Julie Reisserová née Kühnlova (9 October 1888 – 25 February 1938) was a Czech composer and music publicist.

Biography

Julie Reisserová 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 ...

. She studied piano with Adolf Mikeš and singing with Richard Figar. From 1919 until 1921 she studied composition in Prague with

Josef Bohuslav Foerster Josef Bohuslav Foerster (30 December 1859 – 29 May 1951) was a Czech composer and musicologist. He is often referred to as J. B. Foerster, and his surname is sometimes spelled Förster. Life Foerster was born in Prague. His ancestors were of ...

. She continued her composition studies in Bern with Ernst Hohlfeld and with

Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...

(1924–1929) and

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher, conductor and composer. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organis ...

. In 1921 she married Czech diplomat Jan Reisser (born 1891) and moved with him to Switzerland (1921–1929), Belgrade (1930–1933) and Copenhagen (1933–1936) while pursuing her career as a composer. Her work was performed in Bern, Paris, Geneva, Copenhagen and in Philadelphia. Reisserová translated into Czech language '' Le testament de la tante Caroline'' (''Aunt Caroline's Last Will''), by operetta by composer

and

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

Nino (Michel Veber). The operetta premiered on 14 November 1936 in

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

and was also staged on 18 April 1937 in Prague. She died in Prague in 1938, age 49.

Selected works

Notable works include:, republished in: ; Orchestral music *''Suite for Orchestra'' (), 1928–1931 *''Pastorale Maritimo for Orchestra'' (), 1933 *''Early Spring'' (), 1936 ; Solo piano *''Esquisses'', 1935 *''Deux Allegros'' ; Vocal music *''March'' (; orchestral songs), 1934 *''Sous la neige'' (, ; song cycle for voice and piano), 1936 *''Festive Day'' (; for women's choir), 1936, dedicated to

Františka Plamínková Františka Plamínková (5 February 1875 – 30 June 1942) was a Czechs, Czech feminist and suffrage activist. Trained as a teacher, she became involved in feminism because teachers were forbidden to marry. She transitioned into journalism, writi ...

Reisserová also wrote ''In Margin Vitae'', a book of her poems written in Czech, German, French and English (lost).

Recordings

''Esquisses'' nos. 1 et 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQHy4LElE4k (Yuliya Minina, piano).

References

* Jean-Paul C. Montagnier, "Autour de la ''Pastorale maritimo'' de Julie Reisserová (1888–1938)", ''Revue belge de musicologie'', 74 (2020), pp. 143–166. * Jean-Paul C. Montagnier, "Julie Reisserová (1888–1938): A Czech Woman Composer of Importance", in ''It’s a Man’s World? Künstlerinnen in Europas Musik-Metropolen des frühen 20. Jahrhunderts''. Edited by Kaï Hinrich Müller and Sabine Meine. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann GmbH, 2023, pp. 157–167. * Jean-Paul C. Montagnier, ''Julie Reisserová (1888-1938): Czech Composer and Feminist''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2025, ISBN 9781009517362. *Julie Reisserová, ''Oeuvres pour orchestre. Orchestral Works'', edited by Jean-Paul C. Montagnier. Berlin: Ries & Erler, 2022. *Julie Reisserová, ''Březen. Version pour orchestre / Orchestral Version'', edited by Jean-Paul C. Montagnier. Berlin: Ries & Erler, 2023. *Julie Reisserová, ''Musique de chambre / Chamber Music'', edited by Jean-Paul C. Montagnier. Berlin: Ries & Erler, 2023.

External links

* 1888 births 1938 deaths Czechoslovak classical composers Czech classical composers Composers from Prague Pupils of Albert Roussel Women classical composers 20th-century Czech women composers {{CzechRepublic-composer-stub

Biography

Selected works

Recordings

References

Further reading

External links