František Jílek (May 22, 1913 – September 16, 1993) was 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, ...
conductor, known especially for his interpretation of
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 ...
's works.
Life
Jílek began studying piano and composition as a pupil of
Jaroslav Kvapil, and later studied conducting under
Antonín Balatka and
Zdeněk Chalabala
Zdeněk Chalabala (18 April 1899 – 4 March 1962) was a Czechoslovak conductor. He conducted orchestras in Prague, Ostrava, Moscow.
Chalabala was born in Uherské Hradiště. He studied conducting at the Brno Conservatory with František Neu ...
at the
Brno Conservatory
The Brno Conservatory, also Brno Conservatoire ( cs, Konzervatoř Brno), was established in Brno on 25 September 1919 by Moravian composer Leoš Janáček.
History
Leoš Janáček attempted to establish and improve high musical education in Br ...
. In 1937, Jílek completed his education at the
Prague Conservatory
The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervatoř) is a music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, Prague Conservatory offers four or six year study courses, which can be compared to the level ...
, in the master class of Vítězslav Novák. From 1938 to 1949 he conducted the opera in Ostrava. In 1952, he became the principal conductor of National Theatre (Brno), the Janáček Opera in Brno, a position he held for 25 years. During his career Jílek frequently conducted the orchestra of the National Theatre (Prague), National Theatre in Prague, the Czech Philharmonic, as well as orchestras abroad. In 1978, he became the conductor of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra.
Work
He conducted the complete operas of Bedřich Smetana and Leoš Janáček, and also focused on Russian opera, Russian and Italian opera, Italian operatic repertoire. The recordings of his interpretations of Janáček's, Novák's and Bohuslav Martinů, Martinů's work are available on the Czech label Supraphon. He was awarded the ''Orphée d'Or de l'Academie National du Disque Lyrique (Prix Arturo Toscanini-Paul Vergnes)'' for the recording of Janáček's opera Jenůfa in 1980.
[''Pozdní divoch, p. 216 (only in Czech)'']
Footnotes
References
*Jaroslav Smolka: ''Malá encyklopedie hudby''. Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1983.
*Jiří Ort: ''Pozdní divoch. Láska a život Leoše Janáčka v operách a dopisech.'' Prague: Mladá fronta, 2005.
Selected recordings
* Fibich: ''The Bride of Messina'' CD. 11 1492-2 612 (Suprapho
* Janáček: ''The Excursions of Mr. Brouček'' CD. 11 2153-20612 (Suprapho
* Janáček: ''Destiny (Janáček), Destiny'' CD. SU 0045-2 611 (Suprapho
* Janáček: ''Jenůfa'' CD. SU 3869-2 612 (Suprapho
* Janáček: ''Orchestral Works I.-III.'' CD. SU 3886-3888-2 031 (Suprapho
http://www.supraphon.cz/cs/katalog/databaze-titulu/detail-titulu/?idtitulu=200960
External links
List of recordings on Supraphon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jilek, Frantisek
1913 births, Jilek Franisek
1993 deaths
Czech conductors (music)
Male conductors (music)
20th-century conductors (music)
20th-century Czech male musicians