Jan Křtitel Václav Kalivoda (Johann Baptist Wenzel Kalliwoda in German) (February 21, 1801 – December 3, 1866) was a composer, conductor and violinist of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n birth.

Life

Kalivoda 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 ...

in 1801 and as early as 1811 started studying violin and composition at the Prague Conservatory. He made his debut as a violinist at the age of 14. Upon completion of his studies he became a member of the Prague Opera Orchestra. His diploma from the Conservatory read "Excellent player solo or in an orchestra...shows great talent in composition." More prosperous tours as a violinist, for instance to

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

and

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, followed. Kalivoda lived what appears to have been a stable, hardworking musical life. For more than 40 years, from 1822 to 1865, he held the post of conductor at the court of Prince Karl Egon II of Fürstenberg and his successor in

Donaueschingen Donaueschingen (; Low Alemannic: ''Eschinge'') is a German town in the Black Forest in the southwest of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg in the Schwarzwald-Baar '' Kreis''. It stands near the confluence of the two sources of the river Da ...

(where the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

begins in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

). His duties there included not only the writing of and care for the music of the court and church, but also the management and conducting of a

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

, and annual musical journeys for education. These manifold responsibilities may have foreshortened his life. In any case, he went into retirement in 1865, and a year later he died, of a heart attack in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

. His son Wilhelm Kalliwoda (1827–1893) continued his father's career, and worked as ''

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

'' for the

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

court in Karlsruhe, also composing (an Impromptu for piano was published as his opus 3 in Leipzig in 1854 ). During the 1850s he is mentioned by

Alan Walker Alan Olav Walker (born 24 August 1997) is a British-born Norwegian music producer and DJ primarily known for the critically acclaimed single " Faded" (2015), which was certified platinum in 14 countries. He has also made several songs including ...

as a conductor at the Lower Rhenish Music Festival.

Significance

Kalivoda "represents a sort of symphonic 'missing link' between

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 ...

and Schumann," writes the critic David Hurwitz, founder o
Classics Today
"His melodic appeal and rhythmic energy undoubtedly have something to do with his Czech roots...but he also had a genuine understanding of symphonic development and real contrapuntal skill." Hurwitz observes that "as the predominance of minor keys suggests, his music has passion and an emotional depth that recalls Beethoven without ever descending into mere imitation. Part of the reason for his distinctiveness stems from his skill at orchestration."...The symphonic music of Kalliwoda is "thrilling, and it strikingly anticipates or echoes so much of 19th century music--from Berlioz to Dvorák to

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

, and even Sibelius..

Compositions

Kalivoda was a highly prolific composer, and was held in high regard during his lifetime by such eminent contemporaries as

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

. In all, his works number in the hundreds, of which there are about 250 works or sets of works with

opus number In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositio ...

s. His compositions included operas,

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 ...

, concert

overtures Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...

—one of them, commissioned for the occasion, was used to close the first concert, in 1842, of the New York Philharmonic —as well as music for piano,

piano concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

s, concertinos for violin and for oboe, music for the church,

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

er,

choral A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

music and various other vocal and instrumental works.

Selected discography

* Kalliwoda: 6 Nocturnos for viola and piano. Performed by Ashan Pillai and Michael Endres. Oehms Classics * Kalliwoda: Overture No. 12; Introduction & Variations for clarinet & orchestra; Introduction & Rondo for horn & orchestra; Symphony No. 3. Performed by

Dieter Klöcker Dieter Klöcker (13 April 1936, Wuppertal – 21 May 2011, Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German clarinetist known for rediscovering many forgotten composers of the 18th century. Specifically forgotten music of the clarinet. From 1975 to 2002, Kl ...

(clarinet) & Radovan Vlatkovic (horn) with the Hamburg Symphony conducted by Johannes Moesus. MDG 329 1387-2 * Kalliwoda: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6. Performed by the

Hofkapelle Stuttgart Hofkapelle Stuttgart, historically the Württemberg Hofkapelle is a German orchestra based in Stuttgart which has existed since the 16th century. It was the band of the House of Württemberg. Since 2002, it is an orchestra founded by Frieder Bernius ...

conducted by

Frieder Bernius Frieder is both a surname and a masculine given name, a variant of Friedrich. People with the name include: Surname: *Armin Frieder (1911–1946), Slovak Neolog rabbi *Bill Frieder (1942), former basketball coach *Katalin Frieder (1915–1991), Hun ...

. Orfeo C 677 061 * Kalliwoda: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 7; Overture No. 16. Performed by Das Neue Orchester conducted by

Christoph Spering Christoph Spering (23 June 1959 in Simmern) is a German conductor of classical music, especially church music. He founded in 1985 the choir Chorus Musicus Köln and in 1988 the orchestra Das Neue Orchester (The new orchestra). Selected recordings ...

. CPO 777 139-2 * Kalliwoda: String Quartets 1-3 opp. 61, 62 and 90. The Talich Quartet. 2006. Calliope 9357. * Kalliwoda: Symphonies Nos. 2 & 4; Overture No. 17. Performed by Die Kölner Akademie conducted by Michael Alexander Willens. CPO 777-469-2 * Kalliwoda: Violin Concertinos Nos. 1 & 5; Overtures Nos. 3, 7 & 10. Performed by Die Kölner Akademie conducted by Michael Alexander Willens. CPO 777-692-2

References

External links