Oskar Nedbal


Image:Oskar Nedbal.jpg|right|thumb|Oskar Nedbal, 1901, portrait by Šechtl and Voseček studios
Oskar Nedbal was a Czech violist, composer and conductor of classical music.

Early life

Nedbal was born in Tábor in Bohemia, Austria-Hungary. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Bennewitz, theory under and, and composition with Antonín Dvořák.

Career

In 1891 he founded the Bohemian String Quartet, later known as the Czech Quartet, which disbanded in 1933. The original members, alongside Nedbal on viola, were Karel Hoffmann, Josef Suk and.
He was principal conductor with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra from 1896 to 1906. From 1907 until 1917 he lived in Vienna and conducted the Wiener Tonkünstler-Orchester.
A great admirer of his teacher Antonín Dvořák, Nedbal also paid homage to other composers. For example, in his 1910 composition, Romantic Piece, Op. 18 for cello and piano, Nedbal cleverly inserts a theme usually associated with Mozart, Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman.
His works include one opera, Jakob the Peasant, and the operettas Chaste Barbara, Polenblut, The Vineyard Bride, and Beautiful Saskia. Polenblut was adapted by Edgar Smith into the English-language operetta The Peasant Girl which played on Broadway in 1915.
From 1923 he was the general director of the Bratislava National Opera. In 1926 he conducted the premiere of Jan Levoslav Bella's opera, Wieland der Schmied in Bratislava.

Death and legacy

Because of mounting personal debts, Nedbal committed suicide by jumping out of a window of the National Theatre in Zagreb|Zagreb Opera House] on 24 December 1930.
In recent years, Nedbal's haunting Valse Triste featured in his ballet Der Faule Hans has been a favorite stand-alone encore piece of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. The waltz is also played on the piano at a key moment by one of the characters in Heimito von Doderer's novel of the inter-war years in Vienna, The Demons .
Since 2019, the Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition has commemorated Nedbal's name.

Selected works

;OperaSedlák Jakub ; libretto by L. Novák after Lope de Vega; premiere performance 13 October 1922 in Brno
;OperettasCudná Barbora, Operetta in 3 acts ; libretto by Rudolf Bernauer, and V. Stech; premiere performance 14 September 1910, Vinohrady Theatre, PraguePolská krev, Operetta in 3 acts ; libretto by Leo Stein; premiere performance 25 October 1913, Carltheater, ViennaVinobraní, Operetta in 3 acts ; libretto by Leo Stein and ; premiere performance 11 February 1916, Theater an der Wien, ViennaKrásná Saskia, Operetta in 3 acts ; libretto by A. M. Willner and ; premiere performance 16 November 1917, Carltheater, ViennaEriwan, Operetta in 3 acts ; libretto by ; premiere performance 29 November 1918, Komödienhaus, ViennaMamselle Napoleon, Operetta in 1 act ; libretto by Emil Gölz and Arnold Gölz; premiere performance 21 January 1919, Die Hölle, ViennaDonna Gloria, Operetta in 3 acts ; libretto by Viktor Léon and Heinz Reichert; premiere performance 30 December 1925, Carltheater, ViennaDas Dorf ohne Männer, Operetta in 1 act Die Erntebraut; revision of Polská krev with a German libretto by Hermann Hermecke; premiere performance 1942, Admiralspalast, BerlinPodzimní píseň ; revision of Vinobraní with Czech libretto by Václav Špilar and Václav Mírovský; premiere performance 24 October 1930, Velká opereta, Prague
;BalletsPohádka o Honzovi, Ballet-Pantomime in 5 scenes ; libretto by František Karel Hejda; premiere performance 24 January 1902, National Theatre, PragueZ pohádky do pohádky ; libretto by Ladislav Novák; premiere performance 25 January 1908, National Theatre, PraguePrincezna Hyacinta ; libretto by Ladislav Novák; premiere performance 1 September 1911, National Theatre, PragueČertova babička, Ballet-Pantomime in 3 scenes ; libretto by Karl van Zeska and Gertrude Stöhr; premiere performance 20 April 1912, Wiener Hofoper, ViennaAndersen, Fairy Tale Ballet in 7 scenes, a prologue and an epilogue ; libretto by Ladislav Novák and Jaroslav Kvapil; premiere performance 1 March 1914, Ronacher, ViennaPevec lásky ; libretto by Ladislav Novák; premiere performance 9 April 1921 in Vienna Cikánské kouzlo ; libretto by V. Stech Tajna; libretto by C. Sylva
;Incidental musicDie Hermannsschlacht, Music for the play by Heinrich von Kleist ; premiere performance 10 December 1914, Burgtheater, Vienna
;OrchestralSlavnostní pochod, Op. 3 Scherzo caprice in G major, Op. 5 Suite mignonne; orchestration of the piano work Aus dem Kinderleben, Op. 15Unie, Festival March Česká polka for string orchestra
;ConcertanteRomance et sérénade for violin and piano, Op. 6 Romance for cello and orchestra
;Chamber musicRomance et sérénade for violin and piano, Op. 6
  • Sonata in B minor for violin and piano, Op. 9 Dvě skladby for cello and piano, Op. 12 Valse triste in G minor for string quartet ; from the ballet Pohádka o HonzoviRomantický kus in D major for cello and piano, Op. 18
  • Sonata in D major for violin and piano
  • Fugue in D major for string quartetProsba for 3 violinsRomance for clarinet
;PianoVariace na thema Antonína Dvořáka, Op. 1Lettres intimes, 3 Pieces, Op. 7 Čtyři kusy, Op. 8 Silhouette, Op. 10 Humoreska in G major Aus vergangenen Zeiten, Op. 13 ; An orchestral version also exists in manuscript form.Z dětského života, Suite, Op. 15; orchestrated as Suite mignonne Pohádka o smuku a štěstí, Op. 16 Valses silhouettes, Op. 17
  • Sonata in D major Humoreske en do majeur sur un thème de Dvořák Reisebildchen Weihnachtsstimmung Preludium
; Vocal4 písně for voice and piano, Op. 2 4 písně for voice and piano, Op. 4 4 písně for voice and piano, Op. 11 ; words by Josef Václav SládekPíseň pro nová srdce Militär und Volkslieder; words by Karel Dostál-Lutinov and Hornoff
;Film scoresSaint Wenceslas ; directed by Jan Stanislav Kolár