Vítězslav Novák

Vítězslav Novák (1870–1949) was a Czech composer and pedagogue. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important example of Czech modernism. Novák was born in Kamenice nad Lipou, a small town in Southern Bohemia. In his late teens, he moved to Prague to study at Prague Conservatory, changing his name to Vítězslav to identify more closely with his Czech identity, as many of those of his generation had already done. At the conservatory, he studied piano and attended Antonín Dvořák's masterclasses in composition where his fellow students included Josef Suk, Oskar Nedbal, and Rudolf Karel. When Dvořák departed for his three-year stay in America (1892–1895), Novák continued his studies with the ultra-conservative Karel Stecker. However, just before and after 1900, shortly after his graduation, Novák wrote a series of compositions that put distance between himself and the teachings of both Stecker and Dvořák, edging his style toward the fledgling modernist movement. Shortly after the turn of the century, Novák began teaching composition privately in Prague. From 1909 to 1920, he taught at the Prague Conservatory himself, and this occasionally occupied him to a greater degree than composing. From 1901 to 1917, his apartment hosted a discussion group known as the Podskalská filharmonie. While most of its members were musicians, including Suk, Karel, and the conductor Václav Talich, performances were confined to readings of new modernist works from abroad and the group's goals were primarily intellectual; the Filharmonie served, however, as an important place for this group of Czech modernists to share their ideas. In the 1930s, Novák went through a period of artistic renewal with the premieres of some large-scale compositions. After the collapse of democracy and the subsequent Nazi protectorate in 1939, Novák, then retired, gained credibility among his younger Czech contemporaries through the performance of several patriotic and morale-boosting works, meant as a musical form of resistance. After the Second World War, he wrote a lengthy memoir, entitled O sobě a jiných, in which he aired many of his long-standing grudges, especially toward his main rival, Otakar Ostrčil, but also even his close friend Josef Suk. Novák’s works include four operas, two ballets, and several symphonic poems such as In the Tatra Mountains, Pan, and De Profundis, two symphonies, and one Piano concerto. He also composed chamber works, songs, and choral works.