Václav Jan Křtitel Tomášek (in German: Wenzel Johann Tomaschek; 17 April 1774, Skuteč,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohe ...

– 3 April 1850,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a tempera ...

) was an Austrian-Bohemian, by other accounts a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech ...

composer and music teacher. He was known as the Musical Pope of Prague. In the words of Kenneth Delong, “Highly opinionated, often sarcastic and projecting a sense of his own importance, Tomášek's memoirs also reveal him to be deeply concerned about all things artistic and intellectual: a man of courage and idealism, unflinching in his pursuit of truth in music and in life.”

Life

As a pianist, he was an

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

, becoming one of the most important piano teachers of

for a century. Tomášek studied violin and singing with Wolf. Until 1824 he worked as a piano teacher in aristocratic families. Afterwards he created a considerable school of music; among its most well-known pupils were Jan Voříšek, Alexander Dreyschock,

Johann Friedrich Kittl Johann Friedrich Kittl (Jan Bedřich Kittl: born 8 May 1806 Orlík, Bohemia; 20 July 1868 in Leszno, Poland) was a Czech composer. After studying law in Prague, Kittl studied music with Václav Tomášek. From 1843 to 1864, he headed the Pragu ...

and

Eduard Hanslick Eduard Hanslick (11 September 18256 August 1904) was an Austrian music critic, aesthetician and historian. Among the leading critics of his time, he was the chief music critic of the ''Neue Freie Presse'' from 1864 until the end of his life. He ...

. Tomášek made the acquaintance of

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, and also of

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tre ...

, whose poems he set. He maintained correspondence with the Polish pianist and composer

Maria Agata Szymanowska Maria Szymanowska (Polish pronunciation: ; born Marianna Agata Wołowska; Warsaw, 14 December 1789 – 25 July 1831, St. Petersburg, Russia) was a Polish composer and one of the first professional virtuoso pianists of the 19th century. She tour ...

. His autobiography was published in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, as well as in a

translation. He lived at number 15 Tomášská Street in Prague - the building bears a memorial plaque to him in Czech and German.

Style

Tomášek wrote a good deal for the piano and became a forerunner of the lyric piano piece which later reached its apogee in the works of

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

and Chopin. At first he remained loyal to the Classical style, but later was influenced by the newly born

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

. An important part of his oeuvre are his songs. Besides songs to Goethe's German poems he composed also songs to the patriotic lyrics of Czech authors. He composed short pieces for

glass harp A glass harp (also called musical glasses, singing glasses, angelic organ, verrillon or ghost fiddle) is a musical instrument made of upright wine glasses. It is played by running moistened or chalked fingers around the rim of the glasses. Each ...

and organ, and works for

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which s ...

. In 1823–1824, he was one of the 50 composers who composed a variation on a waltz by

Anton Diabelli Anton (or Antonio) Diabelli (5 September 17818 April 1858) was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote ...

for ''

Vaterländischer Künstlerverein ''Vaterländischer Künstlerverein'' was a collaborative musical publication or anthology, incorporating 83 variations for piano on a theme by Anton Diabelli, written by 51 composers living in or associated with Austria. It was published in t ...

''.

Selected works

Piano: *Six sonatas *''

Eclogue An eclogue is a poem in a classical style on a pastoral subject. Poems in the genre are sometimes also called bucolics. Overview The form of the word ''eclogue'' in contemporary English developed from Middle English , which came from Latin , ...

s'' (42 pieces in 7 volumes, 1807–1823) *''Rhapsodies'' (3 volumes, 1810–c. 1840) *''

Dithyramb The dithyramb (; grc, διθύραμβος, ''dithyrambos'') was an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility; the term was also used as an epithet of the god. Plato, in ''The Laws'', while discussin ...

s'', op. 65 (1818) Chamber: *''Grand trio'' for violin, viola and piano (1800) *''

Contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

string quartet'' (1805) * Piano Quartet in E flat major, op. 22 Orchestral: *Symphony in C major (1801) *Symphony in E flat major (1805) *Symphony in D major (1807) *Two piano concertos Songs: *''Lenora'' (ballad, 1805) *Six songs (1813) *Songs to poems by Goethe (1815) Operas: *''Seraphine'' (1811) *''Alvaro'' *''Sakuntala'' Choral: *''Requiem in C minor'' (1820) *''Missa Solemnis'' Op. 81 *''Messa con Graduale et Offertorio'' Op. 46

References

*Jaroslav Smolka (ed.): ''Malá encyklopedie hudby''. Prague: Edition Supraphon, 1983.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomasek, Vaclav Jan Krtitel 1774 births 1850 deaths 18th-century Bohemian musicians 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Czech musicians 19th-century Czech male musicians Czech male classical composers Czech opera composers Czech Romantic composers Male opera composers People from Skuteč People from the Kingdom of Bohemia