František Drdla
František Alois Drdla was a Czech concert violinist and composer of light music.
Biography
Drdla was born in 1868 in Žďár nad Sázavou in Moravia, Austria-Hungary. He studied violin and composition first at the Prague Conservatory and later at the Vienna Conservatory where his teachers were Joseph Hellmesberger Jr. for violin, Anton Bruckner for music theory and Franz Krenn for composition. However, Drdla's music shows none of his teachers' influences. From 1890 to 1893 he played violin in the orchestra of the Vienna Court Opera, and from 1894 to 1899 he pursued his career as the director and concertmaster of the Theater an der Wien. By then a well-known concert violinist, Drdla toured throughout Europe and later the United States. Drdla enjoyed a good reputation as a violinist with a technically refined tone. In 1927 he received an honorary title from the President of Austria. Drdla died in Bad Gastein, Austria on 3 September 1944.
Although he composed three operettas, a violin concerto, several orchestral works and two piano trios, international fame came to Drdla as a result of composing lighter music in the late romantic style. These works generally mixed popular Bohemian or Hungarian melodies and presented them à la viennoise. Among the best known of such works are Souvenir, Vision and Hey, Hay! written for violin with piano. Hey, Hay! became popular in more than a dozen different versions including those for orchestra, piano quintet, and string quartet. Drdla's compositions were popularized by violinists Jan Kubelík, Marie Hall, Mischa Elman, Joseph Szigeti, Váša Příhoda and others.
Selected works
Operetta
Zlatá síť Komtesa z prodejny, operetta in 3 acts Bohyně lásky, operetta burlesque in 3 acts ; revision of ''Zlatá síť''
Orchestra
Op. 134 – J'y Pense for orchestra, piano and harmonium
Concertante
Op. 245 – Violin Concerto in D minor for violin and orchestra
Chamber music
Op. 200 – Duo Concertante for violin, cello and piano Op. 240 – Piano Trio in G minor Op. 243 – Agnus Dei for voice, violin and piano
Violin and piano
Serenade No.1 in A major for violin and piano Serenade No.2 in E major for violin and piano Romanze in A major for violin and piano Souvenir in D major for violin and piano Op. 19 – Polonaise in G major for violin and piano Op. 21 – Träumerei in D major for violin and piano Op. 22 – Mazurka No.1 in G major for violin and piano Op. 23 – Mazurka No.2 in G major for violin and piano Op. 24 – Mazurka No.3 in A major for violin and piano Op. 25 – Madrigale in A major for violin and piano Op. 26 – Mélodie in F major and Au printemps in B major for violin and piano Op. 27 – Dialogue in G major and Tarantelle in D major for violin and piano Op. 28 – Vision in E major for violin and piano Op. 29 – Le Songe in D major for violin and pianoOp. 30 – 8 Ungarische Tänze for violin and piano Op. 31 – Chant d’amour, Valse chanson in D major for violin and piano Op. 32 – Ivresse in F major for violin and piano Op. 33 – Berceuse, Intermezzo in C major for violin and piano Op. 34 – Méditation in C major, Ballade in G minor, Au soir in F major and Lenorka in G major for violin and piano Op. 35 – Danse des sorcières in G major for violin and piano Op. 36 – Idylle in A major for violin and pianoOp. 37 – Rêverie in E major, Frühlings-Serenade in A major and Feu follet in D major for violin and pianoOp. 40 – Fantasie for violin and piano Op. 41 – Polichinelle for violin and piano Op. 42 – Waltz-Serenade in C major for violin and piano Op. 42 – Tarantella for 2 violins and piano Op. 43 – Chanson joyeuse in D major for violin and pianoOp. 46 – Tendresse for violin and piano Op. 47 – Causerie for violin and piano Op. 48 – Illusion in G major for violin and piano Op. 50 – Danse gracieuse in G major for violin and pianoOp. 51 – Intermezzo, Waltz in G major for violin and piano Op. 52 – Capriccio for violin and piano Op. 54 – Rococo in E major for violin and piano Op. 55 – Rezinka in D major for violin and pianoOp. 56 – Berceuse for violin and piano Op. 57 – Ritornell in D major for violin and piano Op. 61 – Marche triomphale and Tarantelle for violin and piano Op. 62 – Scherzando for violin and piano Op. 65 – Poëme for violin and piano Op. 66 – Fantasie über 'Carmen' von Bizet for violin and piano Op. 67 – Canzonetta in B major for violin and piano Op. 70 – Chant de la Fileuse in G major for violin and pianoOp. 71 – Aubade d'été, Humoresque in F major for violin and piano Op. 73 – Fantasie über 'Hoffmanns Erzählungen' von Offenbach for violin and piano Op. 81 – Menuet in G major for violin and piano Op. 84 – Legende in A major for violin and piano Op. 86 – Novellette for violin and piano Op. 88 – Guitarrero for violin and piano Op. 90 – Colombine, Gavotte for violin and piano Op. 92 – La poupée, Menuet in G major for violin and piano Op. 93 – Temps passés for violin and piano Op. 95 – Aus der Heimat, Böhmische Volksweisen for violin and piano Op. 98 – Zwiegespräche for 2 violins and piano Op. 99 – Nocturne for violin and piano Op. 108 – Romance BergèreOp. 111 – Ariel for violin and piano Op. 112 – Tarantelle for violin and piano Op. 125 – The Hummingbird for violin and piano Op. 127 – 4 kleine Vortragstücke ; includes: Rain of Blossoms, Night WindsOp. 131 – Otázka for violin and piano Op. 132 – PerpetuoOp. 142 – Fantasie nach Motiven der Oper 'Die verkaufte Braut' von Smetana Op. 154 – Bilder aus Ungarn, 5 Hungarian Folksongs for violin and piano Op. 180 – Graziella for violin and piano Op. 182 – Le trouvère for violin and piano Op. 183 – Notturno for violin and piano Op. 184 – D'automne for violin and piano Op. 186 – Pierette for violin and piano Op. 187 – Wiener Walzer Op. 189 – Ráno for violin and piano Op. 191 – Tarantella Op. 196 – Pagoda and Springbrunnen for violin and piano Op. 197 – Katinka, Mazurka caractéristique for violin and piano Op. 199 – Danse espagnole for violin and piano Op. 201 – Lybellentanz and Sylvan Dance for violin and piano Op. 225 – Concertino in A minor for violin and piano Op. 226 – Alt-Wien in A major for violin and piano Op. 228 – Sehnsucht for violin and pianoOp. 233 – Die Libelle in D major for violin and piano