František Sláma (19 November 1923 – 5 May 2004) was a

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' Places *Czech, ...

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

performer. He was the first

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

who focused on

Early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

Biography

Sláma was born in Herálec. Until the age of 18 he worked in the quarry. His meeting with the famous Czech cello pedagogue Karel P. Sádlo proved to be a turning point in his life. Sádlo supported him, introduced him to the cello (1941) and tutored him for the

Conservatoire A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

(1942–1948, cello with K. P. Sádlo, chamber music with Václav Talich). Between 1948 and 1952 Sláma completed his studies at the

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague ( cs, Akademie múzických umění v Praze, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the larg ...

. By this time he had already been a member of the

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra The Česká filharmonie (Czech Philharmonic) is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra's principal concert venue is the Rudolfinum. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title ...

(1948–1981, since 1962 sub-principal cello and cello section leader). Conductor

Václav Talich Václav Talich (; 28 May 1883, Kroměříž – 16 March 1961, Beroun) was a Czech violinist and later a musical pedagogue. He is remembered today as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, the object of countless reissues of his man ...

encouraged Sláma's enthusiasm for chamber music and had, along with K. P. Sádlo and later

Milan Munclinger Milan Munclinger (3 July 1923, in Košice, Czechoslovakia – 30 March 1986, in Prague, Czechoslovakia) was a significant Czech flautist, conductor, composer and musical scientist. Biography Munclinger was the son of Josef Munclinger, an operat ...

, a lasting influence on Sláma's musical development. During the next 45 years Sláma performed with leading chamber ensembles in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. In 1946 he was a founding member of Talich's Czech Chamber Orchestra, between 1953–1976 the viol da gambist of Pro Arte Antiqua (one of the oldest European ensembles focused on

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

and

Renaissance music Renaissance music is traditionally understood to cover European music of the 15th and 16th centuries, later than the Renaissance era as it is understood in other disciplines. Rather than starting from the early 14th-century '' ars nova'', the Tr ...

) and between 1954–1997 a member of the ensemble

Ars Rediviva Ars Rediviva was a Czech classical instrumental music group, whose historically-informed performances played a key role in the revival of Baroque music in Czechoslovakia. Ars Rediviva chamber ensemble The group was founded in 1951 in Prague ...

, whose performances and recordings played an important role in the revival of the

Baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...

in Czechoslovakia. With these ensembles he made a large number of recordings (with Supraphon, Panton, Columbia, DGG, Ariola, and Nippon), which received several awards both in Czechoslovakia and abroad (e.g.

Grand Prix du Disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

). He participated also in first performances of modern compositions (e.g.

Ilja Hurník Ilja Hurník (25 November 1922 – 7 September 2013) was a Czech composer and essayist. Biography Hurnik was born in Poruba, now part of Ostrava. He entered the Prague Conservatory, then went on to the Prague Academy of Arts, where he st ...

: ''Sonata da camera'', Jan Tausinger: ''Evocations'').

Pedagogue and publicist

Since the 1970s he was a teacher at the Conservatoire in Prague. He also wrote about music and musicians, cooperated with

Czech Radio Český rozhlas (ČRo) is the public radio broadcaster of the Czech Republic operating since 1923. It is the oldest radio broadcaster in continental Europe and the second oldest in Europe after the BBC. The service broadcasts throughout the Cz ...

(e.g. introduced

Jordi Savall Jordi Savall i Bernadet (; born 1 August 1941) is a Spanish conductor, composer and viol player. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for popularizing the viol family of ...

to the Czech audience).
In 2001 his book "''Z Herálce do Šangrilá a zase nazpátek''" (“''From Heralec to Shangrila and Back Again''”) was published - reminiscences about the Prague music scene between the 1940s and the 1990s as well as about Sláma's musical colleagues, conductors ( Talich,

Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...

, Cluytens, Karajan, Kleiber, Klemperer, Kletzki, Kubelík,

Maazel Maazel is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Fiona Maazel (born 1975), American writer, daughter of Lorin Maazel * Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violi ...

, Mackerras, Markevitch, Matačić, Mravinsky, Münch, Pedrotti, Rozhdestvensky, Sawallisch,

Stokowski Stokowski (feminine: Stokowska, plural: Stokowscy) is a Polish-language surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anne K. Stokowski (1925–2020), American politician * Eugene E. Stokowski (1921–1979), American politician * Ferdynand ...

, etc.) and other personalities whom he had met (e.g. Adorján,

André André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew, and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries. It is a variation o ...

, Fournier,

Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...

, Mainardi,

Menuhin Menuhin or Menuchin is the surname of: *Hephzibah Menuhin (1920–1981), American-Jewish concert pianist * Joel Ryce-Menuhin (1933–1998), Jungian psychologist * Linda Menuhin (born 1950), Iraqi-born Israeli journalist, editor, and blogger ...

Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

Navarra Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

, Nureyev, Oistrakh,

Rampal Rampal or Ram Pal may refer to: People Given name * Ram Pal Rajwanshi (born 1958), Indian politician * Ram Pal Singh (1922–?), Indian politician from Uttar Pradesh * Ram Pal Verma (born 1959), Indian politician * Rampal (spiritual leader) (born ...

, Richter, Szeryng, Sudek, Tortelier).

František Sláma archive

František Sláma archive collection donated to his native village Herálec consists of more than 5,000 negatives and photos, over 150 hours of authentic recordings and documents about Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Václav Talich, Milan Muclinger, Ars Rediviva, etc. Live recordings of Ars Rediviva performances in Rudolfinum are also deposited in the Czech Music Museum (see: External links).

References

* * * * * *

External links

František Sláma Archive

Ars Rediviva Discography
*
Czech Radio: František Sláma's recordings
*
Czech Radio: Ars Rediviva recordings

WorldCat Libraries
(November 2007) {{DEFAULTSORT:Slama, Frantisek 1923 births 2004 deaths People from Žďár nad Sázavou District Czech classical musicians Czech classical cellists Viol players Czech performers of early music 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century cellists

Biography

Pedagogue and publicist

František Sláma archive

References

Further reading

External links