Czech music Czech music

BEDŘICH SMETANA 1824 Litomyšl – 1884 Praha was a czech composer of a Romantic era Bedřich was introduced to music by his father and at the age of six, gave his first public performance He studied violin and piano, discovering the works of Mozart and Beethoven, and began composing simple pieces After failing to establish his career in Prague, he left for Sweden, where he set up as a teacher and choirmaster Internationally he is best known for his opera The Bartered Bride and for the symphonic cycle Má vlast ("My Homeland"), which portrays the history, legends and landscape of the composer's native land.

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK 1841 Helahozeves – 1904 Praha Following Smetana's example, Dvořák was using specific rhythms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. In his career, Dvořák made nine invited visits to England, often conducting performances of his own works. In 1891 Dvořák was appointed as a professor at the Prague Conservatory. In 1892, Dvořák moved to the United States and became the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in NYC. By far the most successful of the operas is Rusalka. Among his smaller works, the seventh Humoresque and the song „Songs my mother taught me“are also widely performed and recorded. 

LEOŠ JANÁČEK 1854 Hukvaldy – 1928 Praha was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Janáček worked tirelessly throughout his life. He led the organ school, was a Professor at the teachers institute and gymnasium in Brno and was composing. Janáček's deep and lifelong affection for Russia and Russian culture represents another important element of his musical inspiration. The operas of his mature period,  Jenůfa (1904) , The Cunning Little Vixen (1924) and From the house of the Death (after a novel by Dostoyevsky and premièred posthumously in 1930) are considered his finest works.