Zdeněk Fibich

Zdeněk Fibich ( born December 21, 1850 in Všebořice ( Scheborschitz ), Bohemia, † October 15, 1900 in Prague) was a Bohemian composer.

Life

He was born the son of a forester. In music, initially taught him his mother, who soon discovered his musical talent and encouraged him to study. At age fourteen, he conducted its own symphony and a year later he began to compose his first opera.

Fibich studied in Vienna, in Prague at Bedřich Smetana, at the Conservatorium of Leipzig, Paris and at the Mannheim Conservatory. He taught in Poland, Vilnius (Lithuania ) and returned back to Prague in 1874 to devote himself to his compositions. Between 1875 and 1878 he served as second conductor at Prozatímní Divadlo ( injunction theater) and had from 1878 to 1880, the direction of the choir held in the local Russian Church. 1899 Fibich was appointed opera dramaturge of the National Theatre in Prague.

His first wife died after two and a half years of marriage. He married her sister, an excellent contralto on Prozatímní Divadlo and at the National Theatre ( Prague). For them he wrote three of his opera characters; the most famous is the Isabell in Nevěsta mesinska. The marriage did not last long. Anežka Schulzová, his third wife, had the greatest influence on Fibich's music. She wrote the libretto of his opera Sarka and inspired him to many of his pieces.

Died at age 50, he was buried at Vyšehrad.

Works

Fibich belongs next to Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana to the most important Czech composers. He is best known as the creator of seven (partly influenced by Richard Wagner ) operas, symphonies, piano pieces and theatrical and concert melodramas.

Operas

• Bukovín
• Blanik
• Nevěsta messinská ( The Bride of Messina)
• BOURE ( The Tempest, by Shakespeare's play )
• Hedy
• Sarka ( Fibich )
• Medea
• Pád Arkuna ( The case of Arkun )

Orchestral Works (selection)

Chamber Music (Selection)

• Instruktivní sonatina for violin and piano in D minor, Op 27 (1869 )
• Piano Trio in F minor (1872 )
• Jasna noc for Violin and Piano ( 1873)
• Piano Quartet in E minor, Op 11 (1874 )
• String Quartet in A major (1874 )
• Sonata for Violin and Piano in C major (1874 )
• Sonata for Violin and Piano in D major (1875 )
• Koncertní polonesa for Violin and Piano ( 1878)
• String Quartet in G, Op 8 (1878 )
• Romance for Violin and Piano in B flat major, Op 10 (1879 ), Dalibor
• Selanka for Clarinet or Violin and Piano, Op 16 (1879 )
• Tema con variazioni for String Quartet in B flat major (1883 )
• Quintet for Piano, Clarinet, Horn, Violin and Cello in D major, Op 42 (1893 )

Other works

He wrote over 600 works: about ten operas and other musical works for the stage, three symphonies, overtures, symphonic poems ( Othello, Toman a lesní panna ), chamber music, piano pieces (350 pieces ), songs and singing duets. Also melodramas among Fibich's work, such as the trilogy Hippodamia, with texts by Jaroslav Vrchlický or the Štědrý, inspired by Karel Jaromír Erben Kytice.

His most famous work is known under the name Poème. Fibich composed it in 1893 as Lento for piano. It was the number op 41, No. 4, No. 14 ( = No. 139 of the total collection ) was added moods, impressions and memories in the collection. In the same year Fibich worked the composition in his symphonic poem, a Twilight, Op 39. The name Poème goes back to a processing of violinist January Kubelík for violin from 1908. Today, the plant is used in different instrumented edits that can differ greatly, depending on whether they are based on the original piano composition or on the symphonic poem.

Student of Fibich

• Karel Kovařovic
• Franz Lehár
• Zdeněk Nejedlý
• Otakar Ostrčil