Eduard Francevič Naprávnik (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: Эдуа́рд Фра́нцевич Напра́вник; 24 August 1839 – 10 November 1916) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

conductor and composer. Nápravník settled in

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and is best known for his leading role in Russian musical life as the principal conductor of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

for many decades. In that capacity, he conducted the premieres of many operas by Russian composers, including those by Mussorgsky,

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

and Rimsky-Korsakov.

Biography

Nápravník was born in Býšť,

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 ...

, in 1839. His studies of music were precariously uneven as a child, being the son of a poor teacher. Orphaned in 1853 at the age of 14, he first worked as a local church organist. In 1854 he entered the Prague Organ School, where he studied under Jan Bedřich Kittl and others, eventually becoming an assistant teacher as Kittl's generosity allowed him to continue his studies. In 1861, he worked in Russia for the first time as conductor of the private orchestra of Prince Yusupov in St. Petersburg. Nápravník became organist and assistant conductor at the Imperial theatres in 1863, second conductor in 1867, and chief conductor, succeeding Liadov, in 1869, holding the post until his death. He led the first performances of '' Boris Godunov'' in 1874, conducted five operas by

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

, including '' The Maid of Orleans'', '' Mazepa'' and '' The Queen of Spades'', and five by

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...

, including '' May Night'', '' The Snow Maiden'' and ''

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

''. He also conducted concerts of the Russian Musical Society. In 1914, after a productive career in the service of Russian opera, he was forced to retire due to ill health. In November 1875, Nápravník conducted the first performance in Russia of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto with Gustav Kross as soloist (whose playing was described by the composer as "an atrocious cacophony"). Nápravník is also well known for leading the second — and overwhelmingly persuasive — performance of Tchaikovsky's ''Pathétique'' symphony on 6/18 November 1893, twelve days after the composer's death. The premiere, under the composer's baton, had not fared so well, partly due to the audience's and the orchestra's unfamiliarity with a work that contained so many novelties, compositionally speaking, and partly due to Tchaikovsky's conducting (although Rimsky protested after that second performance, in his autobiography Moy Muzikalny Zhizn y Musical Life that the first performance had also gone well under the baton of its creator). Under Nápravník's baton, however, and under the solemn influence of Tchaikovsky's sudden passing, the work was seen as a masterpiece with an overwhelming emotional message. It included some minor corrections that Tchaikovsky had made after the premiere, and was thus the first performance of the work in the exact form in which it is known today.Tchaikovsky Research
/ref> Of Nápravník's own four operas the most successful was '' Dubrovsky'' (1894, staged 1895) written to a Russian libretto by

Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (; –) was a Russian people, Russian dramatist, opera librettist and translator. Early life Modest Ilyich was born in Alapayevsk, Verkhotursky Uyezd, Perm Governorate, the younger brother of the composer Pyotr Ilyich ...

after the story by

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

. He died in

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

in 1916. In May 1917, his family went abroad and eventually settled in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. His wife was singer Olga Shryoder (ru: Ольга Эдуардовна Шрёдер).

Compositions

Operas

* ''Nizhegorodtzy'' (The Nizhniy-Novgorodians, 1867, staged 1868) * ''Harold'' (1884, staged 1885) * '' Dubrovsky'', libretto by

(1894, staged 1895) * ''Francesca da Rimini'' (after

Stephen Phillips Stephen Phillips (28 July 1864 – 9 December 1915) was an English poet and dramatist, who enjoyed considerable popularity early in his career. Biography He was born at Summertown near Oxford, the son of the Rev. Stephen Phillips, precento ...

's play based on the fragment from

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

'', 1902)]

Orchestral and choral

* Ballads for voices and orchestra: ''The Voyevode'', ''The Cossack'', and ''Tamara'' (after

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov ( , ; rus, Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, , mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲerməntəf, links=yes; – ) was a Russian Romanticism, Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called ...

) * Four symphonies: (1860–1879; No. 3 ''The Demon'' (after Lermontov's poem of the same name) * Suite for Orchestra * Solemn Overture * Marches and national dances for orchestra * Fantasy and suite for violin and orchestra * Concerto for piano and orchestra (''Concerto symphonique'') in A minor, Op. 27 (1877) * Fantasy on Russian themes (''Fantaisie russe'') for piano and orchestra in B minor, Op. 39 (1881) * Vlasta, overture on Slovak themes (1861) * The East �осток symphonic poem for orchestra (1881)

Chamber music

* Three string quartets (1873–78) * String quintet (1897) * Two piano trios * Piano quartet * Violin and piano sonata * Two suites for cello and piano * String instrument and piano pieces

Incidental music

* ''Don Juan'', incidental music for

Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (; – ), often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy, was a Russian poet, novelist, and playwright. He is considered to be the most important nineteenth-century Russian historical dramatist, primarily on account o ...

's play (1892)

Selected discography

* Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 27 and Fantasie Russe in B minor, Op. 39. Yevgeny Soifertis, piano; BBC Scottish Orchestra conducted by Alexander Titov (Hyperion CDA67511). *Night Intermezzo (from opera "Dubrovsky" (Act IV); Melancholy, Op. 48 No. 3 ith music by Anatole LiadovThe USSR Symphony Orchestra, conductor Evgeni Svetlanov (Melodiya SUCD 10-00140, 1990)

Legacy

* A school in the village of Býšť bears Nápravník's name today. * His son Vladimir published a book about his father's life: ''Eduard Frantsovich Napravnik i ego sovremenniki'', , 1991, in Russian.

Quotations

"Mr. Napravnik is our well-known Russian orchestra conductor" (''

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

: "

The Brothers Karamazov ''The Brothers Karamazov'' ( rus, Братья Карамазовы, Brat'ya Karamazovy, ˈbratʲjə kərɐˈmazəvɨ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly ...

" (1880), book 2, chapter 2'').

References

External links

Short biography
* nternational Music Festival of Eduard Nápravník http://www.napravnikfestival.cz * {{DEFAULTSORT:Napravnik, Eduard 1839 births 1916 deaths 19th-century Czech classical composers 19th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Czech classical composers 20th-century Russian conductors (music) People from the Russian Empire of Czech descent Russian male conductors (music) 20th-century Russian male musicians Czech conductors (music) Czech opera composers Czech Romantic composers Czech male opera composers Russian male classical composers Russian opera composers Russian Romantic composers Musicians from the Austrian Empire Composers from the Russian Empire