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Bohumil Gregor
Bohumil Gregor (Prague, 14 July 1926 – 4 November 2005) was a Czech conductor. Gregor studied double bass at the Prague Conservatory. He made his conducting debut on October 26, 1947, at the Divadlo 5. května (Theatre of the Fifth of May, now the Prague State Opera). He conducted at the State Theatre in Brno (1949–1951), the National Theatre in Prague (1955–1958 and 1962–1966), the State Theatre in Ostrava (1958–1962), the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm (1966–1969), the State Opera in Hamburg (1969–1972), De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam (from 1972), and also in San Francisco, Philadelphia and Washington. In 1999, he returned to the Prague State Opera where he worked as musical director until 2002. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Czechs
The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia, ancestry, Czech culture, culture, History of the Czech lands, history, and the Czech language. Ethnic Czechs were called Bohemians in English language, English until the early 20th century, referring to the former name of their country, Bohemia, which in turn was adapted from the late Iron Age tribe of Celtic Boii. During the Migration Period, West Slavic Bohemians (tribe), tribes settled in the area, "assimilated the remaining Celtic and Germanic populations", and formed a principality in the 9th century, which was initially part of Great Moravia, in form of Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia, the predecessors of the modern republic. The Czech diaspora is found in notable numbers in the Czech American, United States, Germany ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
From The House Of The Dead
''From the House of the Dead'' () is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček. The libretto was translated and adapted by the composer from the 1862 novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was the composer's last opera, premiered on 12 April 1930 at the National Theatre Brno, two years after his death. The United States premiere of the work took place at Lincoln Center in 1989 when the New York City Opera mounted a production led by conductor Christopher Keene with a cast starring Harlan Foss as Alexandr Petrovič Gorjančikov, John Absalom as Filka Morozov, Jon Garrison as Skuratov, and John Lankston as Šapkin. Composition history Janáček worked on this opera from February 1927 to 8 June 1928,Ladislav Šip, "Leoš Janáček's Last Opera" – essay in LP booklet accompanying Supraphon box SU 5075-76 (translated by Christopher Hogwood), Artia, Prague, 1965. knowing that it would be his last, and for it he broke away from the habit he had developed of creating characters modeled on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Czech Philharmonic
The Czech Philharmonic () is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. Its principal performing venue is the Rudolfinum concert hall. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orchestra of the Prague National Theatre. It played its first concert under its current name on 4 January 1896 when Antonín Dvořák conducted his own compositions, but it did not become fully independent from the opera until 1901. The first representative concert took place on 15 October 1901 conducted by Ludvík Čelanský, the first artistic director of the orchestra. In 1908, Gustav Mahler led the orchestra in the world premiere of his Symphony No. 7. The orchestra first became internationally known during the principal conductorship of Václav Talich, who held the post from 1919 to 1931, and again from 1933 to 1941. In 1941, Talich and the orchestra made a controversial journey to Germany, where they performed Bedřich Smetana's '' My C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scherzo Capriccioso (Dvořák)
The ''Scherzo capriccioso'' in D major, Op. 66 (B. 131), is an orchestral work by Antonín Dvořák. Composed in 1883, it was premiered the same year at the National Theatre under Adolf Čech. A typical performance takes approximately 14 minutes. As with the third piano trio, the Hussite Overture, the Ballade in D minor, and the seventh symphony, composed in the same period, the work is written in a more dramatic, dark and aggressive style that supersedes the carefree folk style of Dvořák's "Slavonic period". It also bears other notable features, including development occurring in the exposition, counterpoint creating dense structure, and the sound of the orchestra often being punctuated by the distinctive use of the cor anglais and bass clarinet. References External links * * , performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born ''Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan''; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian cond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Symphonic Variations (Dvořák)
Antonín Dvořák's ''Symphonic Variations on the Theme “I am a fiddler”'' () for orchestra, Op. 78, B. 70, were written in 1877. They are played fairly commonly, much like Johannes Brahms's ''Variations on a Theme by Haydn'' and Edward Elgar's ''Enigma Variations''. They are often recorded in conjunction with his nine symphonies. Background Supposedly, the work was a response to a challenge from a friend to write variations on a theme that seemed impossible for that purpose. Dvořák chose the third of his set of three part-songs for unaccompanied male voices (''Sborové písně pro mužské hlasy''), B. 66, titled "''Huslař''", or "''Já jsem huslař''" ("The fiddler", or "I am a fiddler"; text by Adolf Heyduk - the other two songs were from Moravian folk poetry). The three songs were written in mid-January 1877 and first performed on 4 March. The third song is in ternary form (ABA), where the lengths of the phrases are 7, 6, and 7 bars. But far from being im ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
My Home (Dvořák)
''My Home'' (), Op. 62, B. 125a, is an overture in C major by Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. He wrote this symphonic poem between December 1881 and January 23 of the next year as one of nine numbers comprising incidental music for the play ''Josef Kajetán Tyl'' by František Ferdinand Šamberk, but it is usually performed alone as a concert work of about ten minutes. The score’s sonata form develops two song-themes associated with the drama’s titular protagonist, himself a Czech playwright: ''Kde domov můj "" (), known in English as "Where My Home Is", is the national anthem of the Czech Republic. It was composed by František Škroup and written by Josef Kajetán Tyl. History The piece was written as a part of the incidental music to the co ...'' by František Škroup and the folktune ''Na tom našem dvoře''. Škroup composed ''Kde domov můj (Where my home is)'' in 1834 to a text by Tyl; it soon became popular and eventually became the Czech n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Wranitzky
Paul Wranitzky (Czech: Pavel Vranický; 30 December 1756 – 29 September 1808) was a Moravian-Austrian classical composer. His half brother, Antonín, was also a composer. Life Wranitzky was born in Neureisch ( Nová Říše) in Habsburg Moravia. He studied at the Faculty of Theology of University of Olomouc and later a theological seminary in Vienna. At age 20, like so many other Czech composers of that period, he moved to Vienna to seek out opportunities within the Austrian imperial capital. From 1790, he conducted both royal theater orchestras. He was highly respected by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven; the latter two preferred him as conductor of their new works (e.g., Beethoven's First Symphony in 1800). Wranitzky was a prolific composer. His output comprises ten operas, 44 symphonies, at least 56 string quartets (some sources give a number as high as 73) and a large amount of other orchestral and chamber music. His opera, ''Oberon – The Fairy King'' from 1789 was a favo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karan Armstrong
Karan Armstrong (December 14, 1941 – September 28, 2021) was an American operatic soprano, who was celebrated as a singing actress. After winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1966, she was given small roles at the Metropolitan Opera, and appeared in leading roles at the New York City Opera from 1969, including Conceptión in Ravel's ''L'heure espagnol'', Blonde in Mozart's ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'', and the title roles in Verdi's '' La traviata'', Offenbach's ''La belle Hélène'' and Puccini's '' La fanciulla del West''. After she performed in Europe from 1974, first as Micaëla in Bizet's ''Carmen'', and then as a sensational ''Salome'' at the Opéra du Rhin, she enjoyed a career at major opera houses, appearing in several opera recordings and films. Armstrong was for decades a leading soprano at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where her husband Götz Friedrich was director. She appeared in world premieres, including Gottfried von Einem's ''Jesu Hoc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyric Symphony
The ''Lyric Symphony'' (), Op. 18, is a musical work for soprano and baritone soloists and large orchestra composed between 1922 and 1923 by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky. Composition and performance history The work was begun in April 1922. In a letter to his publishers of 19 September 1922, Zemlinsky described the work-in-progress as "...something along the lines of ahler's'' Das Lied von der Erde''". The orchestration was completed in August 1923. The sung texts are taken from ''The Gardener'' by Rabindranath Tagore in a German translation by Hans Effenberger. The work received its premiere in Prague at the New German Theatre on June 4, 1924, under the composer's direction. The vocal solos were sung by Tilly de Garmo and Joseph Schwarz.''Signale für die musikalische Welt'' No. 28, July 9, 1924, p. 1106 Structure The work is in seven connected movements, sung alternately by the two soloists: * ("I am restless. I am athirst for far-away things") * ("O mother ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rusalka
In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melusine and the Germanic Nixie (water spirit), Nixie. Folklorists have proposed a variety of origins for the entity, including that they may originally stem from Slavic paganism, where they may have been seen as benevolent spirits. Rusalki appear in a variety of media in modern popular culture, particularly in Slavic language-speaking countries, where they frequently resemble the concept of the mermaid. In northern Russia, the rusalka was also known by various names such as the Vodyanoy#Vodyanitsa, vodyanitsa (or vodyanikha/vodyantikha; ; Literal meaning, lit. "she from the water" or "the water maiden"), kupalka (; "bather"), shutovka (; "joker", "jester" or "prankster") and loskotukha (or shchekotukha, shchekotunya; ; "tickler" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predecessor Bedřich Smetana. Dvořák's style has been described as "the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition, absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of using them," and Dvořák has been described as "arguably the most versatile... composer of his time". Dvořák displayed his musical gifts at an early age, being a talented violin student. The first public performances of his works were in Prague in 1872 and, with special success, in 1873, when he was 31 years old. Seeking recognition beyond the Prague area, he submitted scores of symphonies and other works to German and Austrian competitions. He did not win a prize until 1874, with Johannes Brahms on the jury of the Austrian State Competit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Příhody Lišky Bystroušky
''The Cunning Little Vixen'' (original title ''Příhody lišky Bystroušky'' or ''Tales of Vixen Sharp-Ears'' in English), is a three-act Czech-language opera by Leoš Janáček completed in 1923 to a libretto the composer himself adapted from a novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek. Name The opera's libretto was adapted by the composer from a 1920 serialized novella, ''Liška Bystrouška'', by Rudolf Těsnohlídek, which was first published in the newspaper ''Lidové noviny'' (with illustrations by Stanislav Lolek). For the title of the opera, ''Příhody'' means ''tales''; ''lišky'' is the genitive of ''vixen''. ''Bystroušky'', still genitive, is the pun ''sharp'', having the double meaning of ''pointed'', like fox ears, and ''clever''. The opera first became familiar outside Czechoslovakia in a 1927 German adaptation by Max Brod who provided the new name ''Das schlaue Füchslein'', by which Germans still know it and which in English means ''The Cunning Little Vixen''. Compositi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
