Karel Šejna (1 November 1896, Zálezly – 17 December 1982,

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 ...

) 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 ...

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

ist and conductor, the principal 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 1950.

Life and career

Šejna's musical studies were at the

Prague Conservatory The Prague Conservatory () is a public music school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1808. Currently, the school offers four- or six-year courses, which can be compared to the level of a high school diploma in other countries. Graduates c ...

under Professor Černý (double-bass, 1914–20) and later with K. B. Jirák (composition). As a young man he gave several concerts in Egypt, and on his return to Czechoslovakia in 1921 he was appointed the first double-bassist of the

, and shortly after (on 25 July 1922) also conducted the orchestra at a concert in Žofín Palace in Prague. Some compositions including a song-cycle and a

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

date from this time. He began to conduct on recommendation of the principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic of that time, Václav Talich. Talich gradually entrusted him with more difficult tasks, and later recommended him to the post of conductor of the Czechoslovak Railway Workers Symphony Orchestra (1925–1936). From 1926 to 1938 Šejna worked also as choirmaster of the Hlahol Choir in

Vinohrady Vinohrady (until 1960 Královské Vinohrady, in English literally "Royal Vineyards" ) is a cadastral district in Prague. It is so named because the area was once covered in vineyards dating from the 14th century. Vinohrady lies in the municipal ...

, travelling with them to Yugoslavia and Vienna. In 1938 he was hired as the conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. He conducted hundreds of concerts, notably romantic repertoire, but also the music of 20th century. (He performed the Prague premiere of Janáček's Glagolitic Mass). In 1937-38 Šejna was engaged as guest conductor of the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra. After the emigration of

Rafael Kubelík Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer. The son of a distinguished violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the a ...

, the post-war chief of the orchestra, Šejna was for a short time appointed as the principal conductor of the Czech Philharmonic, touring with the orchestra to East and West Germany and to the UK. He was a noted interpreter of the music of

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

and especially of

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

. His last concert with the Czech Philharmonic took place on 11 February 1972, with Mahler's Symphony No. 4.

Recordings

Šejna made more than 70 recordings, including Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, Schubert's 8th symphony and Mahler's 4th symphony (soprano Maria Tauberová, recorded 1950) with Czech philharmonic. He was the first conductor to have recorded most of the works 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 ...

. He also recorded complete symphonies of Zdeněk Fibich and part of the work of Antonín Dvořák. Conducting the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, he made in 1949 the premiere recording of Martinů's Symphony No. 3 on Supraphon.Lambert, Patrick. Martinů in His Time, Part One. '' Classical Recordings Quarterly'', Autumn 2011, p37-38. His 1959 recording of Dvořák's Slavonic Dances was awarded ''Cithare d´argent - Grand Prix de l´Association Française'' 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 ...

1977.

References

External links

List of recordings on Supraphon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sejna, Karel 1896 births 1982 deaths Prague Conservatory alumni Czech conductors (music) Czech male conductors (music) Czech double-bassists Male double-bassists 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century Czech male musicians Chief conductors of the Czech Philharmonic Players of the Czech Philharmonic Czechoslovak conductors (music)