František Kočvara, known later in England as Frantisek Kotzwara (1730[1] – February 2, 1791[2][3]), was a Czech violist,[1] virtuoso double bassist[2] and composer. He is perhaps more famous for the notorious nature of his death.[2]
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Kotzwara was born in Prague, Bohemia and was something of a nomad. He travelled around Europe and performed with various orchestras. His mature career was based in England, where his compositions were published from 1775 onwards. These include string quartets, serenades and string trios. In London he played in the 'Concerts of Antient Music', in the Handel Commemoration of 1791 and in the orchestra of the King's Theatre.
The only piece of his to have achieved renown is The Battle of Prague, a composition based on the 1757 Battle of Prague, in which the Kingdom of Prussia fought the Habsburg Monarchy. The Battle of Prague was a popular piece of music during the late 18th and 19th centuries, with Mark Twain mentioning the piece in his books Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and A Tramp Abroad.[3] A similar piece, The Siege of Quebec, often attributed to Kotzwara, is probably an arrangement by de Krift using assorted materials of Kotzwara.
On February 2, 1791 while he was in London, Kotzwara visited a prostitute named Susannah Hill in Vine Street, Westminster. After dinner with her in her lodgings, Kotzwara paid her two shillings and requested that she cut off his testicles. Hill refused to do so. Kotzwara then tied a ligature around the doorknob, the other end fastened around his neck, and proceeded to have sexual intercourse with Hill. After it was over, Kotzwara was dead. His is most likely the first recorded death from erotic asphyxiation.[2][4]
Susannah Hill was subsequently tried for Kotzwara's murder at the Old Bailey but was acquitted. The jury chose to believe her testimony about the nature of Kotzwara's death. The court records of the case were supposedly destroyed in order to avoid a public scandal, though it is likely that some kind of copy was made by an individual. It is believed that this copy was used to produce a pamphlet about the incident, including Hill's account of the event.[5] A 2005 radio competition organised by the Radio Prague station led a listener to reveal that these court records had in fact not been destroyed, and somehow found their way to the Francis Countway Library of Medicine in Boston.
In 1984 a paper about Kotzwara's death was published in the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, entitled "The sticky end of Frantisek Koczwara, composer of The Battle of Prague".[6] A pamphlet, Modern Propensities, with details of the trial and an article about auto-erotic asphyxiation was published in London about 1797.