Jiří Bělohlávek, (; 24 February 1946 – 31 May 2017) 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. He was a leading interpreter of Czech classical music, and became chief conductor of the
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
The Czech Philharmonic () is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. Its principal performing venue is the Rudolfinum concert hall.
History
The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orche ...
in 1990, a role he would serve on two occasions during a combined span of seven years (1990–92, 2012–17). He also served a six-year tenure as the chief conductor of the
BBC Symphony Orchestra from 2006 to 2012. He gained international renown and repute for his performances of the works of Czech composers such as
Antonín Dvořák and
Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...
, and was credited as "the most profound proponent of Czech orchestral music" by Czech music specialist Professor
Michael Beckerman.
Early career
Bělohlávek 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 ...
.
His father was a barrister and judge. In his youth he studied
cello
The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...
with
Miloš Sádlo and later graduated from the
Prague Conservatory and the
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
After graduation, he studied conducting for two years with
Sergiu Celibidache
Sergiu Celibidache (; ; 13 August 1996) was a Romanian people, Romanian Conducting, conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over fi ...
.
Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic
In 1970 Bělohlávek won the Czech Young Conductors' Competition.
He later served for two years as an assistant conductor at the
Czech Philharmonic. From 1972 to 1978, he was conductor of the
Brno Philharmonic; he was then chief conductor of the
Prague Symphony Orchestra until 1989.
The
Communist authorities prohibited Bělohlávek from touring in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
and
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
Bělohlávek became chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic in 1990, after the
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...
.
However, in 1991, the orchestra reorganized and controversially voted to appoint
Gerd Albrecht its new principal conductor to replace Bělohlávek. Instead of remaining until Albrecht's accession, Bělohlávek resigned from the orchestra in 1992. He subsequently founded the
Prague Philharmonia (''Pražská komorní filharmonie'') in 1993, after the
Czech Ministry of Defence had offered funding for training 40 young musicians. Bělohlávek had auditioned musicians for the orchestra, but the ministry withdrew its funding the next year. He subsequently secured private funding for the orchestra, and served as its first music director.
After the orchestra's public debut in 1994, he recorded and performed with it in concerts worldwide. He conducted the Prague Philharmonia at its first
BBC Proms
The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...
appearance in 2004, in a televised performance. In 2005, he relinquished his post with the Prague Philharmonia, and subsequently became the orchestra's conductor laureate. He conducted his final concert on 7 May 2017 with the Prague Philharmonia.
In 1997, Bělohlávek became Professor of Conducting at the Prague Academy of Music and became principal guest conductor of the opera company of the ''Národní divadlo'' (Prague National Theatre) the following year. He was also chairman of the
Prague Spring International Music Festival
The Prague Spring International Music Festival (, commonly , Prague Spring) is a classical music festival held every year in Prague, Czech Republic, with symphony orchestras and chamber music ensembles from around the world.
The first festival ...
. Conductors who studied under Bělohlávek include
Tomáš Netopil and
Jakub Hrůša.
In December 2010, Bělohlávek was re-appointed to the chief conductorship of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, effective with the 2012–2013 season, with an initial contract of four years. In January 2017, the Czech Philharmonic announced the extension of Bělohlávek's contract through the 2021–2022 season. He remained in the post until his death on 31 May 2017.
International career
From 1995 to 2000, Bělohlávek was principal guest conductor of the
BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO). In February 2005, he was named its twelfth chief conductor, effective July 2006, with an initial contract of 3 years. Bělohlávek was the first past BBC SO principal guest conductor to be named chief conductor of the BBC SO.
His tenure with the BBC SO began with the First Night of the 2006 Proms. He first conducted the
Last Night of the Proms in 2007, the first conductor of the Last Night who was not a native English speaker.
In September 2007, Bělohlávek extended his contract with the BBC Symphony to 2012. He made a guest appearance at the 2009 Last Night as one of the vacuum cleaner performers in
Malcolm Arnold's ''A Grand, Grand Overture''. Bělohlávek conducted the Last Night of the Proms again in 2010 and in 2012. He concluded his BBC SO chief conductorship in 2012 and took the title of conductor laureate with the BBC SO. Bělohlávek was awarded an honorary
CBE "for services to music" in April 2012. As conductor laureate, he continued to appear until the month before his death, with his final BBC SO concert conducting
Dvořák's Requiem.
In opera, Bělohlávek conducted ''
Jenůfa'', ''
Tristan und Isolde
''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is a music drama in three acts by Richard Wagner set to a German libretto by the composer, loosely based on the medieval 12th-century romance ''Tristan and Iseult'' by Gottfried von Stras ...
'' and ''
Rusalka
In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as th ...
'' at
Glyndebourne. He made his
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...
(Met) debut on 17 December 2004 conducting ''
Káťa Kabanová'', with
Karita Mattila in the title role. He returned to the Met in January and February 2007 for ''Jenůfa'' and again in February and March 2009 for ''
Eugene Onegin
''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...
'' and ''Rusalka''.
Bělohlávek first guest-conducted the
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (RPhO) in 1994. In April 2012, the RPhO announced the appointment of Bělohlávek as its next principal guest conductor, effective with the 2012–2013 season. He held the RPhO post until his death.
Bělohlávek made recordings for the
Supraphon,
Chandos,
Harmonia Mundi,
Warner Classics,
Decca and
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...
record labels.
His performances of the music of Dvorak have been released in video on several DVDs. His 1993 performances with the Prague Symphony Orchestra are available on two
Arthaus DVDs consisting of ''Symphony No. 7'', ''Slavonic Dances Op. 72'', ''Romance for Violin and Orchestra'' and ''Violin Concerto'' (both with
Ivan Ženatý), ''5 Biblical Songs'', and the ''Te Deum'' featuring the Prague Symphonic Choir. His 2014 performances of all nine Dvorak Symphonies with the
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
The Czech Philharmonic () is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. Its principal performing venue is the Rudolfinum concert hall.
History
The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orche ...
were released by the orchestra on DVD and include interviews with him about each symphony.
He gained international renown and repute for his performances of the works of Czech composers such as
Antonín Dvořák and
Bohuslav Martinů
Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...
, and was credited as "the most profound proponent of Czech orchestral music" by Czech music specialist Professor
Michael Beckerman.
Personal life
Bělohlávek married Anna Fejérová in 1971 and the couple had two daughters. He died of cancer on 31 May 2017, aged 71.
His wife and daughters survived him.
References
External links
Jiří Bělohlávek official home page'Jiří Bělohlávek zemřel', Czech Philharmonic tribute page to Jiří Bělohlávek (Czech-language)
'Opustil nás Jiří Bělohlávek', Prague Philharmonia tribute page to Jiří Bělohlávek (Czech-language)*
Jiří Bělohlávek conducting Dvořák's Cello Concerto in B minor, Yo-Yo Ma soloist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belohlavek, Jiri
1946 births
2017 deaths
Chief conductors of the BBC Symphony Orchestra
Czech classical cellists
Czech male conductors (music)
Honorary commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Musicians from Prague
Prague Conservatory alumni
Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic)
21st-century Czech conductors (music)
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague alumni
Chief conductors of the Czech Philharmonic
Czechoslovak conductors (music)