The Prague Conservatory () is a public music school 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 ...

, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, the school offers four- or six-year courses, which can be compared to the level of a high school diploma in other countries. Graduates can continue their training by enrolling in an institution that offers

undergraduate education Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

History

The Prague Conservatory was founded in 1808 by local aristocrats and burghers following the example of the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

(est. 1795) and the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory, also known as the Conservatorio di Milano and the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, is a Music school, college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital ...

(est. 1807). The founders are listed as František Josef of Vrtba, František Josef of Sternberg and Manderscheid, Jan Nepomuk Nostitz-Rieneck, Kristián Kryštof Clam-Gallas, Bedřich Nostitz, Karel of Firmian, Jan Josef Pachta of Rájov, and František Josef of Klebelsberg. In 1810, the Union for the Improvement of Music in Bohemia () was formed, which ensured the financial operation of the school for the next hundred years. Classes started in 1811, after a delay caused by the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Bedřich Diviš Weber Bedřich Diviš Weber (9 October 1766, Velichov, nr. Karlovy Vary25 December 1842, Prague), also known by the German form of his name, Friedrich Dionys (or Dionysius) Weber, was a Bohemian composer and musicologist primarily remembered as the f ...

was appointed the first director of the school, which was originally located in the monastery next to St. Giles' Church. In 1891,

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 ...

joined the faculty as head of the composition department and served as the school's director between 1901 and 1904. Dvořák's students included the composers Vítězslav Novák, Josef Suk (who later also served as director of the conservatory),

Rudolf Friml Charles Rudolf Friml"Mrs. Rudolf Friml to Receive Divorce"
...

, Oskar Nedbal, and

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is '' The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life and career L ...

. Another director of the school was pianist Vilém Kurz. In 1945, a number of professors and students of higher classes at the conservatory left to found the Academy of Performing Arts. Theatre and ballet departments were also opened that year, from which the independent Dance Conservatory was created in 2001.

Instruction

The Prague Conservatory offers instruction in several instruments, including

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

, guitar, piano, and

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

, as well as in singing, composition,

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

, and acting. The institution has its own symphonic and chamber orchestras, a choir, and a theatre company.

Locations

The conservatory's main campus is located at Na rejdišti 77/1,

Prague 1 Prague 1, formally the Prague 1 Municipal District (), is a Prague city districts, second-tier municipality in Prague. It is co-extensive with the national administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name. Prague 1 includes most of ...

. It has two ancillary locations: one situated within Pálffyho Palace, in Prague's

Malá Strana Malá Strana ( Czech for "Little Side (of the River)", ) or historically Menší Město pražské () is a district of the city of Prague, Czech Republic, and one of its most historic neighbourhoods. In the Middle Ages, it was a dominant center o ...

, and the other in Prague's

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

Directors

The following is a list of directors of the Prague Conservatory: *

1811–1843 * Jan Bedřich Kittl 1843–1865 * Josef Krejčí 1865–1881 * Antonín Bennewitz 1882–1901 *

1901–1904 * Karel Knittl 1904–1907 * Jindřich Kàan z Albestů 1907–1918 * Vítězslav Novák 1918–1922 * Josef Bohuslav Foerster 1922–1923 * Josef Suk 1923–1928 * Josef Bohuslav Foerster 1928–1930 * Vilém Kurz 1930–1939 * Jaroslav Kocián 1939–1940 * Václav Holzknecht 1942–1970 * Jan Tausinger 1971–1976 * František Martiník 1976–1989 * Věroslav Neumann 1989–2004 * Pavel Trojan 2004-2018 *

Petr Čech Petr Čech (; born 20 May 1982) is a Czech former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper and current ice hockey player who plays as a goaltender for Oxford City Stars. He has ...

2018–present

Notable alumni

* Karel Ančerl * František Bartoš *

Jiří Bělohlávek Jiří Bělohlávek, (; 24 February 1946 – 31 May 2017) was a Czech conductor. He was a leading interpreter of Czech classical music, and became chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1990, a role he would serve on two occasio ...

* František Brikcius * František Brož * Oliver Butterworth * Andrea Černá * Ladislav Černý * Ludmila Červinková * Radim Drejsl * Gabriela Eibenová * Maria Forescu *

Rudolf Friml Charles Rudolf Friml"Mrs. Rudolf Friml to Receive Divorce"
...

* Julius Fučík * Wolfgang Hildemann * Jan Hřímalý * Jan Hrubý * Kateřina Jalovcová * Jaroslav Ježek * Jana Jonášová * Jan Kalivoda * Naděžda Kniplová * Pavel Kohout * Jan Kubelík *

Rafael Kubelík Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer. The son of a distinguished violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the a ...

* Otomar Kvěch * Franz Lehar * Manoah Leide-Tedesco * Zuzana Marková *

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...

* Pauline Metzler-Löwy * Oskar Nedbal * Václav Neumann * Vítězslav Novák * Jana Obrovská * Karel Paukert * Michael Pospíšil * Alexandre Rudajev * Karel Pravoslav Sádlo * Miloslav Sádlo *

František Salzer František Salzer (30 August 1902, Sušice – 23 December 1974, Prague) was a Czechoslovak Theatre Director, Theatre Actor, Film Actor, University Professor and Translator. Biography He studied at Prague Conservatory (1920–1924). In the ...

* George Schick *

Otakar Ševčík Otakar Ševčík (22 March 185218 January 1934) was a Czechs, Czech violinist and influential teacher. He was known as a Solo (music), soloist and an Musical ensemble, ensemble player, including his occasional performances with Eugène Ysaÿe. ...

* Franz Simandl * Lucijan Marija Škerjanc *

Yngve Sköld Karl Yngve Sköld (; 29 April 1899 – 6 December 1992) was a Swedish composer, pianist and organist. As well as writing orchestral, solo and chamber music and giving public concerts, he also worked for the Swedish Film industry. Life He was born ...

* Josef Slavik * Václav Smetáček * Eugen Suchoň * Josef Suk * Jana Sýkorová *

Jan Talich Jan Talich Jan Talich, Jr. (born 11 March 1967 in Prague) is a Czech violinist and conductor. Talich studied at the Prague Conservatory and later at the Prague Academy of Music under Václav Snítil. He received scholarships to further his ed ...

* Václav Talich * Jiří Tancibudek * Jan Thuri * Václav Vaca * Vilém Veverka *

Tomáš Víšek Tomáš Víšek (born 1957) is a Czech pianist. Early life Víšek began study of the piano at eight years of age under professor Pavel Svoboda. During the years 1972–1976, he studied at the Prague Conservatory under professor Valentina Kamen ...

* Sláva Vorlová *

Pavla Vykopalová Pavla Vykopalová (born 23 March 1972) is a Czech operatic soprano. Life and career Born in Prague, Vykopalová studied singing at the Prague Conservatory and graduated in 1993; she then became a member of the Prague Philharmonic Choir. She be ...

* John Stepan Zamecnik

Notable faculty

* František Brož * Ladislav Černý * Kateřina Emingerová * Emil Hlobil * Valentina Kameníková * Saša Večtomov

References

External links

*
History of the Prague Conservatory
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1808 Theatre of the Czech Republic Music schools in the Czech Republic 1808 establishments in the Austrian Empire