflugováOlga Scheinpflugová was a Czech actress and writer. She was a daughter of writer, journalist and playwright Karel Scheinpflug. In 1935, she married the writer Karel Čapek.-Biography:...
- Píseň o rodné zemi for male chorus (1946); words by Jaroslav SeifertJaroslav SeifertJaroslav Seifert was a Nobel Prize winning Czech writer, poet and journalist.Born in Žižkov, a suburb of Prague in what was then part of Austria-Hungary, his first collection of poems was published in 1921...
- Píseň o Stalinu, Cantata (1950); words by Stanislav Kostka Neumann
- Píseň o veliké době, Cantata (1950–1951); words by Ivan Skála
- Láska za lásku for mixed chorus and orchestra (1951)
- Veselé město, Suite for mixed chorus and large variety band (1952–1953)
- Láska pěknější, Cantata for soprano, alto, tenor, bass, female chorus and piano (1954–1955); words by Josef Kainar; won the Josef Bohuslav Foerster Prize, second prize in the 1955 Great Jubilee Competition of the Czech Composers Union (Velká jubilejní soutěž Svazu českých skladatelů)
- Praha (Prague) for male chorus (1955)
- Maminka, Song for children's chorus and orchestra (1963); words by Jaroslav SeifertJaroslav SeifertJaroslav Seifert was a Nobel Prize winning Czech writer, poet and journalist.Born in Žižkov, a suburb of Prague in what was then part of Austria-Hungary, his first collection of poems was published in 1921...
- Nadešel čas for unison chorus and piano; words by Stanislav Kostka Neumann
- Šťastnou cestu for soloist, chorus and orchestra
- Vojáček modrooký for soprano, male chorus and chamber orchestra with cimbalom
- Všední den for unison chorus; words by T. Pantůček
- Všichni jsme mladí for mixed chorus and orchestra
Film scores
| Year | Czech title (original title) | English title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Všední den | ||
| 1952 | Písnička za groš | A Song for a Penny | directed by Rudolf Myzet |
| 1952 | Zítra se bude tančit všude | Tomorrow, People Will Be Dancing Everywhere | directed by Vladimír Vlček; constructivist film |
| 1955 | Čínské jaro | Chinese Spring | documentary |
| 1956 | Rudá záře nad Kladnem | Red Glare over Kladno | directed by Vladimír Vlček |
| 1956 | Zaostřit, prosím! | Focus, Please! | a.k.a. Close Up, Please!; directed by Martin Frič Martin Fric Martin Frič was a Czech film director and screenwriter. He had over 100 directing credits between 1929 and 1968, including feature films, shorts and documentary films.-Filmography:* Páter Vojtěch... |
| 1956 | Advent | Advent | directed by Vladimír Vlček |
| 1957 | Florenc 13:30 | directed by Josef Mach Josef Mach Josef Mach was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director.Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant director of short films at Grafo Film Studio working with director Václav Kubásek... includes the song "Šoférská" sung by Josef Bek |
|
| 1958 | Hořká láska | Bitter Love | directed by Josef Mach Josef Mach Josef Mach was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director.Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant director of short films at Grafo Film Studio working with director Václav Kubásek... |
| 1958 | La liberté surveillée | Provisional Liberty | Czech language title: V proudech; directed by Henri Aisner and Vladimír Vlček |
| 1959 | Zatoulané dělo | The Lost Gun | a.k.a The Missing Cannon; directed by Josef Mach Josef Mach Josef Mach was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director.Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant director of short films at Grafo Film Studio working with director Václav Kubásek... |
| 1960 | Pán a hvezdár | The Master and the Astronomer | directed by Dušan Kodaj |
| 1961 | Florián | directed by Josef Mach Josef Mach Josef Mach was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director.Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant director of short films at Grafo Film Studio working with director Václav Kubásek... |
|
| 1961 | Valčík pro milión | Waltz for a Million | directed by Josef Mach Josef Mach Josef Mach was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director.Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant director of short films at Grafo Film Studio working with director Václav Kubásek... includes the song "Babičko, nauč mně charleston" (Grandmother, Teach Me the Charleston) |
| 1962 | Prosím, nebudit! | directed by Josef Mach Josef Mach Josef Mach was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director.Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant director of short films at Grafo Film Studio working with director Václav Kubásek... |
|
| 1962 | Medailonograf Frantiska Filipovského | documentary short; directed by Josef Mach Josef Mach Josef Mach was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director.Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant director of short films at Grafo Film Studio working with director Václav Kubásek... |
|
| 1963 | Tři chlapi v chalupě | directed by Josef Mach Josef Mach Josef Mach was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director.Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant director of short films at Grafo Film Studio working with director Václav Kubásek... |
|
| 1968 | Objížďka | directed by Josef Mach Josef Mach Josef Mach was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director.Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant director of short films at Grafo Film Studio working with director Václav Kubásek... |
Sources
- Ludvík Podéšť at the Czech Music Dictionary
- Ludvík Podéšť at the Database of Czech Composers and Compositions (Databáze skladeb a skladatelů)