Otakar Ostrcil
Encyclopedia
Otakar Ostrčil 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.
. From his early student days he was a close friend of Zdeněk Nejedlý
, whose outspoken voice in musicology would form 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's main output consists of 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 eyes, 1908), Poupě (The Bud, 1912), Legenda z Erinu (A Legend of Erin, 1921), and Honzovo království (Johnny's Kingdom, based on a short story by Leo Tolstoy
, 1934). His most significant orchestral music includes Symphony in A (1906), Impromptu (1912), Suite in c minor (1914), Symfonietta (1922), Léto (Summer, tone poem, 1927), and Křížova cesta (The Way of the Cross, orchestral variations, 1929). Beyond these, he also composed various works for chamber and choral ensembles; much like his main musical influence, Gustav Mahler
, his rigorous conducting schedule rarely allowed free time for composition, with the exception of the summers when the theater was not in season.
, Josef Suk
, and Otakar Zich
, Ostrčil composed in a densely orchestrated, thickly contrapuntal style that was heavily influenced by Mahler, Richard Strauss
, and the early works of Arnold Schoenberg
. At times, the extreme linearity of his work (as in the orchestral preludes to Legenda z Erinu and the climactic sections of Křížova cesta) goes beyond functional harmony; in these moments he can easily be aligned with the Viennese
expressionists, whom he much admired. At the very end of his career, with Honzovo království, he turned to an ironic sort of neoclassicism
reminiscent of Paul Hindemith
or even Dmitri Shostakovich
: the work is full of grotesque marches and folk dances that match the socialist politics of the libretto's mock folktale atmosphere.
As a conductor, Ostrčil had a significant influence on his younger contemporaries in the interwar period. From the beginning of his time at the National Theater he conceived new ideas of musical leadership and choice of repertoire, wherein representatives of the current generation of musical modernism
, both at home and abroad, would be presented to Prague audiences as a matter of cultural responsibility. As a result, under Ostrčil, Prague saw the Czech premieres of works by Debussy, Strauss, Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud
, Zich, and most importantly, the opera Wozzeck
by Alban Berg
in 1926.
These programming choices met with extreme controversy over his entire fifteen-year administration at the National Theater, especially from conservative critics such as Antonín Šilhan, who branded the conductor as an anti-Czech pro-communist traitor, and whose articles prompted a riot at the third performance of Wozzeck. Many of these criticisms had to do with Ostrčil's close association with Nejedlý, who by this time was a strong proponent of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. It was Ostrčil's belief in the necessity of presenting modern art to the public that won him many supporters among the students of Prague, led by the young pedagogue and microtonal composer Alois Hába
; in a climate increasingly unsympathetic to modernist exploration, the conductor was hailed as a hero.
His untimely death in 1935, at the height of his career, was a bitter blow to the community, and for the remainder of the democratic era (to 1938) his achievements were continually rhapsodized in print.
Melodramas
Orchestral works
Chamber music
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
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...
and 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...
. 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 in Prague, where he spent his entire life, as it was the center of the Czech musical community in his generation. He studied philosophy at Charles University, attending the classes of Otakar Hostinský, and simultaneously studied composition and music theory privately under Zdeněk FibichZdenek Fibich
Zdeněk Fibich was a Czech composer of classical music. Among his compositions are chamber works , symphonic poems, three symphonies, at least seven operas , melodramas including the substantial trilogy Hippodamia,...
. From his early student days he was a close friend of Zdeněk Nejedlý
Zdenek Nejedlý
Zdeněk Nejedlý was a Czech musicologist, music critic, author, and politician whose ideas dominated the cultural life of what is now the Czech Republic for most of the twentieth century...
, whose outspoken voice in musicology would form Ostrčil's greatest critical support. He worked as a 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...
at the Vinohrady
Vinohrady
Vinohrady is a cadastral district in Prague. It is so named because the area was once covered in vineyards dating from the 14th century...
Theater (1914-1919) and later at the National Theatre (Prague)
National Theatre (Prague)
The National Theatre in Prague is known as the Alma Mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art.The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition which was created and maintained by the most distinguished...
(1920-1935), which was one of the most influential positions in Czech musical life. He also worked as a pedagogue at the Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory, sometimes also Prague Conservatoire, in Czech Pražská konzervatoř, is a Czech secondary school in Prague dedicated to teaching the arts of music and theater acting.- Instruction :...
, teaching conducting.
Ostrčil's main output consists of 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
Smetana
Smetana is a Slavic loanword in English for a dairy product that is produced by souring heavy cream. Smetana is from Central and Eastern Europe, sometimes perceived to be specifically of Russian origin. It is a soured cream product like crème fraîche , but nowadays mainly sold with 15% to 30%...
and Fibich), Kunálovy oči (Kunál's eyes, 1908), Poupě (The Bud, 1912), Legenda z Erinu (A Legend of Erin, 1921), and Honzovo království (Johnny's Kingdom, based on a short story by Leo Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy
Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...
, 1934). His most significant orchestral music includes Symphony in A (1906), Impromptu (1912), Suite in c minor (1914), Symfonietta (1922), Léto (Summer, tone poem, 1927), and Křížova cesta (The Way of the Cross, orchestral variations, 1929). Beyond these, he also composed various works for chamber and choral ensembles; much like his main musical influence, Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
, his rigorous conducting schedule rarely allowed free time for composition, with the exception of the summers when the theater was not in season.
Influences
Like his contemporaries, Vítězslav NovákVítezslav Novák
Vítězslav Novák was one of the most well-respected Czech composers and pedagogues, almost singlehandedly founding a mid-century Czech school of composition...
, Josef Suk
Josef Suk
Josef Suk may refer to:*Josef Suk *Josef Suk , the elder composer's grandson...
, and Otakar Zich
Otakar Zich
Otakar Zich was a distinguished Czech composer and aesthetician.- Biography :...
, Ostrčil composed in a densely orchestrated, thickly contrapuntal style that was heavily influenced by Mahler, Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, and the early works of Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
. At times, the extreme linearity of his work (as in the orchestral preludes to Legenda z Erinu and the climactic sections of Křížova cesta) goes beyond functional harmony; in these moments he can easily be aligned with the Viennese
Music of Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria, and has long been one of the major centers for cultural development in central Europe.Music organizations in Vienna include the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, which has been promoting musical development in the city since 1812...
expressionists, whom he much admired. At the very end of his career, with Honzovo království, he turned to an ironic sort of neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
reminiscent of Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
or even Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
: the work is full of grotesque marches and folk dances that match the socialist politics of the libretto's mock folktale atmosphere.
As a conductor, Ostrčil had a significant influence on his younger contemporaries in the interwar period. From the beginning of his time at the National Theater he conceived new ideas of musical leadership and choice of repertoire, wherein representatives of the current generation of musical modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
, both at home and abroad, would be presented to Prague audiences as a matter of cultural responsibility. As a result, under Ostrčil, Prague saw the Czech premieres of works by Debussy, Strauss, Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud
Darius Milhaud was a French composer and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as The Group of Six—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions are influenced by jazz and make use of polytonality...
, Zich, and most importantly, the opera Wozzeck
Wozzeck
Wozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
by Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
in 1926.
These programming choices met with extreme controversy over his entire fifteen-year administration at the National Theater, especially from conservative critics such as Antonín Šilhan, who branded the conductor as an anti-Czech pro-communist traitor, and whose articles prompted a riot at the third performance of Wozzeck. Many of these criticisms had to do with Ostrčil's close association with Nejedlý, who by this time was a strong proponent of the Czechoslovak Communist Party. It was Ostrčil's belief in the necessity of presenting modern art to the public that won him many supporters among the students of Prague, led by the young pedagogue and microtonal composer Alois Hába
Alois Hába
Alois Hába was a Czech composer, musical theorist and teacher. He is primarily known for his microtonal compositions, especially using the quarter tone scale, though he used others such as sixth-tones and twelfth-tones....
; in a climate increasingly unsympathetic to modernist exploration, the conductor was hailed as a hero.
His untimely death in 1935, at the height of his career, was a bitter blow to the community, and for the remainder of the democratic era (to 1938) his achievements were continually rhapsodized in print.
Works
Operas- Rybáři (fragment)
- Jan Zhořelecký (1898)
- Cymbelín (1899 - unfinished)
- Vlasty skon (1903)
- Kunálovy oči (1908) on the theme from the short story of Julius ZeyerJulius ZeyerJulius Zeyer was a Czech prose writer, poet, and playwright.Zeyer was born into a father of German-French nobility, and mother of Jewish family, and learned the Czech language from his nanny. He was expected to take over the family's factory but instead decided to learn carpentering...
. - Poupě (1911)
- Legenda z Erinu (1920)
- Honzovo království (1934)
Melodramas
- Krásné dědictví (Eliška KrásnohorskáEliška KrásnohorskáEliška Krásnohorská was a Czech feminist author. She was introduced to literature and feminism by Karolína Světlá...
- destroyed) - Kamenný mnich (1893)
- Lilie (Karel Jaromír ErbenKarel Jaromír ErbenKarel Jaromír Erben was a Czech historian, poet and writer of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection Kytice , which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes....
) - Balada o mrtvém ševci a mladé tanečnici (K. Leger - 1904)
- Balada česká (Jan NerudaJan NerudaJan Nepomuk Neruda was a Czech journalist, writer and poet, one of the most prominent representatives of Czech Realism and a member of "the May school".-Early life:...
- 1905) - Skřivan (Mir. Valenta - 1934)
Orchestral works
- Pohádka o Šemíku (Tale of Šemík, tone poem, 1899)
- Symphony in A (1906)
- Impromptu (1912)
- Suite in c minor (1914)
- Symfonietta (1922)
- Léto (Summer, tone poem, 1927)
- Křížova cesta (The Way of the Cross, orchestral variations, 1929)
Chamber music
- Sonatina for Viola, Violin and Piano, Op.22 (1925)
- String Quartet in B Major, Op.4 (1899)