Jan Kubelík (5 July 18805 December 1940) 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, ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ist and

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 ...

Biography

He was born in

Michle Michle is a district of Prague city, part of Prague 4 Prague 4, formally the Prague 4 Municipal District (''Městská čast Praha 4''), is a second-tier municipality in Prague. The administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name c ...

(now part of

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 ...

). His father, a gardener by occupation, was an amateur violinist. He taught his two sons the violin and after discovering the talent of Jan, who was aged five at the time, arranged for him to study with Karel Weber and Karel Ondříček. Aged eight he studied 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

Otakar Ševčík Otakar Ševčík (22 March 185218 January 1934) was a Czech violinist and influential teacher. He was known as a soloist and an ensemble player, including his occasional performances with Eugène Ysaÿe. Biography Ševčík was born in Horaž ...

, of whose technique he became the most famous representative. As a child, he used to practice 10 to 12 hours a day, or "until my fingers started to bleed." After 1898, he toured as a soloist, soon becoming renowned for his great virtuosity and flawless intonation, and his very full and noble tone. He played a

Guarneri del Gesù Bartolomeo Giuseppe "del Gesù" Guarneri (, , ; 21 August 1698 – 17 October 1744) was an Italian luthier from the Guarneri family of Cremona. He rivals Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737) with regard to the respect and reverence accorded his inst ...

and also two

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the violins, violas, cellos and other string instruments built by members of the Italian family Stradivari, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), during the 17th and 18th centuries. They are co ...

violins: he acquired the 1715 Stradivarius Emperor in 1910. After great success following his debut in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

(where he first appeared at a Hans Richter concert in 1900), Kubelík toured in the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 1901 for the first time. He made his first appearance for the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

, London in the season of 1901–2, and in 1902 was awarded the Society's Gold Medal (in succession to

Eugène Ysaÿe Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe (; 16 July 185812 May 1931) was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, composer, and conductor. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tsar". Legend of the Ysaÿe violin Eugène Ysaÿe ...

). In 1902 he brought 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 ...

to London, having assisted it financially in the previous year. In 1903 he married Countess Anna Julie Marie Széll von Bessenyö (born 1 March 1880 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

), niece of former Prime Minister of Hungary

Kálmán Széll Kálmán Széll de Duka et Szentgyörgyvölgy (8 June 1843 – 16 August 1915) was a Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1899 to 1903. Early career He was born in the ancient Hungarian noble family Széll de Du ...

, with whom he had eight children, five violinist daughters and three sons, among them conductor

Rafael Kubelík Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer. Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 1 ...

. Kubelík made a number of recordings; his acoustic recordings were made for The Gramophone and Typewriter Ltd.and Sister Companyes.The

Gramophone Company The Gramophone Company Limited (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.), based in the United Kingdom and founded by Emil Berliner, was one of the early recording companies, the parent organisation for the ''His Master's Voice (HMV)'' label, and the European ...

/ Victor Record, for

Fonotipia Fonotipia Records, or Dischi Fonotipia, was an Italian gramophone record label established in 1904 with a charter to record the art of leading opera singers and some other celebrity musicians, chiefly violinists. Fonotipia continued to operate int ...

Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...

and Schallplatte Grammophon/

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

(who also recorded

Váša Příhoda Váša Příhoda (22 August 1900Nicolas Slonimsky, ed. Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 8th ed.26 July 1960) was a Czech violinist and minor composer. Considered a Paganini specialist, his recording of the Violin Concerto in A minor ...

Franz von Vecsey Franz von Vecsey (born Ferenc Vecsey; 23 March 18935 April 1935) was a Hungarian violinist and composer, who became a well-known virtuoso in Europe through the early 20th century. Early life and career He was born in Budapest and began his vi ...

and

Jacques Thibaud Jacques Thibaud (; 27 September 18801 September 1953) was a French violinist. Biography Thibaud was born in Bordeaux and studied the violin with his father before entering the Paris Conservatoire at the age of thirteen. In 1896 he jointly won the ...

). The Gramophone Company recorded him as obbligato to

Dame Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th century ...

in 1904, a match which reflected the classical phrasing, tonal purity and security of his art and was an ideal complement to it. Their early version of the

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

Ave Maria The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's s ...

'' (G.C. 03033) was recorded twice, in October 1904 and again in February 1905, and this was one of the great early classics of the

gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, one of those records which 'made' the instrument a popular success, though the double celebrity single-sided title retailed at one guinea. Nine years later (when technology had improved) the partnership was reformed to re-make the record (as 03333), in May 1913 with

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

accompaniment and again in October 1913. It was the latter version which then survived in the inter-war catalogue in two-sided form. His 1935

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

concert was also recorded and has been reissued. He wrote music, including six

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

s, and continued to perform in public until his death, with a pause between the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and 1920, during which period he composed. In 1920 he resumed his concert career. In 1917, he was elected as an honorary member of

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

music fraternity by the fraternity's Alpha Chapter at the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

in Boston. Jan Kubelík died in Prague in 1940, aged 60.

Critical reception and legacy

In 1907, reviewing a concert by Kubelik at New York's massive Hippodrome Theatre, the ''New York Times'' wrote In 1903 Kubelik's portrait was painted by

Philip de László Philip Alexius László de Lombos (born Fülöp Laub; hu, Fülöp Elek László; 30 April 1869 – 22 November 1937), known professionally as Philip de László, was an Anglo-Hungarian painter known particularly for his portraits of royal an ...

, and a 1912 Cubist painting by

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

incorporates a handbill featuring the words "Mozart Kubelick" (sic).

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

mentions Jan Kubelík in his ''Chicago Poems'', 1916. He is adored by the sisters in

Sally Benson Sally Benson ('' née'' Sara Smith; September 3, 1897 – July 19, 1972) was an American writer of short stories and screenwriter. She is best known for her humorous tales of modern youth collected in ''Junior Miss'' and her semi-autobiographical ...

's collected short stories which later became the film ''

Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith family in St. Louis l ...

'' (1944). He is also referred to in

Robert Ludlum Robert Ludlum (May 25, 1927 – March 12, 2001) was an American author of 27 thriller novels, best known as the creator of Jason Bourne from the original '' The Bourne Trilogy'' series. The number of copies of his books in print is estimated b ...

's 2002 novel ''

The Janson Directive ''The Janson Directive'' is a novel by Robert Ludlum. The posthumous novel was published in 2002, a year after Ludlum's death. Plot Paul Janson is an ex-Navy SEAL and former member of a U.S. government covert agency called Consular Operations. ...

''.

Selected works

Violin and orchestra

* Concerto No. 1 in C major (published 1920) * Concerto No. 2 * Concerto No. 3 * Concerto No. 4 in B major (published c.1932) * Concerto No. 5 * Concerto No. 6 * Cadenzas for the Violin Concerto in D major, Op.61 by

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

* Cadenzas for the Violin Concerto in D major, Op.77 by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

* Cadenzas for the Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Violin and piano

* ''Burlesque'' * ''Oriental Scene'' (published c.1931) * ''Menuett'' (published 1931)

Discography of Fonotipia titles

*39162 Souvenir (Drdla) XPh 270 (27 cm) *39163 Danse Hongroise (Nachez) XPh 272 (27 cm) *39164 Variazioni sulla ballata di Mefisto (Gounod) XPh 273² (27 cm) *39191 Serenade (d'Ambrosio) (27 cm) *39192 Perpetuum mobile (Paganini) XPh 276 (27 cm) *39193 Serenade (Drdla) (27 cm) *39194 Traumerei (Schumann) XPh 285? (27 cm) *39195 La Ronde des Lutins (Bazzini) XPh 295 (27 cm) *39884 Scherzo Tarantella (Wieniawski) XPh 2231 (27 cm) *39925 Der Zephir (Hubay) XPh 2228 (27 cm) *62036 Cavatina (Raff) XPh 2400 (27 cm) *62037 Vision (Drdla) (27 cm) *62496 Serenata napolitana (Sgambati) (27 cm) *62497 Le cygne (Saint-Saëns) (27 cm) *62573 Poeme (Fibich) (27 cm) *62574 Berceuse (Drdla) (27 cm) *62603 Serenade de Pierrot (Randegger) (27 cm) *69010 Sextet, Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) (35 cm) *69013 Variazioni sull'Inno Nazionale Inglese XXPh 275 (35 cm) *74083 Danza Spagnola ''Zapateado'' (Sarasate) 5526F (30 cm) *74084 Zingaresca (Sarasate) 5526F (30 cm) *75085 Capriccio in Sol minore (Paganini) 5527F (30 cm) *75086 Cadenza del Concerto Paganini in Re Maggiore (Kubelik) 5527F (30 cm) Source: J.R. Bennett, ''Dischi Fonotipia Numerical Catalogue - A Golden Treasury'' (J. Dennis/Record Collector Shop, Ipswich 1953).

References

* Blom, Eric, ed.,

Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the History of music, ...

, 5th edition, London, 1954, pp. 287–88 * Stanislav Jandík, Čaroděj houslí. Vyprávění o Janu Kubelíkovi, který proslavil české jméno po celém světě, Za svobodu, Praha, 1949, Czech language

External links

*
The Jan Kubelík Society
* * * *

František Sláma (musician) František Sláma (19 November 1923 – 5 May 2004) was a Czech chamber music performer. He was the first Czech cellist who focused on Early music. Biography Sláma was born in Herálec. Until the age of 18 he worked in the quarry. His meeting ...

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More on the history of the Czech Philharmonic between the 1940s and the 1980s {{DEFAULTSORT:Kubelik, Jan 1880 births 1940 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers Czech male classical composers Czech classical musicians Czech classical violinists Male classical violinists Fonotipia Records artists Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society Prague Conservatory alumni Czech Romantic composers Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century Czech male musicians 19th-century Czech male musicians Musicians from Prague