
Otakar Zich (25 March 1879,
Městec Králové – 9 July 1934 Ouběnice u Benešova) was a distinguished
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 ...
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
aesthetician.
Biography
In his music education he studied as a self-taught man. Years later, he became a pupil of the prominent nineteenth-century Czech
aesthetician Otakar Hostinský, and a protégé of the iconoclastic musicologist and critic
Zdeněk Nejedlý. In the years 1903–1906 he taught physics and mathematics at the High School in
Domažlice. In the years leading up to the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
Zich lived 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 ...
, actively participating in musical life as a critic. In this capacity he supported the efforts of Nejedlý's pro-
Smetana faction against the intellectual descendants of
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 predec ...
, especially during the so-called ''Dvořák Affair'' of 1911–1914, when he called into question the artistic integrity of Dvořák's compositional language. These activities firmly allied Zich with Nejedlý's academic circle at
Charles University
Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...
, where, in 1924, he was appointed professor of Aesthetics. He held this position until his death in 1934.
Style
As a composer, Zich was largely self-taught, although he can be said to belong to the post-Smetana ''lineage'' of Czech composers (which includes
Zdeněk Fibich,
Josef Bohuslav Foerster, and
Otakar Ostrčil, all connected in some way to Nejedlý). His main contributions to concert life in Prague were the operas ''Malířský nápad'' (The Artist's Idea, 1908), ''Vina'' (Guilt, 1915), and ''Preciézky'' (on Zich's own translation of
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...
's ''Les précieuses ridicules'', 1924). He also created several solo vocal and choral compositions. His musical style straddles the divide between late
Romanticism
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
and early
neo-classicism
Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
, combining dense orchestration,
Wagnerian leitmotif
A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciz ...
s, and an intensely linear
counterpoint
In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...
with a playful referentiality to past styles. With the exception of ''Preciézky'' and a few individual shorter works, most of Zich's music remains unpublished.
Because of his association with Nejedlý, performances of Zich's music often met with bitter controversy in
interwar
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
Prague, where critics assessed new compositions based on factional allegiances. The lowest point of this was undoubtedly the premiere of ''Vina'' in 1922, which the arch-conservative critic Antonín Šilhan attacked in a vituperative article entitled ''Finis musicae'' (The End of Music). Šilhan's argument focused primarily on the opera's orchestral score, where the counterpoint occasionally borders on
atonality
Atonality in its broadest sense is music that lacks a tonal center, or key. ''Atonality'', in this sense, usually describes compositions written from about the early 20th-century to the present day, where a hierarchy of harmonies focusing on ...
.
[Locke, B: ''Opera and Ideology in Prague'']
Zich was also the author of many folkloric studies and books on aesthetics: foremost among these are ''Estetické vnímaní hudby'' (The Aesthetic Perception of Music, 1911) and ''Estetika dramatického umění'' (The Aesthetics of Drama, 1931). In each of these he explored the application of
phenomenology
Phenomenology may refer to:
Art
* Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties
Philosophy
* Phenomenology (Peirce), a branch of philosophy according to Charles Sanders Peirce (1839� ...
, derived from the work of
Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...
and
Husserl, to branches of the performing arts, and his theories are still the subject of debate in present-day Czech academic circles. As a musicologist he also devoted himself to the study of
Smetana's life and works, with numerous analytical articles appearing in Czech-language music journals.
Selected works
;Songs
*''Písně a písničky I., II.'' (Songs I., II.) (1900–1906)
*''Ze srdce'' (From Heart), Op. 4 (1906–1907)
*''Matičce'' (To Mother), Op. 8
*''Stará balada'' (Old Ballad) (1909)
*''Z mělnické skály'' (From the Mělník's Rock), Op. 16 (1909)
*''Dušičky'' (Little Souls) (1922)
*''Střepiny dnů'' (Fragments of the Days), Op. 13 (1926–1927)
*''Dvacet pět chodských lidových písní'' (Twenty-five Folk Songs from ''Chodsko'' Region) (1905–1906)
;Male choirs
*''Balada tříkrálová'' (Ballad of the Three Kings), Op. 9a (1911)
*''Píseň poutníka'' (A Wanderer's Song), Op. 9b (1912)
*''Princezna Lyoleja'' (Princess Lyoleia), Op. 9c (1913)
*''Podzimní motiv'' (An Autumn Motif), Op. 18a (1932)
*''Slzičky'' (Little Tears), Op. 18b (1905)
*''Kosmická píseň'' (Cosmic Song), Op. 18c (1931)
*''Hajdaláci'' (Slovens), Op. 18d (1918)
*''Rodná zem'' (Homeland), Op. 20a (1929)
*''Zazděná'' (Immured), Op. 20b (1929)
*''Janu Nerudovi'' (To
Jan Neruda
Jan Nepomuk Neruda (Czech: �jan ˈnɛpomuk ˈnɛruda 10 July 1834 – 22 August 1891) was a Czech journalist, writer, poet and art critic; one of the most prominent representatives of Czech Realism and a member of the " May School".
Early li ...
), Op. 20c (1934)
*''Třicet šest vojenských písní'' (Thirty-six Military Songs) (1924)
*''Pět lidových písní'' (Five Folk Songs) (1933)
*''Forman'' (Carman) (1934)
;Female choirs
*''Tři ženské sbory'' (Three Female Choirs), Op. 17
*''Tři chodské písně'' (Three Folk Songs From Chodsko Region) (1909)
;Mixed choirs
*''Modlitba na Řípu'' (A Prayer on
Říp) (1905)
*''Urá'' (Hooray), Op. 15a (1929)
*''Vajanské vatry'' (Bonfires of
Vojany), Op. 11 (1921)
*''Dva čtyřzpěvy'' (Two Choirs for Four Voices), Op. 19 (1932–1933)
*''Tři chodské písně'' (Three Folk Songs From Chodsko Region) (1904)
;Cantata
*''Osudná svatba'' (Fateful Marriage), Op. 1 (1917)
*''Pátý hrobeček'' (Fifth Grave), Op. 2 (1906)
*''Zimní balada'' (Winter Ballad), Op. 3 (1906)
*''Polka jede'', Op. 5 (1907)
;Melodrama
*''Romance o Černém jezeře'' (Romance about the Black Lake), Op. 6 (1907)
;Opera
*''Malířský nápad'' (The Artist's Idea), Op. 7 (1908)
*''Vina'' (Guilt), Op. 10 (1911–1915)
*''Preciézky'', Op. 12 (1922–1924)
;Chamber
*''Česká suita'' (Czech Suite), Op. 14 (1928)
*''String Trio in E minor'', Op. 1a (1930)
*''Piano Trio in E minor'' (1899–1902)
*''Chodská suita'' (
Chod Suite, for octet or nonet), Op. 3a (1905)
;Orchestral
*''Overture Konrad Wallenrod'', Op. 2a (1903)
*''Zaváďky (Starodávné Lidové Tance Hanácké)'', pro malý orchestr (Ancient Folk Dances of the
Haná
Haná or Hanakia ( or ''Hanácko'', or ''Hanakei'') is an ethnographic region in central Moravia in the Czech Republic.
Etymology
The region was named after the Haná (river), Haná River.
Description
Its core area is located along the ep ...
Region, for chamber orchestra)
References
External links
Source of biography (Czech)Source of biography (English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zich, Otakar
1879 births
1934 deaths
Czech classical composers
Czech opera composers
Czech male opera composers
People from Městec Králové
Musicians from Austria-Hungary
Educators from Austria-Hungary
Czechoslovak composers