Ludvík Vítězslav Čelanský () (17 July 1870 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 ...

– 27 October 1931 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 ...

) was a Czech conductor and composer. He was founder and first principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

Biography

Jan Čelanský, Ludvík's father, worked as a

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 ...

in Horní Krupá (

Havlíčkův Brod Havlíčkův Brod (, until 1945 Německý Brod; german: Deutschbrod) is a town in Havlíčkův Brod District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law a ...

district). Ludvík studied at the gymnasium in Havlíčkův Brod, and from 1887 to 1891 at the teaching institute in

Kutná Hora Kutná Hora (; medieval Czech: ''Hory Kutné''; german: Kuttenberg) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. The centre of Kutná Hora, including the Sedlec Abbey and its ossuary, was designa ...

. He worked as a teacher in Dolní Krupá for one year before devoting himself exclusively to music. From 1892 to 1894 he studied composition with K. Stecker at the Prague Conservatory, then at the dramatic school of the National Theatre and at Pivoda Operatic School. Čelanský was engaged as a kapellmeister at the

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

until 1895, in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

from 1898 to 1899, and then as the third kapellmeister of the National Theatre Orchestra. He was forced to withdraw in 1900 when

Karel Kovařovic Karel Kovařovic (Prague, 9 December 1862 Prague, 6 December 1920) was a Czech composer and conductor. Life From 1873 to 1879 he studied clarinet, harp and piano at the Prague Conservatory.''Dopisy o životě hudebním i lidském, p. 484'' He ...

took the administration of the theatre. Čelanský left for

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

, where he established the opera house. Following his return, in 1901, he founded the Czech Philharmonic with striking members of the National Theatre Orchestra. However, he yielded the administration of the orchestra to Oskar Nedbal and returned to Lviv where he founded another institution - the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra (1902–1904). He simultaneously led the opera stages in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

and in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

and was engaged as a director of the Philharmonic Orchestra in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

(from 1904 to 1905) and

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

(from 1905 to 1906). In 1907 Čelanský established an opera house in the Vinohrady district of Prague. Later he became the director of the Apollo Theatre in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

(from 1909). In recognition of his performances of the works of Jacques Offenbach, Čelanský was appointed an officer of L'Académie française. During

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 ...

, he refused the post of director at the comic opera in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Following the

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

proclamation of independence in 1918, Čelanský became the director of the Czech Philharmonic again, but was soon replaced by

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 ...

. Čelanský spent his later years in Prague, where he worked as a music teacher. During these years he recorded two of Dvořák's Slavonic Dances for HMV with a group of musicians from the National Theatre.

Legacy

Čelanský concentrated his interest mainly on Slavic composers of

Romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...

. He was particularly renowned as a conductor of Smetana's symphonic cycle '' Má vlast (My Country)'', Dvořák's '' Slavonic Dances'' and the works of Zdeněk Fibich. Čelanský was a talented opera conductor, but his potential was not fully realized. He contributed to the Czech and international musical culture as an organizer and founder of orchestras and music institutions.

Compositions

The compositions of Ludvík Čelanský are deeply influenced by Romantic music. He wrote concertant

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

s in the style of Zdeněk Fibich. His only opera, ''Kamilla'', represents an attempt to unite melodrama and

singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk-like ...

. During his time in Paris, his music was influenced by French

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

. His compositions from this period are quite colourful. Some of his scores (e.g. Symphony ''"From My Life"'') remained in Kiev and in Paris. Čelanský also experimented with film music in his later years. Opera *''Kamilla'' (published 1897); in 1 act with libretto by the composerThe opera was on the subject of a failed love affair between Čelanský and Kamila Urválková; Urválková later persuaded Leoš Janáček to compose his opera '' Destiny'' to counteract Čelanský's portrayal of her. Orchestra *''Premiéra na vsi'' (Premiere in the Countryside), Overture (1900) *''Vzkříšení Polsky'' (Resurrection of Poland), Overture (1904) * Symphony ''"From My Life"'' in five movements *''Duchovní vývoj člověka dle starého zákona'' (The Spiritual Evolution of Man According to Ancient Law), Symphonic Trilogy (1915–1918) :# Adam :# Noe (Noah) :# Mojžíš (Moses) *''Hymnus slunci'' (Hymn to the Sun), Symphonic Poem (1919) Songs *''Nálady'' (Moods) (1895); words by the composer *''Melancholické písně'' (Melancholic Songs) (1895); words by

Jaroslav Kvapil Jaroslav Kvapil (25 September 1868 in Chudenice, Kingdom of Bohemia – 10 January 1950 in Prague) was a Czech poet, theatre director, translator, playwright, and librettist. From 1900 he was a director and Dramaturg at the National Theatre ...

*''Ten Songs on Words of

Josef Václav Sládek Josef Václav Sládek (27 October 1845 in Zbiroh – 28 June 1912 in Zbiroh) was a Czech poet, journalist and translator, member of the literary group , pioneer of children's poetry in Czech lands. In 1865, he graduated at the Academic Gymnasi ...

and Karel Želenský'' (1896) *''Twelve Songs on Words of František Serafínský Procházka'' (1902) *''Ukolébavka'' (Lullaby) for Voice and Orchestra (1904) *''Píseň o matičce'' (A Song about Mother) Chorus *''Vlast'' (Homeland) *''Srbské kolo'' (Serbian Round Dance) Melodramas *''Žebrák'' (The Beggar) (1894) *''Země'' (Earth) (1894) *''Balada o duši Jana Nerudy'' (Ballad on the Soul of Jan Neruda) (1895) *''Česká píseň'' (Czech Song) (1902) *''Bratři'' (Brothers) (1903) *''Zvony'' (Bells) (1903); words by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wide ...

Sacred *''Pět duchovních písní'' (Five Sacred Songs, 1916) *''Te Deum'' (1916)

Biography

Legacy

Compositions

Notes and references

See also