Antonín Bennewitz (also Anton Bennewitz; 26 March 1833 – 29 May 1926) was a Bohemian violinist, conductor, and teacher. He was in a line of violinists that extended back to

Giovanni Battista Viotti Giovanni Battista Viotti (12 May 1755 – 3 March 1824) was an Italian violinist whose virtuosity was famed and whose work as a composer featured a prominent violin and an appealing lyrical tunefulness. He was also a director of French and Italia ...

, and forward to Jan Kubelík and Wolfgang Schneiderhan.

Life and career

He was born in Přívrat,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, as Antonín Josef Václav Benevic (his name is most often seen in the German rendering—Bennewitz) to a German father and a Czech mother. He studied under Moritz Mildner (Мильднер, Мориц) (Mořic Mildner: 1812–1865) at the Prague Conservatory from 1846 to 1852. He was subsequently engaged as first violinist at the Estates Theatre in Prague (1852–1861), as well as in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. On 3 December 1855, he participated in the first performance of

Bedřich Smetana Bedřich Smetana ( ; ; 2 March 1824 – 12 May 1884) was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style that became closely identified with his people's aspirations to a cultural and political "revival". He has been regarded ...

's Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15, at the Prague Konvict Hall, with Smetana himself as pianist and Julius Goltermann as cellist. In 1859, he performed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. In 1866, he became professor of violin in Prague. In 1876, he succeeded Mildner as leader of the Friedrich Pixis (Bedřich Vilém Pixis) quartet, which became known as the Bennewitz Quartet. He became director of the Prague Conservatory in 1882, serving until 1901, when he was succeeded by

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

. He was among the founders of the Kammermusikverein, whose nationalist ideals stimulated Smetana to write his String Quartet in E minor, ''From My Life''. Rudolfinum323

On 25 February 1895, Bennewitz conducted the first complete performance of Josef Suk's Serenade for Strings in E flat, Op. 6, with the Prague Conservatory orchestra (two movements had been heard 14 months earlier, conducted by Suk himself). On 3 June 1896, at the Prague Conservatory, Bennewitz conducted the first (semi-public) performances of Dvořák's symphonic poems '' The Noon Witch'', '' The Water Goblin'', and '' The Golden Spinning Wheel''. Bennewitz died on 29 May 1926, at the age of 93, in Doksy, where he is buried.

Legacy

In 1998, a new Bennewitz Quartet, named in the musician's honour, was founded in Prague.

Students

Bennewitz's pupils included František Ondříček (who premiered the Dvořák's violin concerto), Karel Halíř (who premiered the revised version of the Sibelius violin concerto),

Otakar Ševčík Otakar Ševčík (22 March 185218 January 1934) was a Czechs, Czech violinist and influential teacher. He was known as a Solo (music), soloist and an Musical ensemble, ensemble player, including his occasional performances with Eugène Ysaÿe. ...

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is '' The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life and career L ...

, and three members of the Bohemian Quartet (later known as the Czech Quartet)— Karel Hoffmann and Josef Suk (violinists), and Oskar Nedbal (violist).

References

Sources

* Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennewitz, Antonin 1833 births 1926 deaths Violinists from Austria-Hungary Conductors (music) from Austria-Hungary Czech classical violinists Male classical violinists Czech conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Czech music educators People from Ústí nad Orlicí District Violin educators Prague Conservatory alumni