Jan Václav Voříšek
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Jan Václav Hugo Voříšek (May 11, 1791, Vamberk, Bohemia - November 19, 1825, Vienna, Austria), was a Czech composer of classical music, pianist, and organist.
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[edit] Life
Voříšek was born in the town of Vamberk where his father was the schoolmaster, choirmaster and organist. His father taught him music, encouraged his playing the piano, helped him get a scholarship to attend the University of Prague.
Although Voříšek was enthralled by the classical music of Mozart, he was more intrigued by the romanticism of Ludwig van Beethoven. In 1813 at the age of 22 Voříšek moved to Vienna to study law and, he hoped, to meet Beethoven.
In 1814, just as Voříšek was beginning to compose music, he indeed met Beethoven in Vienna. He also met other leading musicians there, including the composers Louis Spohr, Ignaz Moscheles, Johann Nepomuk Hummel and especially Franz Schubert with whom he became fast friends.
Voříšek completed his study of the law in 1821 and was appointed barrister with the Court Military Privy Councillor.
Voříšek became an esteemed composer of music for orchestra, voice and piano. In 1818 he had become the conductor of the Friends of Music Society (Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde). In 1823 he became the Imperial Court Organist and also taught piano at the municipal boarding school.
Voříšek died tragically of tuberculosis in 1825 at the age of 34. He was buried at Währing Cemetery, where his friend Schubert and idol Beethoven also lay in rest. The cemetery is now a park named after Franz Schubert, though the remains of both Schubert and Beethoven were later moved to the Zentralfriedhof.
[edit] Music
Voříšek only wrote one symphony. It is set in D major and was written in 1821. It has been likened to the Symphony No. 1 and Symphony No. 2 of Beethoven. Its melodic invention foreshadowed that of Schubert. It is a worthy early Romantic work.
As the Imperial Court Organist, Voříšek composed a modest but marvellous Mass in B-flat major. Together with his single symphony and his superb Violin Sonata in G major, Op. 5, the mass is among the few works of Voříšek to be recorded.
The first recorded use of the term Impromptu in the musical sense occurred in 1817, in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, an idea of the publisher to describe a piano piece by Voříšek. Impromptus were subsequently composed by such luminaries as Schubert and Chopin.
[edit] Selected Discography
- Cedille Records recording (CDR 90000 058) of Voříšek's Symphony in D and Mass in B-flat major performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra & Prague Chamber Choir conducted by Paul Freeman with program notes by Andrea Lamoreaux
- ArchivMusic.com entry to CD of Voříšek's Chamber Music including his Violin Sonata (Praga 250204) played by the Kocian String Quartet with review by James Reel, FANFARE
[edit] External links
- Classical Composers entry to Voříšek
- Calendar of Composers entry to Voříšek
