Iša František Krejčí (10 July 1904 – 6 March 1968) 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, ...

neoclassicist Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism was ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

, conductor and

dramaturge A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...

Life

Krejčí was born in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. He studied history and musicology at

Charles University ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

and concurrently piano playing with Albín Šíma and composition at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervatoř) is a music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, Prague Conservatory offers four or six year study courses, which can be compared to the level ...

with

Karel Boleslav Jirák Karel Boleslav Jirák (né Karel Bohuslav Jirák; January 28, 1891, Prague, Bohemia - January 30, 1972, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) was a Czechoslovak composer and conductor. Jirák became a pupil of Josef Bohuslav Foerster and Vítězslav Novák ...

and

Vítězslav Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important e ...

and conducting with

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 ...

. He worked for the

Slovak National Theatre The Slovak National Theater ( sk, Slovenské národné divadlo, abbr. SND) is the oldest professional theatre in Slovakia, consisting of three ensembles: opera, ballet, and drama. Its history begins shortly after the establishment of the first ...

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

in 1928–32,

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 ...

in 1934–45,

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on th ...

Opera in 1945–58, and

Prague National Theatre The National Theatre ( cs, Národní divadlo) in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a ri ...

since 1958. As a conductor, he concentrated especially on the contemporary French repertoire and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

's compositions. His reputation as a composer was established in 1925 with a Divertimento (or Cassation) for four wind instruments. With this work, based on Classical forms, he became known as a Czech representative of neoclassicism . He wrote the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s ''Antigone'' ("Antigona", after

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or co ...

, 1934) and ''An Uproar in Efes'' ("Pozdvižení v Efesu", after

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

, 1943) as well as four

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

. He died in Prague.

Selected works

Stage works

* Small Ballet, to the theme of ''Pantomime'' by Vítězslav Nezval, also as a composition for chamber orchestra (1926) * ''

Pozdvižení v Efesu ''Pozdvižení v Efesu'' (Turmoil in Ephesus) is a Czech-language opéra bouffe by Iša Krejčí to a libretto by Josef Bachtík based on Shakespeare's ''The Comedy of Errors''. It was written from 1939 until 1943.Michael Neill, David Schalkwyk, ...

'' (An Uproar in Ephesus) Opera bouffe to the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Josef Bachtík Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) * ''Josef'' (film), a 2011 Croatian war film *Musik Josef Musik Josef is a Japanese manufacturer of musical instruments. It was founded by Yukio Nakamura, and is the only company in Japan spe ...

based on

Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. It ...

(1939–43) * ''Antigone'' (Antigona). A cantata for the stage after the tragedy by Sophocles (1933, rewritten 1959–62) * ''Darkness'' (Temno). Scenes based on

Alois Jirásek Alois Jirásek () (23 August 1851, Hronov, Kingdom of Bohemia – 12 March 1930, Prague) was a Czech writer, author of historical novels and plays. Jirásek was a high school history teacher in Litomyšl and later in Prague until his retirement in ...

's novel of the same title (1944, instrumentation 1951–52)

Orchestral music

* Symphonietta – divertimento (1929) * Suite from a comic opera (1933) * Suite for Orchestra (1939–40) * 20 Variations on the Composer s Own Theme in the Style of a Folk Song (1946–47) * 14 Variations on the Song (Good – Night Called) * There Is None Other Like My Deceased Spouse (1951–52) * Serenade for Orchestra (1948–50) * Symphony No 1 in D (1954–55) * Symphony No 2 in C sharp (1956–57) * Symphony No 3 in D (1961–63) * Symphony No 4 (1966) * Minor Suite for Strings * Vivat

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

. A concertante overture

Concertante music

* Concertino for Piano with an Accompamment of Wind Instruments (1935) * Concertino for Violin with an Accompaniment of Wind Instruments (1936) * Cocencertino for Violoncello and Orchestra (1939–40)

Chamber music

* Divertimento (Cassation) for Flute, Clarinet,Trumpet and Bassoon (1925) * Sonatina for Clarinet and Piano (1929–30) * Trio – Divertimento for Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon (1935) * Trio for Clarinet, Double Bass and Piano (1936) * Little Funeral Music for Alto, Viola, Violoncello, Double Bass and Piano to Texts of the Psalms and František Halas' Poem "Old Women" (1933, rewritten 1936) * Divertimento for Nonet (1937) * Tre scherzini for pianoforte (1953), according to the original arrangement of the composition for flute and piano from the year 1945 * String Quartet No 2 in D-minor (1953) * String Quartet No 3 "In My Father's Memory" (1960) * Sonatina concertante for violoncello and pianoforte (1961) * Wind Quintet (1964) * Trio for Violin, Violoncello and Piano with a song for a female voice to the text of a Psalm * Four Encore Pieces for Violin and Piano (1966) * String Quartet No 4 (1966) * String Quartet No 5 (1967)

Songs

* Five Songs to Texts by Vítězslav Nezval (1926–27) * Six Songs to Texts by Jan Neruda for Baritone and Piano or Orchestra (1931) * Imitations of Czech Songs for Tenor and Wind Quintet to Words by

František Ladislav Čelakovský František () is a masculine given name of Czechs, Czech origin. It is a cognate of Francis (given name), Francis, Francisco, François, and Franz (given name), Franz. People with the name include: *Frank Daniel (František Daniel) (1926–1996), ...

(1936) * Motives from Antiquity, for a lower male voice and orchestra or piano (1936, arrangement and instrumentation, 1947) * Five Songs to Texts by Jan Amos Komenský for Singing and Piano (1938) * Four Songs to Texts by Jan Neruda for a middle male voice (1939–40)

Choral compositions

* ''The Song of the Multitudes''. A fugue for a mixed choir and large orchestra to a text by Josef Hora (1925, instrumentation 1948) * Four Madrigals to Words by

Karel Hynek Mácha Karel Hynek Mácha () (16 November 1810 – 5 November 1836) was a Czech romantic poet. Biography Mácha grew up in Prague, the son of a foreman at a mill. He learned Latin and German in school. He went on to study law at Prague University; du ...

for a smaller mixed choir, tenor solo and piano (1936) * ''From the Region of Bagpipers'' (Z dudáckého kraje). A bouquet of songs after melodies of songs for soprano, tenor, baritone and large orchestra, collected by

Karel Weis Karel Weis (13 February 1862, in Prague – 4 April 1944, in Prague) was a Czech composer. Weis studied in Prague; amongst his teachers was Fibich. He was for some years a violinist at the Prague National Theatre, and later conducted opera in P ...

(1939) * ''Sacred Carols Sung During Christmas-time'' (Koledy posvátné v čas vánoční), for a children's or mixed choir with orchestra and organ (1939) * ''Military Songs from the Záhorácko Region'' (Vojenské písničky ze Záhorácka), for a male choir unisono, tenor and soprano solo with orchestra (1950) * ''Four Male Choirs in the Traditional Style'' to Words by Czech Poets (1966–67)

References

Czech Music Information Centre
*

External links

National Library CZ – List of work by Iša Krejčí
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krejci, Isa 1904 births 1968 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Czech male musicians Czech classical composers Czech male classical composers Czech conductors (music) Czech male conductors (music) Charles University alumni Prague Conservatory alumni