The Best of the Classics at Municipal House in Prague

Artists

Municipal House (Obecní dum)

The Municipal House is a popular Prague attraction and one of the most beautiful buildings in the Old Town, situated at Republic Square not far from the Powder Gate. In the Middle Ages the site housed the palace of the King of Bohemia,and was later used as a college, archbishop´s residence, and a military academy. The structure was eventually torn down, and in 1912 the new Municipal House was erected in the Art Nouveau style. Since opening, the Municipal House has been a glamorous location for festive balls, concerts, exhibitions and important meetings, including the declaration of Czechoslovak Independence in 1918. Today the Municipal House is used primarily as a venue for classical concerts in Prague. Its main hall is named after famous Czech composer Bedrich Smetana, and serves as one of the principal stages for the Prague Spring International Music Festival. The hall can accommodate up to 1200 people and has unique acoustics. The architectural highlight of the Smetana Hall is a glass dome decorated with steel grids and stained glass, which is illuminated when darkness falls. A place of pilgrimage for many of the worlds greatest organists, the real jewel of the Municipal House is the great organ, its almost 5000 pipes crowned with Smetana´s portrait.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Perhaps the most important composer of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer of the late 18th century. Born in 1756 in Salzburg, he showed prodigious musical talent from childhood. Beginning at five years of age, he composed more than 600 works, including concertos, symphonies, religious works and operas before his premature death at the age of 35. Hi influence over successive generations cannot be overestated - Ludwig van Beethoven wrote of Mozart "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years”. Despite the immense success of his compositions, and the acclaim he received across Europe, Mozart achieved little financial security and rwas buried in an unmarked grave in Vienna's St Marx Cemetery.

Antonín Dvořák

Antonin Dvorak is considered to be one of the most well-known and prominent Czechs in the world, as his musical work gained international recognition already during his lifetime. He was born in 1841 in a small Czech village into a butcher’s family. At the age of 6, Dvorak started taking violin lessons and it immediately became obvious that the boy had exceptional talent in music. Later in life, he was learning to master piano and organ as well as simultaneously working in a slaughterhouse. After Dvorak turned 16, he was admitted to the Organ School in Prague that trained future professional composers. After graduating, he stayed in Prague, joined Karel Komzak’s orchestra and started actively composing his own music. However, he struggled to make ends meet and always had to work on the side by playing music in churches and giving private music lessons. Finally, 1874 became a turning point in his life when he won a financial grant from an Austrian Prize competition for his 15 submitted works. This allowed him to quit the orchestra and devote himself fully to composing. During this period, he wrote his Slavonic Dances, Moravian Duets and Violin Concerto, which brought him sweeping success. In 1892 he was invited to teach at the New York National Conservatory, where he stayed until 1895 before returning home. He started teaching at the Prague conservatory and later became its director. Until his death in 1904, he had been a successful and well-loved composer, both in his homeland and around the whole world.

Georg Friedrich Händel

An English subject with German origins, Georg Handel was truly a musical pioneer, combining musical traditions of English, Italian and German composers. He was born in 1685 in Halle, Germany, into a very religious and conservative family. His father was dreaming for his son to become a lawyer and would not let young Georg play musical instruments at home. But the Duke Johann Adolf accidentally heard him playing in the chapel and convinced Georg's father to let his son receive a musical education. Thus, Handel became a pupil of the famous organ player and composer Friedrich Zachow. The first success came to Handel in 1705 when he moved to Hamburg and staged his two premiere operas, Almira and Nero, in the Oper am Gänsemarkt. Almira immediately became a highlight of the theatre and was performed around 20 times. Later next year Handel moved to Italy were he received high acclaim and was put on the same level as renowned Italian composers of the time. In 1710 Handel travelled to London where later he decided to settle down. There he wrote a sacred choral piece "Te Deum" that was played in St. Paul´s Cathedral at the ceremony devoted to signing the Utrecht Treaty. From that moment onwards he became the leading composer of England, as the country did not have any native prominent composers. His oeuvre was mainly focused on operas, but by 1730 the genre of Italian opera ceased to be popular and Handel´s success dwindled. During the last years of his life until his death in 1759 he was mainly composing oratorias, including his famous and magnificent Messiah.

Johann Sebastian Bach

The name Bach and the word musician had long been synonyms in Germany as the world saw 56 musicians from this kin. But it was Johann Sebastian Bach, a genius composer and virtuoso organ player, who shed lustre on his family name. He was born on th 31st of March 1685 in Eisenach, a small town in Thuringia. At the age of 10 he became an orphan and was brought up by his elder brother Johann Christoph, who was an organist in a neighbouring town. His brother was the one to teach music to the young Johann Sebastian. Later he moved to Luneburg where he attended a church school and mastered the techniques of playing violin, viola, piano and organ by the age of 17. Besides that, Bach was a choir singer and later after his voice broke he became a chanter’s assistant. In 1703 Bach was hired as a court musician in the chapel of Duke Johann Ernst III. He earned such a good reputation there that he was later invited to Arnstadt to be an organist at the New Church, where he wrote his best organ works. In 1723 he moved to Leipzig to be a chantor at St. Thomas Church where he stayed until his death of a stroke in 1750. In the year of his death he had undergone unsuccessful eye surgery which lead him to lose his eyesight. During that strenuous time his second wife Anna Magdalena helped him to write his last musical pieces. Bach’s artistic legacy is vast. He created compositions in all genres of the time: oratorias, cantatas, masses, motets, music for organ, piano and violin.

Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi went down in history as a creator of the instrumental concert genre and the father of orchestral music. He was born in Venice on the 4th of March 1678. Vivaldi was a weak and sickly child suffering from asthma, however could not stop him from devoting himself completely to music. His father, Giovanni Batista a professional violinist, taught his elder son Antonio to play the violin. With his father young Antonio met the best musicians of Venice of that time and gave concerts in local churches. He also worked as a violin teacher and later as a music director at the orphanage Ospedalle della Pieta. Meanwhile he composed concertos, sacred works and vocal music and in 1713 he achieved great recognition with his sacred choral music. Vivaldi got captivated by the world of opera and worked both as opera composer and impresario at the Teatro San Angelo. In 1717 he obtained a prestigious position by the prince court in Manua as a director of secular music and worked there until around 1720. During that time he composed his world-renowned masterpiece The Four Seasons. In the 1730's his career dwindled as his music became unfashionable and the great composer died in poverty. It took the world two centuries to rediscover and reevaluate Vivaldi’s music, as it was buried into oblivion after his death. In the early 20th century many previously unknown works were found and immediately captured the hearts of the music lovers.

Johann Pachelbel

Johann Pachelbel was a German composer and organist of the late 17th century. He is well know for bringing the South German organ at its peak. In fact, he was considered one of the greatest composer of the middle Baroque era for his sacred, secular, chorale and fugue music. Today, he is best known for the Canon in D, as well as the Chaconne in F minor and the Toccata in E minor for organ. Furthermore, his music can be defined as uncomplicated, lucid, that explores many variations of form and techniques as well as instrumental combinations.

Johann Strauss

Johann Strauss Jr., also known as the king of waltz, is the most famous Austrian composer of dance music and operettas. He was born in 1825 in Vienna’s suburbs. Even though his father, Johann Strauss I, was a respected composer, he was totally opposed to his son' secision to dedicate his life to music and wanted him to become a banker instead. Therefore, the boy had to learn to play the violin literally in secrecy. His tutor, Franz Amon, was actually the first violin player of his father’s orchestra. Meanwhile, the young Strauss went to the polytechnic college at his father’s request. In 1844 Johann Strauss Jr. formed his own small orchestra that performed in different casinos and restaurants. But his father, being very influential on the local musical scene, made a lot of effort to get his son’s orchestra banned from playing at popular locations and events. However, this could hardly stop the young Strauss from becoming a success in Austria. After his father’s death, Strauss merged both their orchestras and started touring Austria and nearby countries. He as well as his younger brothers ,who were also composers, basked in fame due to their dance music that sounded so modern and innovative back then. Johann Strauss also travelled to the United States where he beat the record by conducting an orchestra of 1000 people. Until his death in 1899, Strauss was extremely popular thanks to his light and lively music, full of blissfulness, zest for life and enjoyment. His works celebrate nature’s beauty, purl of water, gush of wind and wisper of tree leaves.