Ferdinand Laub (19 January 1832 – 17 March 1875) 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 *Czech (surnam ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist and

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 ...

Life and career

Laub was born in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

from a German Bohemian family which had assimilated into the ethnic Czech community. His father Erasmus (1794–1865) arranged for Ferdinand's first public appearance at age six. His first solo concert was at age ten in the

Estates Theatre The Estates Theatre (in Czech: ''Stavovské divadlo'') is a historic theatre in Prague, Czech Republic. The Estates Theatre was annexed to the National Theatre in 1948 and currently draws on three artistic ensembles, opera, ballet, and drama, w ...

(a theater in Prague). From 1843 to 1846, he studied at the Prague Conservatory. He began his adult career as a virtuoso in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, at the imperial court. In 1850, he traveled across Europe with a series of exhibitions. He stayed for a longer time in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

(1855–62 as professor at the

Stern Conservatory The Stern Conservatory (''Stern'sches Konservatorium'') was a private music school in Berlin with many distinguished tutors and alumni. The school is now part of Berlin University of the Arts. History It was founded in 1850 as the ''Berliner Mu ...

). From 1866 to 1874 he was professor of violin at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

, where his many notable students included

Stanisław Barcewicz Stanisław Barcewicz (16 April 18581 September 1929) was a Polish violinist, conductor and teacher. Although his repertoire included almost all of the classical and romantic violin literature, he was valued primarily for his interpretations of wor ...

. Laub was a well-admired violinist, winning awards all over Europe;

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

called him "the best violinist of our time". He was the first violinist in the premiere performances of both Tchaikovsky's

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

String Quartets, and the posthumous dedicatee of the

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

of 1876. In January 1868, during

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

's second trip to Moscow, Laub performed the solo

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

part of his ''

Harold en Italie (''Harold in Italy, symphony with viola obbligato''), as the manuscript describes it, is a four-movement orchestral work by Hector Berlioz, his Opus 16, H. 68, written in 1834. Throughout, the unusual viola part represents the titular protago ...

'' at the Moscow Conservatory under the composer's baton.Berlioz in Russia, The second visit: 1868
/ref> In 1874, lung disease forced him to stop working. He was succeeded at Moscow Conservatory by

Jan Hřímalý Jan Hřímalý (, also ''Ivan Voitsekhovich Grzhimali''; 13 April 1844 – ) was an influential Czech violinist and teacher, who was associated with the Moscow Conservatory for 46 years in 1869–1915. Biography Hřímalý was born in Plzeň, Bo ...

. He died on the way to a spa in

Meran Merano (, ; ) or Meran () is a (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier Va ...

, in near

Bolzano Bolzano ( ; ; or ) is the capital city of South Tyrol (officially the province of Bolzano), Northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third largest in historical Tyrol. The ...

, and is interred in the

Vyšehrad Cemetery Established in 1869 on the grounds of Vyšehrad Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, the Vyšehrad Cemetery () is the final resting place of many composers, artists, sculptors, writers, and those from the world of science and politics. The center ...

. His son Váša Laub (1857–1911) was also a violinist and composer.

Selected works

Concertante

* Cadenzas to Beethoven's Violin Concerto, Op. 61 (1859) * Concerto in A minor for violin and orchestra; lost

Chamber music

* ''Élégie'' for violin and piano, Op. 3 (1857) * ''6 Morceaux caractéristiques'' for violin and piano, Op. 4 (1858) *# Nocturne *# Ballade in A minor *# Romance *# Saltarello in D minor *# *# * ''Rondo scherzoso'' for violin and piano or orchestra, Op. 6 (1859) * ''2 Morceaux'' for violin and piano, Op. 7 (1861) *# Romance in A major *# Impromptu in G major * ''Polonéza'' (Polonaise de concert) in G major for violin and piano, Op. 8 (1861) or violin and orchestra (1862) * ''Velké brillantní duo na české národní písně'' () for violin and piano (1865); co-composed with Guillaume Graf * ''4 Morceaux'' for violin and piano, Op. 12 (published 1884) *# Canzonetta in B minor *# Bonheur perdu *# Romance sans paroles (Píseň beze slov; Song without Words; Lied ohne Worte) in B major *# Impromptu in A major * ''Études de concert'' (3 Concert Etudes; 3 Concert-Etüden) for violin solo, Op. 13 (published 1881) *# Moderato in D minor *# Andante in C major *# Moderato vivace in E minor (Tarantelle aus der Stummen von Portici) * ''3 Morceaux'' for viola (or violin) and piano, Op. 14 (published 1883) * ''Adagio'' for violin and piano * ''Holubice od Staňka'' for violin and piano * String Quartet in C minor

Vocal

* ''České písně'' (Czech Songs; Böhmische Lieder) for voice and piano, Op. 2 (1857) *# Minka a včely (Das Minchen und die Bienen) *# Naděje (Hope; Hoffnung) *# Holubice (The Dove) * ''3 Písně'' (3 Songs) for voice and piano, Op. 9 (1865) *# Pravdu mluv *# České písně *# Až mne nebude

References

External links

Biography (in Czech)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laub, Ferdinand 1832 births 1875 deaths Composers from Austria-Hungary Violinists from Austria-Hungary Czech male classical composers Czech classical violinists Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory Musicians from Prague Pupils of Simon Sechter Czech Romantic composers 19th-century Czech classical composers 19th-century classical violinists Czech male classical violinists 19th-century Czech male musicians Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery Prague Conservatory alumni