Václav Tomášek

Václav Jan Křtitel Tomášek, in German Johann Wenzel Tomaschek (April 17, 1774, Skuteč – April 3, 1850, Prague) was a Czech composer and music teacher.

Life

As a pianist, he was an autodidact, becoming one of the most important piano teachers of Prague for a century. Till 1824 he worked as a piano teacher in aristocratic families. Afterwards he created a considerable school of music; among its most well-known pupils were Voříšek, Alexander Dreyschock and E. Hanslick. Tomášek made acquaintances with Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, whose poems he set. His autobiography was published in German, as well as in the Czech translation. He lived at number 15 Tomášská Street in Prague - the building bears a memorial plaque to him in Czech and German.

Style

Tomášek exclusively wrote for the piano and became a forerunner of the lyric piece of piano, which later found its completion in Franz Schubert. At first he created compositions rather in the Classical style, later was influenced by the newly born Romanticism. The important part of his oeuvre represent also songs. Besides songs to the Goethe's German poems he composed also songs to the patriotic lyrics of Czech authors. He composed short pieces for glass harp and organ, and works for choir.

Selected works

Piano:
*"Six sonaten"
*Eclogues (7 parts, 1807-1823)
*"Rhapsodies" (3 parts, 1810-cca 1840)
*"Dithyrambs" (1818) Chamber:
*"Grand trio for violin, viola and piano" (1800)
*"Contrapunctal string quartet" (1805)

Orchestral:
*"Symphony in C major" (1801)
*"Symphony in E-flat major" (1805)
*"Symphony in D major" (1807)
*"two piano concertos"

Songs:
*"Lenora" (ballad, 1805)
*"Six songs" (1813)
*"Songs to the Goethe's poems" (1815)

Operas:
*"Seraphine" (1811)
*"Alvaro"

References

*Jaroslav Smolka (ed.):"Malá encyklopedie hudby". Prague: Edition Supraphon, 1983.

External links

*