Ludvík Vítězslav Čelanský () (17 July 1870 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

– 27 October 1931 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 ...

) was a

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conductor and composer. He was founder and first 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 ...

Biography

Jan Čelanský, Ludvík's father, worked as a

kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

in Horní Krupá (

Havlíčkův Brod Havlíčkův Brod (, until 1945 Německý Brod; ) is a town in Havlíčkův Brod District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 24,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban mon ...

district). Ludvík studied at the gymnasium in Havlíčkův Brod, and from 1887 to 1891 at the teaching institute in

Kutná Hora Kutná Hora (; ) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The history of Kutná Hora is linked to silver mining, which made it a rich and rapidly developing town. The centre of Kutná Hora, i ...

. He worked as a teacher in Dolní Krupá for one year before devoting himself exclusively to music. From 1892 to 1894 he studied

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

with K. Stecker 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 ...

, then at the dramatic school of the National Theatre and at Pivoda Operatic School. Čelanský was engaged as a kapellmeister at the

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

until 1895, in

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from 1898 to 1899, and then as the third kapellmeister of the National Theatre Orchestra. He was forced to withdraw in 1900 when

Karel Kovařovic Karel Kovařovic (9 December 1862 6 December 1920) was a Czech people, Czech composer and conductor from Prague. Life From 1873 to 1879 he studied clarinet, harp and piano at the Prague Conservatory.''Dopisy o životě hudebním i lidském, p. ...

took the administration of the theatre. Čelanský left for

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, where he established the opera house. Following his return, in 1901, he founded the Czech Philharmonic with striking members of the National Theatre Orchestra. However, he yielded the administration of the orchestra to

Oskar Nedbal Oskar Nedbal (26 March 1874 – 24 December 1930) was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music. Early life Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Ben ...

and returned to Lviv where he founded another institution - the Lviv Philharmonic Orchestra (1902–1904). He simultaneously led the opera stages in

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and in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

and was engaged as a director of the Philharmonic Orchestra in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

(from 1904 to 1905) and

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(from 1905 to 1906). In 1907 Čelanský established an opera house in the

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 ...

district of Prague. Later he became the director of the Apollo Theatre in

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(from 1909). In recognition of his performances of the works of

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

, Čelanský was appointed an officer of L'Académie française. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he refused the post of director at the comic opera in

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. Following the

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

proclamation of independence in 1918, Čelanský became the director of the Czech Philharmonic again, but was soon replaced by

Václav Talich Václav Talich (; 28 May 1883, Kroměříž – 16 March 1961, Beroun) was a Czech conductor, violinist and later a musical pedagogue. He is remembered today as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, the object of countless reissue ...

. Čelanský spent his later years in Prague, where he worked as a music teacher. During these years he recorded two of Dvořák's Slavonic Dances for

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

with a group of musicians from the National Theatre.

Legacy

Čelanský concentrated his interest mainly on Slavic composers of

Romantic music Romantic music is a stylistic movement in Western Classical music associated with the period of the 19th century commonly referred to as the Romantic era (or Romantic period). It is closely related to the broader concept of Romanticism—the ...

. He was particularly renowned as a conductor of Smetana's symphonic cycle '' Má vlast (My Country)'', Dvořák's ''

Slavonic Dances The ''Slavonic Dances'' () are a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1878 and 1886 and published in two sets as Op. 46 and Op. 72 respectively. Originally written for piano four hands, the ''Slavonic Dances' ...

'' and the works of

Zdeněk Fibich Zdeněk Fibich (, 21 December 1850 in Všebořice – 15 October 1900 in Prague) was a Czech composer of classical music. Among his compositions are chamber works (including two string quartets, a piano trio, piano quartet and a quintet for pia ...

. Čelanský was a talented opera conductor, but his potential was not fully realized. He contributed to the Czech and international musical culture as an organizer and founder of orchestras and music institutions.

Compositions

The compositions of Ludvík Čelanský are deeply influenced by Romantic music. He wrote concertant

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

s in the style of Zdeněk Fibich. His only opera, ''Kamilla'', represents an attempt to unite melodrama and

singspiel A Singspiel (; plural: ; ) is a form of German-language music drama, now regarded as a genre of opera. It is characterized by spoken dialogue, which is alternated with ensembles, songs, ballads, and arias which were often strophic, or folk- ...

. During his time in Paris, his music was influenced by French

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

. His compositions from this period are quite colourful. Some of his scores (e.g. Symphony ''"From My Life"'') remained in Kiev and in Paris. Čelanský also experimented with

film music A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

in his later years. Opera *''Kamilla'' (published 1897); in 1 act with libretto by the composerThe opera was on the subject of a failed love affair between Čelanský and Kamila Urválková; Urválková later persuaded

Leoš Janáček Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...

to compose his opera ''

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

'' to counteract Čelanský's portrayal of her. Orchestra *''Premiéra na vsi'' (Premiere in the Countryside), Overture (1900) *''Vzkříšení Polsky'' (Resurrection of Poland), Overture (1904) * Symphony ''"From My Life"'' in five movements *''Duchovní vývoj člověka dle starého zákona'' (The Spiritual Evolution of Man According to Ancient Law), Symphonic Trilogy (1915–1918) :# Adam :# Noe (Noah) :# Mojžíš (Moses) *''Hymnus slunci'' (Hymn to the Sun), Symphonic Poem (1919) Songs *''Nálady'' (Moods) (1895); words by the composer *''Melancholické písně'' (Melancholic Songs) (1895); words by

Jaroslav Kvapil Jaroslav Kvapil (25 September 1868 – 10 January 1950) was a Czech poet, theatre director, translator, playwright and librettist. Early life, education and family Jaroslav Josef Kvapil was born on 25 September 1868 in Chudenice, into the fami ...

*''Ten Songs on Words of

Josef Václav Sládek Josef Václav Sládek (27 October 1845 in Zbiroh – 28 June 1912 in Zbiroh) was a Czech poet, journalist and translator, a member of the literary group , and a pioneer of children's poetry in Czech lands. Life In 1865, he graduated at the Acad ...

and Karel Želenský'' (1896) *''Twelve Songs on Words of František Serafínský Procházka'' (1902) *''Ukolébavka'' (Lullaby) for Voice and Orchestra (1904) *''Píseň o matičce'' (A Song about Mother) Chorus *''Vlast'' (Homeland) *''Srbské kolo'' (Serbian Round Dance) Melodramas *''Žebrák'' (The Beggar) (1894) *''Země'' (Earth) (1894) *''Balada o duši Jana Nerudy'' (Ballad on the Soul of

Jan Neruda Jan Nepomuk Neruda (Czech: �jan ˈnɛpomuk ˈnɛruda 10 July 1834 – 22 August 1891) was a Czech journalist, writer, poet and art critic; one of the most prominent representatives of Czech Realism and a member of the " May School". Early li ...

) (1895) *''Česká píseň'' (Czech Song) (1902) *''Bratři'' (Brothers) (1903) *''Zvony'' (Bells) (1903); words by

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

Sacred *''Pět duchovních písní'' (Five Sacred Songs, 1916) *''Te Deum'' (1916)

Biography

Legacy

Compositions

Notes and references

See also