František Jílek (May 22, 1913 – September 16, 1993) 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' Places * Czech, ...

conductor, known especially for his interpretation 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 works.

Life

Jílek began studying piano and composition as a pupil of Jaroslav Kvapil, and later studied conducting under Antonín Balatka and

Zdeněk Chalabala Zdeněk Chalabala (18 April 1899 – 4 March 1962) was a Czechoslovak conductor. He conducted orchestras in Prague, Ostrava, Moscow. Chalabala was born in Uherské Hradiště. He studied conducting at the Brno Conservatory with František Neu ...

at the

Brno Conservatory The Brno Conservatory, also Brno Conservatoire ( cs, Konzervatoř Brno), was established in Brno on 25 September 1919 by Moravian composer Leoš Janáček. History Leoš Janáček attempted to establish and improve high musical education in Br ...

. In 1937, Jílek completed his education at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory or Prague Conservatoire ( cs, Pražská konzervatoř) is a music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, Prague Conservatory offers four or six year study courses, which can be compared to the level ...

, in the master class of

Vítězslav Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important ...

. From 1938 to 1949 he conducted the opera in

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...

. In 1952, he became the principal conductor of the Janáček Opera in Brno, a position he held for 25 years. During his career Jílek frequently conducted the orchestra of the National Theatre in Prague, the Czech Philharmonic, as well as orchestras abroad. In 1978, he became the conductor of the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra.

Work

He conducted the complete

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s 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 i ...

and Leoš Janáček, and also focused on

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

operatic repertoire. The recordings of his interpretations of Janáček's, Novák's and Martinů's work are available on the Czech label

Supraphon Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers. History The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. ...

. He was awarded the ''Orphée d'Or de l'Academie National du Disque Lyrique (Prix Arturo Toscanini- Paul Vergnes)'' for the recording of Janáček's opera

Jenůfa ''Její pastorkyňa'' (''Her Stepdaughter''; commonly known as ''Jenůfa'' ) is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the play ''Její pastorkyňa'' by Gabriela Preissová. It was first performed ...

in 1980.''Pozdní divoch, p. 216 (only in Czech)''

Footnotes

References

*Jaroslav Smolka: ''Malá encyklopedie hudby''. Prague: Editio Supraphon, 1983. *Jiří Ort: ''Pozdní divoch. Láska a život Leoše Janáčka v operách a dopisech.'' Prague: Mladá fronta, 2005.

Selected recordings

* Fibich: ''The Bride of Messina'' CD. 11 1492-2 612 (Suprapho

* Janáček: '' The Excursions of Mr. Brouček'' CD. 11 2153-20612 (Suprapho

* Janáček: '' Destiny (Janáček), Destiny'' CD. SU 0045-2 611 (Suprapho

* Janáček: ''

'' CD. SU 3869-2 612 (Suprapho

* Janáček: ''Orchestral Works I.-III.'' CD. SU 3886-3888-2 031 (Suprapho

http://www.supraphon.cz/cs/katalog/databaze-titulu/detail-titulu/?idtitulu=200960

External links

List of recordings on Supraphon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jilek, Frantisek 1913 births, Jilek Franisek 1993 deaths Czech conductors (music) Male conductors (music) 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century Czech male musicians