Josef Slavík

Josef Slavík
Background information
Born(1806-03-26)26 March 1806
Jince, Bohemia, Austrian Empire
Died30 May 1833(1833-05-30) (aged 27)
Budapest, Bohemia, Austrian Empire
InstrumentViolin

Josef Slavík (also known as Josef Slawjk or Joseph Slawik; 26 March 1806 – 30 May 1833) was a Czech violin virtuoso and composer, who was expected by Viennese musical critics to become Paganini's successor after composing a supposedly unplayable Concerto in F-sharp minor and teaching himself to play Paganini's "La Campanella" after a single hearing.[1][circular reference]

Career

The first son of Barbora (born Krásová) and Antonín Slavík, teacher and musician, who started to teach Josef violin in the age of four.

Later on, he was a student of violin by Friedrich Wilhelm Pixis and music theory and composition by Friedrich Dionys Weber[2] at the Prague Conservatory.[3] Before leaving Prague, Slavík played his final concert. He went to Vienna in 1825 and became enjoyed critical success.[4] He was then a young man of nineteen, but already technically superior to other violinists that had been heard in the Austrian capital. The celebrated Mayseder called him a "second Lipinski".[5]

Frédéric Chopin who heard Slavík on several occasions described his skills as: "With the exception of Paganini, I have never heard a player like him. Ninety-six staccatos in one bow! It is almost incredible! He plays like a second Paganini, but a rejuvenated one, who will perhaps in time surpass the first. Slavík fascinates the listener and brings tears into his eyes... he makes humans weep, more he makes tigers weep."[6]

Franz Schubert composed two violin sonata-like pieces for Slavík and pianist Carl Maria von Bocklet: the Rondo in B minor, D 895 (1826), and the Fantasy in C major, D 934 (1827).[7]

His last performance was in 1833 in Vienna, immediately prior to a scheduled tour to Hungary. He was suffering from influenza and played while ill. Shortly after arriving in Budapest, the fever came back and Slavik died, at the age of 27.[8]

Works

  • Variations in E major (1820)
  • Violin Concerto No.1 in F-sharp minor (Conservatory graduation work, 1823)
  • "Caprice" in D major, for violin solo (1824)
  • "Grand-Potpourri" in E major, for Violin and Orchestra (1825/26)
  • "Rondino" for violin and piano (1826)
  • Violin concerto No.2 in A minor (orchestration Decledek, 1827)
  • Piano Polonese in D major (1828)
  • Variations "Il Pirata" (Vincenzo Bellini) on the G-String for Violin and Piano (1832)

References

  1. ^ "Josef Slavik". www.czechmusic.net. Retrieved 2020-03-10.
  2. ^ "Musik lexikon". Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  3. ^ Delphi Great Composers - Frédéric Chopin. Delphi Classics, 2018. 4 June 2018. ISBN 9781786561244. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  4. ^ Niecks 2018, pp. 165–166.
  5. ^ Niecks 2018, p. 152.
  6. ^ Walker, Dr Alan (2018-10-16). Fryderyk Chopin: A Life and Times. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-71437-6.
  7. ^ Richard Wigmore. Liner notes to Schubert: Complete works for violin and piano. Hyperion CDA67911/2, 2013. EAN 034571179117
  8. ^ Smolka, J., et al. (1983) Mala Encyklopedie Hudby, Supraphon

Sources

allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Slavik