The Brno Conservatory, also Brno Conservatoire ( cs, Konzervatoř Brno), was established in Brno on 25 September 1919 by

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

n composer

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European f ...

History

Leoš Janáček attempted to establish and improve high musical education in Brno from his early age. In 1881, he founded the ''Organ School'', however, it was just the beginning of his efforts in this field. The conservatory was established by joining the Organ School, music school of ''Beseda brněnská'', and music school of ''Vesna'' (women's educational association based in Brno). Initially, it was situated in a "greek villa", on the corner of the streets of Smetanova and Kounicova. It was the former seat of the Organ School (from 1907). Janáček was the first director of the conservatory, but the school gained its current seat only during the directorship of his successor, Jan Kunc. The building of the conservatory was designed in 1899 in the style of

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

by German Wanderley. It was the seat of the German Teachers Institute, founded by the Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

. The commemorate plaque at the building reads: ''„Kaiser Franz Josef I. widmete dieses Haus der Bildung von Volksschullehrern 1872."'' ("The Emperor Franz Josef I dedicated this house to build the public teaching 1872"). During the period of German occupation of Czechoslovakia, the school became an important centre of Czech and Moravian cultural tradition. Jan Kunc remained the director until 1945. Other important directors include pianist and musicologist Ludvík Kundera and music theorist and composer

Zdeněk Blažek Zdeněk is a Czech given name derived from the Latin name Sidonius. contested the relation with the Latin name, and an alternative etymology is a diminutive of Zdeslav.Jan Svoboda, Staročeská osobní jména se základem sd , sdě-, :Onomast ...

. From 1919 to 1928, Brno Conservatory had two masterclasses intended for composers and pianists. The official status of the school was lower than university level, however, the quality of the courses was reasonably good. The dance department was a part of the conservatory from 1946. The department was separated and became independent in 1986. As of 2011, Brno Conservatory has classes for all instruments of the standard symphony orchestra. Additionally, the school provides teaching of

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, accordion,

cimbalom The cimbalom (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by V. Josef Schunda in 1874 in ...

, recorder,

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

, conducting and

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or with ...

. Brno Conservatory regularly organizes concerts and theatre performances and collaborates with the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra.

Faculty (past and present)

* Josef Blatný, composition * Jan Kunc, composition * Ludvík Kundera, piano * Vilém Kurz, piano * Jaroslav Kvapil, composition * Vilém Petrželka, composition * Jan Škrdlík, cello

Alumni

* Igor Ardašev, pianist *

Břetislav Bakala Břetislav Bakala (February 12, 1897 in Fryšták – April 1, 1958 in Brno) was a Czech conductor, pianist, and composer. His career was centred on Brno and he was particularly associated with the music of Leoš Janáček. Life and career ...

, conductor, pianist, composer * Aleš Bárta, organist * Josef Berg, composer * Libuše Domanínská, soprano *

Rudolf Firkušný Rudolf Firkušný (; 11 February 191219 July 1994) was a Moravian-born, Moravian-American classical pianist. Life Born in Moravian town Napajedla, Firkušný started his musical studies with the composers Leoš Janáček and Josef Suk, and ...

, pianist * Michaela Fukačová, cellist *

Pavel Haas Pavel Haas (21 June 189917 October 1944) was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not la ...

, composer *

Josef Horák Josef Horák (24 March 1931 – 23 November 2005) was a Czech bass clarinetist. It was not until the 1950s that classical performers began to adopt the bass clarinet as their primary instrument. Horák is credited as having performed the first e ...

, bass clarinetist * František Jílek, conductor *

Vítězslava Kaprálová Vítězslava Kaprálová (; 24 January 191516 June 1940) was a Czech composer and conductor of 20th-century classical music. Life and career Vítězslava Kaprálová was born in Brno, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Czech Republic), a daughte ...

, composer, conductor *

Ctirad Kohoutek Ctirad Kohoutek (18 March 1929 in Zábřeh, Czechoslovakia – 19 September 2011 in Brno, Czech Republic) was a contemporary Czech composer, music theorist, and pedagogue. Life In 1948–1949 he studied composition, musical theory and conductin ...

, composer *

Vlastimil Lejsek Vlastimil Lejsek (21 July 1927 in Brno – 12 March 2010 in Brno) was a Czech composer and pianist. Biography Lejsek was the son of the Moravian choirmaster Frantisek Kvetoslav Lejsek. He studied at the Brno Conservatory and the Academies of Musi ...

, composer, pianist *

Zdeněk Mácal Zdeněk Mácal (; born 8 January 1936) is a Czech conductor. Mácal was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and began violin lessons with his father at the age of four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáček Academy of Music an ...

, conductor * Jan Novák, composer * Ludvík Podéšť, composer * Theodor Schaefer, composer * Yngve Sköld, composer, pianist * František Šolc, hornist * Stanislav Vavřínek, flautist, conductor

References

External links

Brno Conservatory official website
{{authority control Education in Brno Organizations based in Brno Music schools in the Czech Republic Educational institutions established in 1919 Buildings and structures in Brno 1919 establishments in Czechoslovakia