{"id":539,"date":"2007-03-09T01:01:19","date_gmt":"2007-03-09T06:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/s265039441.onlinehome.us\/philpaine\/?p=539"},"modified":"2018-08-19T05:18:17","modified_gmt":"2018-08-19T09:18:17","slug":"josef-bohuslav-foerster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.philpaine.com\/?p=539","title":{"rendered":"Josef Bohuslav Foerster"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"07-03-09<\/a>Foer\u00adster (1859\u20131951), a con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary of Jan\u00e1\u010dek, does not share his fame out\u00adside of the Czech Repub\u00adlic. His long life encom\u00adpassed every\u00adthing from the pomp and waltzes of Franz Josef\u2019s Rak\u00adousko-Uher\u00adsko Empire to the begin\u00adnings of the Com\u00admu\u00adnist regime. He was a close friend of Mahler and of Tchaikovsky. His oeu\u00advre includes five sym\u00adphonies and five operas, as well as litur\u00adgi\u00adcal and cham\u00adber music. You can hear some sam\u00adples of his work in a brief arti\u00adcle on the Radio Prague web\u00adsite<\/a><\/u><\/span>. Like his friend Mahler, Foerster\u2019s life was haunt\u00aded by the deaths of friends, fam\u00adily, and a child. He sought solace in his Catholic faith, and was instru\u00admen\u00adtal in reviv\u00ading the old Slavon\u00adic mass.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>All I have to rep\u00adre\u00adsent him, in my col\u00adlec\u00adtion, is his Fourth Sym\u00adphony in C minor, Op.54, sub\u00adti\u00adtled \u201cEast\u00ader\u201d. It cer\u00adtainly shows a mas\u00adtery of the orches\u00adtra. His influ\u00adences are obvi\u00adous, and in a curi\u00adously chrono\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal sequence. The first move\u00adment sounds like Schu\u00adbert, the two mid\u00addle ones are very Dvo\u0159\u00e1k, and the last one dis\u00adtinctly Mahleresque. But the sym\u00adphony is no mere pas\u00adtiche or imi\u00adta\u00adtion. The rich poly\u00adphonic tex\u00adture is etched out with a small orches\u00adtra, each instru\u00adment giv\u00aden a clear and dis\u00adtinct role. It is deeply emo\u00adtional music, drift\u00ading effort\u00adlessly between lyri\u00adcal nos\u00adtal\u00adgia and tragedy. All these qual\u00adi\u00adties are hall\u00admarks of Czech music, and it is remark\u00adable to me that he remains obscure in the Eng\u00adlish-speak\u00ading world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adden\u00addum, added June 14, 2007<\/strong>: While in Prague, I picked up a vinyl of two piano trios by Foer\u00adster, one in F Minor, Op.8, and one in B, Op.38. They are fine pieces, and con\u00adfirm my impres\u00adsion that he deserves more seri\u00adous lis\u00adten\u00ading out\u00adside of his home\u00adland. Both of the trios have very del\u00adi\u00adcate feel\u00adings, and fine melodies, though the lat\u00ader one is notice\u00adably more melan\u00adcholy. Has any com\u00adpose ever got\u00adten more cheer\u00adful with age? Per\u00adhaps Ralph Vaugh\u00adan Williams.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Foer\u00adster (1859\u20131951), a con\u00adtem\u00adpo\u00adrary of Jan\u00e1\u010dek, does not share his fame out\u00adside of the Czech Repub\u00adlic. His long life encom\u00adpassed every\u00adthing from the pomp and waltzes of Franz Josef\u2019s Rak\u00adousko-Uher\u00adsko Empire to the begin\u00adnings of the Com\u00admu\u00adnist regime. He was \u2026<\/p>\n

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