Otakar Hostinský
Otakar Hostinský was a Czech historian, musicologist, and professor of musical aesthetics. He is known primarily for his support of composer Bedřich Smetana and his contributions to Czech aesthetic theory, which influenced many cultural figures in early twentieth-century Prague, including Zdeněk Nejedlý, Otakar Zich, and Vladimír Helfert. He also wrote the opera librettos to Zdeněk Fibich's masterpiece, The Bride of Messina, and Josef Richard Rozkošný's Cinderella.
Biography
Born in Bohemia, Otakar Hostinský studied in Munich and Prague, obtaining his doctorate in 1869. Hostinský worked as a journalist and an editor before working as a tutor for noble families for a few years.In Prague, Hostinský was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, the Prague Conservatory, and the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design.
Hostinský taught musical aesthetics and musical history at Charles University, where he made significant contributions before his death in 1910.
Selected writings
Art and Nationality, 1869Wagnerianism and Czech National Identity, 1870On "Program" Music, 1873- , 1877
- , 1879On the Contemporary State and Direction of Czech Music, 1880On Czech Musical Declamation, 1882On Melodrama, 1885A Brief Overview of the History of Music, 1885On Artistic Realism, 1890
- , 1891Volkslied und Tanz der Slaven, 1893On Progress in Art, 1894On Folksong, 1897On Experimental Aesthetics, 1900B. Smetana and his Struggle for Modern Czech Music, 1901On the Socialization of Art, 1903Art and Society, 1907Czech Music, 1864-1904, 1909