Otakar Ostrčil (25 February 1879 in

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 temperate ...

– 20 August 1935 in Prague) was a Czech

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

and conductor. 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, and spent his entire life, in Prague, the center of the Czech musical community of his generation. He studied philosophy at

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , under ...

, attending the classes of Otakar Hostinský, and simultaneously studied composition and music theory privately under Zdeněk Fibich. From his early student days he was a close friend of Zdeněk Nejedlý, whose outspoken voice in musicology formed Ostrčil's greatest critical support. He worked as a conductor at the Vinohrady Theater (1914-1919) and later at the

National Theatre (Prague) The National Theatre ( cs, Národní divadlo) 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 ric ...

(1920-1935), which was one of the most influential positions in Czech musical life. He also worked as a

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

at the Prague Conservatory, teaching conducting. Ostrčil wrote 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'' (Honzo's Kingdom, based on a short story by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, 1934). His most significant

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

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). He also composed various works for chamber and choral ensembles. As was the case with his main musical influence,

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

, 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 Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important ...

, Josef Suk, and Otakar Zich, Ostrčil composed in a densely orchestrated, thickly contrapuntal style that was heavily influenced by Mahler,

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

, and the early works of

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

. 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 Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * ...

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

s, whom he much admired. At the very end of his career, with his final opera ''Honzovo království'', he turned to an ironic sort of

neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism ...

reminiscent of

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ' ...

or even

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

: the work is full of grotesque marches and folk dances that match the

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

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 is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

, both at home and abroad, were presented to Prague audiences as a matter of cultural responsibility. As a result, under Ostrčil, Prague saw the Czech premieres of works by

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

, Strauss,

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, 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 ...

, Zich, and most importantly, the opera ''

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'', which the German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at ...

'' by

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sm ...

in 1926. These programming choices met extreme controversy over Ostrčil's fifteen-year administration at the National Theater, especially from conservative critics such as Antonín Šilhan, who branded the conductor an anti-Czech pro-

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

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 (21 June 1893 – 18 November 1973) was a Czech composer, music theorist and teacher. He belongs to the important discoverers in modern classical music, and major composers of microtonal music, especially using the quarter-tone scal ...

; 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'', Op. 5 (1903) * ''Kunálovy oči'', Op. 11 (1908) on the theme from the short story of Julius Zeyer. * ''Poupě'', Op. 12 (1910) * ''Legenda z Erinu'', Op. 19 (1919) * '' Honzovo království'', Op. 25 (Honza's Kingdom after Leo Tolstoy 1933) ;Melodramas and Orchestral Songs * ''Krásné dědictví'' (

Eliška Krásnohorská Eliška Krásnohorská (18 November 1847, in Prague – 26 November 1926, in Prague) was a Czech feminist author. She was introduced to literature and feminism by Karolína Světlá. She wrote works of lyric poetry and literary criticism, howeve ...

- destroyed) * ''Kamenný mnich'' (1893) * ''Lilie'' (

Karel Jaromír Erben Karel Jaromír Erben (; 7 November 1811 – 21 November 1870) was a Czech folklorist and poet of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection '' Kytice'', which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes. He also wrote ''P ...

) * ''Balada o mrtvém ševci a mladé tanečnici'', Op. 6 (K. Leger - 1904) * ''Balada česká'', Op. 8 ( Jan Neruda - 1903) * ''Osiřelo dítě'', Op. 9 (The Orphan's Tale, 1907) * ''Cizí Host'', Op. 16 (The Stranger, 1913) * ''Skřivan'', Op. 26 (Mir. Valenta - 1934) ;Orchestral works * ''Selská Slavnost'', Op. 1 (Peasant Festival, 1897) * ''Pohádková Suita'', Op. 2 (Fairy Tale Suite, 1898) * ''Pohádka o Šemíku'', Op. 3 (Tale of Šemík, tone poem, 1899) * Symphony in A, Op. 7 (1906) * ''Sirotek'', Op. 10 (The Orphan, incidental music for play after Nemcova, 1906) * Impromptu, Op. 13 (1912) * Suite in c minor, Op. 14 (1912) * Sinfonietta, Op. 20 (1922) * ''Léto'', Op. 23 (Summer, tone poem, 1927) * ''Křížova cesta'' Variations for Large Orchestra, Op. 24 (1928) (''Calvary'' or ''The Way of the Cross'') ;Choral works * ''Ceská Legenda Vánocní'', Op. 15 (Czech Christmas Legend, 1912) * ''Legenda o sv. Zite'' Cantata, Op. 17 text by Jaroslava Vrchlického (1913) * ''Prosté Motivy'', Op. 21 (1922) ;Chamber music * String Quartet in B Major, Op. 4 (1899) * Sonatina for Viola, Violin and Piano, Op. 22 (1925) ;Songs * 3 Songs, Op. 18 (1910-1913)

External links

Czech Music Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrcil, Otakar 1879 births 1935 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Czech male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century conductors (music) Czech Romantic composers Czech male classical composers Czech opera composers Czech conductors (music) Male opera composers Male conductors (music) Musicians from Prague Academic staff of the Prague Conservatory Charles University alumni Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery