Václav Neumann (29 October 1920 – 2 September 1995) was a Czech conductor,

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 regu ...

ist, violist, and opera director.

Life and career

Neumann 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 ...

, where he studied at the Prague Conservatory with Josef Micka (

), and Pavel Dědeček and Metod Doležil (

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary dutie ...

) from 1940 through 1945. He co-founded the Smetana Quartet, playing 1st violin and then viola. Neumann made his debut as a conductor with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1948; remaining as a conductor with that ensemble through 1950. In 1951 he became principal conductor of the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra. He left that post in 1954 to become principal conductor of the Brno Symphony Orchestra (SOKB). In 1956, he began to conduct at the Komische Oper in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

; beginning with a celebrated production of Janáček’s ''

The Cunning Little Vixen ''The Cunning Little Vixen'' (original title ''Příhody lišky Bystroušky'' or ''Tales of Vixen Sharp-Ears'' in English), is a three-act Czech-language opera by Leoš Janáček completed in 1923 to a libretto the composer himself adapted from a ...

'' on 30 May 1956. He toured with that production to Paris and Weisbaden; conducting a total of 215 performance between the three cities. He remained at the Komische Oper for eight years, leaving in 1964 to become conductor of the

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

and General Music Director of the

Leipzig Opera The Leipzig Opera (in German: ) is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Sing ...

. He stayed there until 1968, when he became principal conductor of the

Czech Philharmonic 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 titl ...

, a post he held until 1990 and again in 1992-1993. He was concurrently General Music Director of the

Stuttgart Staatsoper The Staatsoper Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Opera) is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, the capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Staatsorchester Stuttgart serves as its resident orchestra. History Performances of operas, ballet an ...

from 1970 through 1973. Neumann taught conducting at the Prague Academy for Music, where his students included

Oliver von Dohnányi Oliver von Dohnányi (born 2 March 1955) is a Slovak conductor based in Prague, Czech Republic. He is currently serving as the music director of the Ural Opera House in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Dohnányi was born in Trenčín, Czechoslovakia (now ...

and Vítězslav Podrazil. Neumann was particularly noted as a champion of Czech music, and made the first studio recording of

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, baptised Leo Eugen Janáček; 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic musics, including Eastern European f ...

's opera '' The Excursions of Mr. Brouček'' in 1962. Neumann can be seen conducting the

in a recording of the Dvořák

Cello Concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instr ...

with Julian Lloyd Webber. This is featured in the 1988 film '' Dvorak - In Love?'' by director

Tony Palmer Tony Palmer (born 29 August 1941)IMDb: Tony Palmer
Retrieved 24 September 2011 is a British film direc ...

References

External links

* František Sláma (musician) Archive: More on the history of the Czech Philharmonic between the 1940s and the 1980s. Section
''Conductors''
an
''The Czech Philharmonic and the people around it''

Published: September 6, 1995
Review Digest for Performances by Vaclav Neumann on ClassicsToday

Neumann
rehearing Dvořák's cello concerto with the Czech Philharmonic. {{DEFAULTSORT:Neumann, Vaclav 1920 births 1995 deaths Musicians from Prague Czech conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Czech classical violinists Male classical violinists Prague Conservatory alumni Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk 20th-century classical violinists 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Czech male musicians Czechoslovak musicians