Czech Post-Romantic Symphonies

[Mykulh]

Czech Post-Romantic Symphonies

Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) and Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904) were the founders of the Czech nationalist school of composition. The latter's cycle of nine symphonies is the fount from which later Czech symphonism springs. Zdenĕk Fibich (1850-1900) and Josef Bohuslav Foerster (1859-1951), born in the next decade after Dvořák, composed 3 and 5 symphonies, respectively, but in a less overtly national style. Dvořák's most prominent pupil, Josef Suk (1874-1935), produced 2 symphonies, and, along with his fellow-pupil, Vitĕzslav Novák (1970-1949), became the foremost composition teachers of the following generations. Fibich's pupil, Otakar Ostrčil (1879-1935) composed a Symphony and a Sinfonietta. Leoš Janáček, who also studied briefly with Dvořák, composed a world-famous Sinfonietta as well as a "Danube Symphony" that was reconstructed after his death. All of the above have been recorded and, with Bohuslav Martinů's cycle of 6 Symphonies, constitute the primary recorded Czech national symphonic repertoire. Novák's Autumn Symphony for Chorus and Orchestra (1931-4) and May Symphony for Vocal Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra (1943-5) still await their first commercial recordings.
Symphonies by Czech composers in the post-World War II Communist era have also been well represented on records issued on the Supraphon and Panton labels but only a small fraction of this output has been reissued on CD.
However, there is also another group of composers, born in the very late 19th and very early 20th centuries that might easily be characterized as "the lost generation of Czech symphonists." A few orchestral works by these composers were recorded in the LP era but, with the exceptions indicated below, their symphonies remain almost totally unsung. What follows is information about their symphonic output as well as their teachers of composition.

Vladimir Ambros (1891-1956)
teacher: Janáček
Symphonies Nos. 1 (1941), 2 "Symphony of Nature" (1944), 3 "About the Beautiful Country" (1954), Sinfonietta (1938-9)


Emil Axman (1887-1949)
teacher: Novák
Symphonies Nos. 1 "Tragic" (1926), 2 "Giocosa" (1927), 3 "Spring" (1928), 4 "Eroica" (1932), 5 "Dithyrambic" (1936), 6 "Patriotic" (1942)


Josef Bartovsky (1884-1964)
teacher: Novák
Symphonies Nos.1 in A major (1922) 2 in C sharp minor (1942)


Pavel Bořkovec (1894-1972)
teachers: Foerster, Křička, Suk
Symphonies Nos. 1 in D flat major (1926-7), 2 (1955, recorded), 3 (1959, recorded), Sinfoniettas Nos. 1 for Chamber Orchestra (1945), 2 (1963-4, recorded)


Osvald Chlubna (1893-1971)
teacher: Janáček
Symphonies Nos. 1 "Of Life and Love" (1927), 2 "Brno Symphony" (1946), 3 in G major (1960)


Zdenĕk Folprecht (1909-1961)
teachers: Foerster, Novák
Symphonies Nos. 1 (1937), 2 (1950), 3 (1951), 4 (1959)


Karel Janeček (1903-1974)
teachers: Křička, Novák
Symphonies Nos. 1, Op. 17 (1935-40), 2, Op. 30 (1954-5)


Ottakar Jeremiáš (1892-1962)
teacher: Novák
Symphonies Nos. 1 (1910-11), 2, Op. 30 (1914-5)


Karel Boleslav Jirák (1891-1972)
teacher: Novák, Foerster
Symphonies Nos. 1 in C minor, Op. 10 (1915-6), 2 in F major, Op. 25 (1921-4), 3, Op. 37 (1929-38), 4, Op. 52 "Episodes from an Artist's Life" (1945), 5, Op. 60 (1949, recorded), 6, Op. 90 (1957-70), Sinfonietta for Small Orchestra, Op. 45b (1944)


Rudolf Karel (1880-1945)
teachers: Dvořák, Karel Knittl (1853-1907), Karel Stecker (1861-1918)
Symphony in F minor (1904, lost), Symphony in E flat minor, Op. 15 "Renaissance" (1910-11), Symphony in D major (1917, lost), Symphony for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 20 (1914, rev. 1924), Symphony for Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 27 "Resurrection" (1923-7), Symphony in D major, Op. 38 "Spring" (1935-8) (sources are confusing and contradictory)


Miroslav Krejčí (1891-1964)
teacher: Novák
Symphonies Nos. 1in G major, Op. 70 (1944-6), 2 in D major, Op. 90, 3 (1955)


Jaroslav Křička (1882-1969)
teacher: Karel Stecker (1861-1918)
Symphonies (Nos. 1) in D minor "Spring" (1905-6, rev. 1942), 2 (unfinished), Sinfonietta for Strings and Timpani (1940-1)


Jaroslav Kvapil (1892-1958)
teachers: Janáček, Josef Nešvera (1842-1914), Max Reger
Symphonies Nos. 1 (1913-4), 2 (1921), 3 (1936-7), 4 "Victorious" (1943)


Vilém Petrželka (1889-1967)
teachers: Janáček, Novák
Symphony in 3 Movements, Op.13 "The Eternal Return (1922–3), Symphony, Op. 56 (1955-6), Sinfonietta, Op. 38 (1941, recorded), Pastoral Sinfonietta, Op. 51 (1951, recorded)


Jaroslav Řídký (1897-1956)
teachers: Křička, Foerster
Symphonies Nos. 1, Op. 3 (1924), 2 (with obligato cello), Op. 4 (1925), 3, Op. 8 (1927), 4, Op. 10 (1928), 5, Op. 17 (1931), 6, Op. 35 "The Year 1938" (unfinished sketch), 7, Op. 47 (1955, recorded) (1938), Sinfonietta in C minor, Op. 1 (1923)


Boleslav Vomáčka (1887-1965)
teacher: Novák
Symphony in F major, Op. 44 "The Czech Eroica" (1944-6)


Slavá Vorlová (1894-1973)
teachers: Novák, Řídký
Symphony JM (1947-8)


For additional information about Czech symphonies that have been recorded, go to my Discography of East-Central European and Balkan Symphonies at the following address:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/Balkan_discography/ECE_Balkan_Symphonies1.htm

Main sources of information:

(1)  Contemporary Czechoslovak Composers (edited by Čeněk Gardavský). Prague and Bratislav: Panton, 1965.
(2) Slonimsky, Nicolas. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of
Musicians, 8th edition. New York: Schirmer Books, 1992.

[vandermolen]

We need a new recording (or Supraphon reissue) of the fine 'Sinfonia Pacis' (Symphony No 2) by Viktor Kalabis (1961).

[Dundonnell]

We need a new recording (or Supraphon reissue) of the fine 'Sinfonia Pacis' (Symphony No 2) by Viktor Kalabis (1961).

Each of the symphonies by Kalabis is very fine I have them all...except for No.1

Kalabis was, in my opinion, one of the best Czech composers of his post-Martinu generation.

[Alan Howe]

This is fascinating, Michael. There's just so much work still to do...
Thanks for this contribution.

[Alan Howe]

We need a new recording (or Supraphon reissue) of the fine 'Sinfonia Pacis' (Symphony No 2) by Viktor Kalabis (1961).

Each of the symphonies by Kalabis is very fine I have them all...except for No.1

Kalabis was, in my opinion, one of the best Czech composers of his post-Martinu generation.

While we might all agree, Kalabis clearly belongs to a later generation than we have in mind here...

[Latvian]

Each of the symphonies by Kalabis is very fine.  I have them all...except for No.1

I'll upload #1 for you when I have a chance. Conducted by the composer, no less!

[Dundonnell]

Each of the symphonies by Kalabis is very fine.  I have them all...except for No.1

I'll upload #1 for you when I have a chance. Conducted by the composer, no less!

Wow   Thanks

Sorry, Alan

[Alan Howe]

Have you had the chance to see any scores, Mike? If so, have you any hunches as to which might be the most interesting of this generation of composers?

[Mykulh]

I haven't seen any scores but I have heard tapes of symphonies by Karel, Řídký, Jirák, Jeremiáš, Petrželka, Kvapil and Axman. All are enjoyable but for me the first three are the most interesting.

[Alan Howe]

Can you describe the musical styles of any of them? Is there a definite break with romanticism with this generation, or is there a gradual change of idiom as time goes on?

[Mykulh]

It has been quite some time since I last litened to these works. They are all on open reel tapes and my open reel machine is non-functional at this time. However, I can assure you that these composers could all be described as late-Romantic and nationalistic. Anyone who enjoys the sound of Czech music as exemplified by Dvořák, Fibich, Suk, Novák and Janáček will have no problems with the composers listed in my post.

[eschiss1]

I think either the uni. library near me or that of my undergrad school had Ridky 7 so I've at least seen the score since it was mentioned to me awhile back. Only briefly did. Have heard Kabelac 3 and 4 true... (hrm. Pesek's Kabelac 3 has been on CD, as I think has the recording of Kabelac 4 I have... most of  his other symphonies and a few other Kabelac works have been transferred to CD, and some new recordings; the three or four works I've heard are good - though the style varies quite a lot, which may be why you did not list him - and this is good fortune appropriately )
As to Ridky, there's a polka arrangement by him on CD, and not sure if there's much else, alas.
Isa Krejci's quartet no.2 looked interesting in score making me wonder whether he (of a somewhat more "neoclassical" style-whatever that means- with hints of jazz I'm told) may belong in the list too. Well, don't know if he wrote any symphonies; there's that. Also, Jindrich Feld, who did. (I remember an altercation- of sorts- with someone on Wikipedia writing in Feld's deathdate before any announcement had even been made... but that's... another matter entirely...)

[Alan Howe]

Kabelac was not listed because recordings already exist of four of his symphonies. It would be helpful, frankly, if contributors read the subject of the thread carefully before posting.

[eschiss1]

sincere apologies!

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Eric!