Josef Bohuslav Foerster (30 December 1859 – 29 May 1951) was a Czech composer and musicologist. He is often referred to as J. B. Foerster, and his surname is sometimes spelled Förster.

Life

Foerster 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 ...

. His ancestors were of

Bohemian German German Bohemians (german: Deutschböhmen und Deutschmährer, i.e. German Bohemians and German Moravians), later known as Sudeten Germans, were ethnic Germans living in the Czech lands of the Bohemian Crown, which later became an integral part ...

ethnicity, but had assimilated into the Czech community. The family normally lived in Prague and was musical. His father, a composer also named Josef Foerster, taught at the Conservatory. (His father's students included Franz Lehár.) His brother was artist

Viktor Foerster Viktor Foerster (26 August 1867 - 9 December 1915) was a Czech painter and mosaic artist. He was the son of the composer Josef Foerster and younger brother of the composer Josef Bohuslav Foerster. One of his major works was a large mosaic of th ...

. Josef was educated accordingly, and duly studied there. He also showed an early interest in the theatre, and thought of becoming an actor. He taught music; one of his early students was composer and Stuttgart court pianist

Anna Sick Anna (or Anne) Laura Sick (born ''Mahir''; 10 July 1803 – 19 February 1895, Berlin?) was a German composer and pianist who served as the court pianist and Mistress of Piano to the court in Stuttgart. Sick was born on 10 July 1803, in Munich as A ...

. From 1884 Foerster worked as a critic, and he would prove to be a writer of distinction. In 1893 he married the leading Czech soprano Berta Lautererová (Bertha Lauterer) in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, during ten years making his living there as a critic, and she was engaged at the Hamburg Staatsoper. In 1901 he became a teacher at the Hamburg Conservatory. In 1903 Berta went to sing at the Vienna Hofoper, and so Josef moved there with her, continuing to make a living as a music critic. He returned to Prague on the foundation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918, thereafter teaching at the conservatory and the university. In 1946 he was declared a National Composer. He died in Nový Vestec.

Style

Foerster produced numerous compositions. His music is not nationalistic in the sense of employing the idioms of Czech folk music. His work, words and music, is considered very subjective and personal, mystical and idealistic. Foerster's opera ''

Eva Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...

'' is another example, like Leoš Janáček's '' Jenůfa'', of a libretto based on a play by

Gabriela Preissová Gabriela Preissová, née Gabriela Sekerová, sometimes used pen name Matylda Dumontová (23 March 1862 in Kutná Hora – 27 March 1946 in Prague), was a Czech writer and playwright. Her play ''Její pastorkyňa'' was the basis for the opera ' ...

, though his treatment differs. His compositions include five

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 ...

(No. 1 in D minor; No. 2 in F, Op. 29 (1892–98); No. 3 in D, Op. 36; No. 4 in C minor, Op. 54, "Easter Eve" (1905); and No. 5 in D minor, Op. 141 (1929) ), other orchestral works including a

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

based on Cyrano de Bergerac, much chamber music (including five

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

s (No. 1 in E, Op. 15; No. 2, Op. 39; No. 3 in C, Op. 61; No. 4 in F, Op. 182 (1943); and the last, written 1950–1, completed by Jan Hanuš); three

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

s, two violin and two cello sonatas, and a several-times-recorded wind quintet), at least five

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 (notably ''Eva''),

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

s for cello (Op. 143) and two for violin (No. 1 in C minor, Op. 88 (1911); No. 2 in D minor, Op. 104), liturgical music, among other works, over 170 published

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 in all. Many of his works remember family members: the 2nd Symphony is dedicated to his sister Marie; his brother's death led to the cantata ''Mortuis fratribus''; his son is commemorated in the Piano Trio and the 5th Symphony; and his mother is a theme throughout his oeuvre.

Selected works

Symphonies

* Symphony No. 1, in D minor, Op. 9 (1888) * Symphony No. 2, in F major, Op. 29 (1893) * Symphony No. 3, in D major, Op. 36 (1895) * Symphony No. 4, 'Easter Eve' in C minor, Op. 54 (1905) * Symphony No. 5, in D minor, Op. 141 (1929)

Other orchestral and concertante

* Cyrano de Bergerac, suite for large orchestra, Op. 55 * Slavnostní, overture (1907), Op. 70 * From Shakespeare, for orchestra, Op. 76 * Ballade for violin and orchestra, Op. 92 * Springtime and Desire, for orchestra, Op. 93 * Capriccio for flute and orchestra, Op. 193b * Klekání, for chorus and orchestra, Op. 151 * In Den Bergen, for orchestra, Op. 7 * Two violin concertos, op. 88 and op. 104.

Chamber music and solo works

* Scherzo for piano, Op. 11 * String quartet no.1 in E major, Op.15 (1888–93) * Erotikon for piano, Op. 23 * Cello sonata no.1 in F minor, Op. 45 (published 1905) * Wind Quintet in D major Op. 95 (1909) * Fantasy for violin and piano, Op. 128 * Impromptu for organ, Op. 135 * Nonet, Op. 147 * Little suite for two violins, Op. 183

Choral works

* Te Deum Laudamus, Op. 32 *

Missa Missa may refer to: * Mass (liturgy) * Mass (music), a choral composition that sets liturgical text to music ** Missa brevis ** Missa solemnis (explains the term and lists several works) * Miss A, a Korean girl group * ''Missa pro defunctis'' and ...

in Honorem Sc. Methodii (pub. around 1884), Op. 35 * Choruses for male voices, Op. 37 * Missa bohemica, Op. 38 * Stabat mater for mixed chorus and organ, Op. 56 * Missa in honorem sanctissimae trinitatis (1940), Op. 170

Songs

* Lieder der sehnsucht, six songs, Op. 53

Operas

* ''

'' * ''Debora'' (1873), opera, Op. 41 *

Jessika (opera) ''Jessika'' is a 1905 Czech-language opera by Josef Bohuslav Foerster to a libretto after Shakespeare's ''The Merchant of Venice'' and named after the character Jessica in that play.Michael Neill, David Schalkwyk, ''The Oxford Handbook of Shakes ...

Notes

References

* * The Viking Opera Guide * Susanne Dammann, "Ein Utopist in der Musik. Problemgeschichtliche Beobachtungen zu Josef Bohuslav Foersters 3. Symphonie op. 36", in: Mitteilungen der Arbeitsgemeinschaft für mittel- und osteuropäische Musikgeschichte Heft 13, S. 182–200.

External links

Radio Prague Life of Foerster, with RealAudio examples
*

Foerstrova společnost v Praze (Foerster Society)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foerster, Josef 1859 births 1951 deaths Czech people of German descent Czech male classical composers Czech Romantic composers Prague Conservatory alumni 20th-century Czech male musicians 19th-century Czech male musicians