František Kmoch
František Kmoch (born August 1, 1848 in Zásmuky near Kolín , Bohemia ; † April 30, 1912 in Kolín) was a Czech brass music composer and conductor .
Life
František Kmoch's father was a tailor and clarinetist who mainly performed folk music. As a child, his mother loved to sing him folk songs and František learned to play the violin . As a student at the age of 10, he began to compose small pieces. Kmoch played in a school quartet at the secondary school in Kolín. In 1868 he studied for a year at the teachers' college in Prague , in 1869 he became a teacher at a village school in Suchdol not far from Kolin. In addition to his teaching profession, he made music in various ensembles, taught private students, continued his education as a conductor and composed. In 1871 he founded his first ensemble in Kolin. At first it consisted of only eight musicians, but two years later it appeared in a larger cast as the "Sokol Wind Orchestra". Shortly afterwards he was appointed the town's conductor in Kolin and founded a music school that was affiliated with his orchestra.
In 1882 this music school was officially recognized by the state. Kmoch was later able to pay his musicians for the most part from their income. Otherwise they earned their living as tailors or butchers, for example, and some were also unemployed. It was characteristic of Kmoch's ensemble that his musicians could play on both wind and string instruments. It was often divided into smaller groups of musicians who could perform independently on various occasions across the country. The repertoire mainly included folk music, compositions by Kmoch, but also opera music by domestic and foreign composers such as Smetana and Dvořák .
In 1873 he was relieved of his teaching post because he allegedly neglected his teaching post, but in particular because he appeared with ensembles at balls. This was possibly for political reasons, as Kmoch did not hide his sympathies for the nationalist Sokol movement. He now moved to Kolin and became a professional musician.
Its first appearance in Prague in 1873, at the celebration of the 100th birthday of the linguist Josef Jungmann, was of great importance for the reputation of the brass band . After that, invitations to Prague and many other cities in the Kingdom of Bohemia and Moravia were inundated. Often it was about trips and celebrations of associations of the Sokol or balls. Further trips took him to Vienna , Budapest , Krakow and a long three-month trip to the All-Russian Industrial and Crafts Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod
Around 1900 Kmoch's orchestra had around 60 to 70 permanent members with an additional around 20 free musicians. Various cities, including Prague, offered him the opportunity to become the conductor of their respective municipal wind orchestras. Kmoch preferred to stay in Kolín, but as a guest he gladly accepted invitations. But he never wanted to travel to America.
Private Kmoch was married to Josefa Kahslová, the daughter of a locksmith from Kolín. The marriage resulted in five daughters. Kmoch directed his orchestra with great dedication for 40 years, which ultimately had an impact on his health. From his 60th birthday he lost his eyesight and hearing relatively quickly, and there were also heart problems. On April 30, 1912, the Czech "King of the March", as he is often referred to, died at the age of 64.
Honors
Out of gratitude, the city of Kolín has been organizing the “Kmochs Kolín” ( Kmochův Kolín ) brass music festival every year since 1961 , which attracts excellent brass bands from all over Europe over three days. There is a sculpture with the image of František Kmoch in the Kolín City Park. The Elbe island of Kmochův is named after him, and one of the city's wind bands bears his name. A biographical film about Kmoch called He Was a Czech Musician was also made. There is also an operetta called So lived and played Kmoch . In 1998, on the 150th anniversary of his birth, a 200 crown silver coin was issued by the Czech National Bank .
Characteristics and style
In response to the military marches of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he wrote marches that were deeply rooted in Czech tradition, folklore and folk music . The trio of his marches was almost invariably lined with lyrics that were sung either by the musicians or choirs and a little later by the whole people. It was controversial that Kmoch rearranged several Czech folk songs as marches. For example the well-known folk song "Andulka šafářova", which became known under the German title "Andulka March". On the one hand they were falsified, on the other hand they became all the more popular and well-known due to the marching rhythm. The preservation of the Czech songs was always very important to him. The texts were an important form of the development of national consciousness.
plant
After Julius Fučík, Kmoch is considered to be the most popular march composer in his country. His oeuvre includes around 500 works, of which, however, a not inconsiderable part is considered lost. At the beginning of the 1990s, around fifty of the original scores that were believed to be lost surprisingly reappeared.
Works for wind orchestra
- Andulko šafářová (= Andulka March), march
- Brass music plays
- Bride show - polka , polka
- Česka muzika , march
- Dechovka hraje
- This music, yes, I like it
- Duo pro dvě trubky (= duet for two trumpets)
- Festivalový pochod (= festival march), march
- Hoj, Mařenko! , March
- Jarabáček , march
- Jara mládí (= child of spring), march
- Kolíne, Kolíne (= My beautiful homeland), March: Koline, Koline, stojíš v pěkné rovině (Kolin, Kolin, you are lying on a beautiful plain ...)
- Letem světem (= flight through the world)
- Měsíček svítí , march
- Milý sen , concert waltz
- Můj koníček (= my hobby horse), march
- Moje krásná vlast (= My beautiful home)
- Muziky, muziky (= music, music), march
- Na motoru (= the motorcycle, gallop), gallop
- Well hrazdě
- Na střibropěnném Labi
- Nad Labem (= on the Elbe), march
- Návštěva ve Vídni (= visit to Vienna), concert polka
- Plzeňský pochod (= Pilsener March, greeting to Pilsen), march
- Pochod Havličkův , March
- Po starodávnu
- Pod našima okny
- Pode mlejnem (= under the mill, by the mill, hours that you never forget), march
- Překrásná Praho
- Romance pro křídlovku (= romance for flugelhorn)
- Rozmarná , polka
- Roztomilá
- Šly panenky silnicí
- Sokol nazdar!
- Sokolský den
- Vraný koně , march
- Vy Hvězdičky
- Vždy milá
- Za sokolským praporem
- Zastaveníčko
- Zelení Hájove! , March
- Zlatá Praha (= Beautiful Prague, Golden Prague, Prague Greetings), march
literature
- Jan Kapusta: Dechové kapely, pochod a František Kmoch . Supraphon, Prague 1974.
- Jan Kapusta: Pochod v Čechách a František Kmoch . In: Hudební věda 6, 1969, ISSN 0018-7003 , pp. 172-191.
- Karel K. Chvalovský: František Kmoch. Život ceského muzikanta a vlastence . Panton, Prague 1971.
- Karel K. Chvalovský (ed.): Sto let Městské hudby Františka Kmocha v Kolíně. Almanac k jubileu let 1872–1972 . Středočeské nakladatelství a knihkupectví, Prague 1974.
Web links
- Literature and other media by and about František Kmoch in the catalog of the National Library of the Czech Republic
- Works by and about František Kmoch in the catalog of the German National Library
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Kmoch, František |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Czech composer and conductor |
DATE OF BIRTH | August 1, 1848 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Zásmuky , Czech Republic |
DATE OF DEATH | April 30, 1912 |
Place of death | Kolín , Czech Republic |