Štěpán Koníček (7 March 1928 – 26 May 2006) was a Czech composer and conductor. He is known for his long-term collaboration with the

Film Symphony Orchestra The Film Symphony Orchestra (FISYO) (Czech: ''Filmový symfonický orchestr'') is a Czech classical orchestra, specialising in recording film music. It is also known under the name ''Czech Symphony Orchestra'', which was used frequently in the 19 ...

(FISYO) and for recording

film music A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

Life

Koníček was born in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He studied conducting under

Karel Ančerl Karel Ančerl (11 April 1908 – 3 July 1973) was a Czechoslovak conductor and composer, renowned especially for his performances of contemporary music and for his interpretations of music by Czech composers. Ančerl was born into a pros ...

and composing as a pupil of

Pavel Bořkovec Pavel Bořkovec (10 June 1894, in Prague – 22 July 1972, in Prague) was a Czech composer and music teacher. Bořkovec studied at the Prague Conservatory under Josef Suk. From 1946 to 1967 he taught at the Academy of Musical Arts in Prague. ...

, both at the

Academy of Performing Arts in Prague The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (, AMU) is a university in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic, specialising in the study of music, dance, drama, film, television and multi-media. It is the largest art school in the Czech Republic, wit ...

. During his career, he collaborated with film directors such as

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

and

Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and ''The Power of the Dog (film), The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for ...

. He created music for the film ''

Munro A Munro (; ) is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevi ...

'', which won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film in 1961. He also wrote the music of the

Jan Svankmajer Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Nu ...

first short film The Last Trick. Some of Koníček's compositions incorporate elements of Brazilian music such as bossa nova and samba. He contributed the musical score for Gene Deitch's 1961–62 ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...

'' cartoons, in which his name credits were anglicized as Steven Konichek to prevent association with Communism.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koníček, Štěpán 1928 births 2006 deaths 20th-century Czech conductors (music) Animation composers Czech classical composers Czech male conductors (music) 20th-century Czech male musicians Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni