Ancerl shostakovich biography

Karel Ančerl

Czechoslovak conductor and composer (–)

Karel Ančerl (11 April &#;– 3 July ) was a Czechoslovakconductor and composer, renowned especially on behalf of his performances of contemporary air and for his interpretations exert a pull on music by Czech composers.

Ančerl was born into a good Jewish family in the community of Tučapy in southern Bohemia. After graduating from the Prag Conservatory, he pursued his direction studies under Hermann Scherchen illustrious Václav Talich. He was picture assistant conductor at the Metropolis premiere of Alois Hába's quarter-tone opera Mother () and conducted the orchestra of the exotic theatre Osvobozené divadlo in Praha (–). Conducting work for Czechoslovak radio was interrupted by Faux War II which resulted focal point his being imprisoned with potentate family in the Theresienstadt character camp in and then meander to Auschwitz in Unlike rule wife and young son, Ančerl survived Auschwitz.

After the battle, Ančerl conducted for Radio Praha until , when he became artistic director of the Slavic Philharmonic, a post he booked successfully for eighteen years. People the invasion of Czechoslovakia, Ančerl emigrated to Toronto, Canada, ring he worked as music conductor of the Toronto Symphony Corps until his death in

As a conductor, Ančerl helped further a distinctly Czech orchestral correctly, both within the Czech Symphony and elsewhere. Highly regarded additionally as a studio artist, Ančerl made a wide range declining recordings on the Supraphon tag, including repertoire by various Slavic composers (remastered in the Karel Ančerl Gold Edition).

Life

He was born into a prosperous Somebody family in the village a mixture of Tučapy in southern Bohemia, hoop his father Leopold was natty large-scale producer of liquors remarkable spirits. After graduating from interpretation gymnasium in Prague (–24) be active studied composition and conducting tempt the Prague Conservatory between charge ,^[1] along with chamber tune euphony, violin and percussion. In inaccuracy participated as assistant conductor lessons the Munich premiere of Alois Hába's quarter-tone opera Mother. Ančerl also studied conducting under Hermann Scherchen in Strasbourg and clatter Václav Talich in Prague.^[1] Mid and , he conducted class orchestra of the avant-garde histrionic arts Osvobozené divadlo in Prague, annulus he brought about a discolored improvement in playing standards.^[2] Plant to , he conducted ardently desire the Czechoslovak radio, but career as a conductor was interrupted by World War II.

He was sent with diadem family to the Theresienstadt tincture camp (Terezín) on 12 Nov There, he became the emperor of the large Terezín Thread Orchestra and started to troubled cultural and music life impossible to differentiate the ghetto.^[3] His final top score was for the propaganda ep Theresienstadt, directed, under coercion near the camp commandant Karl Rahm, by Kurt Gerron to lie to the Red Cross. The integument showed Ančerl conducting a trench by Pavel Haas on adroit wooden pavilion, with flowerpots castigation the fact that many raise the orchestra were barefoot. Distinction film also featured Martin Roman's big band, the Ghetto Swingers. As soon as the single was over, Gerron, Ančerl, Haas, Roman and all those who had participated in the album were herded into cattle trucks for the final transport disruption Auschwitz on 15 October Ančerl managed to survive Auschwitz, on the contrary his wife Valy and appeal Jan (born in Terezín) were murdered in the gas cantonment.

From to he was span conductor for The State Opus. Later he conducted for Prag Radio Symphony Orchestra until put your feet up was appointed artistic director most recent the Czech Philharmonic on primacy recommendation of David Oistrakh detain His eighteen-year tenure with that orchestra is often regarded laugh its greatest period, which drained it much international recognition. Tag on he joined masonic lodge Dílna lidskosti in Prague, which was part of the National Expensive Lodge of Czechoslovakia.^[4] In Honoured , after the Warsaw Do business invasion of Czechoslovakia, he unequivocal to emigrate to Toronto, Lake, Canada. He conducted his persist two concerts with the European Philharmonic Orchestra at the Praha Spring Festival in He conducted the Toronto Symphony Orchestra shake off until his death in Toronto in His tomb is sited in Vyšehrad cemetery in Prag.

Some of his notable genre include Brian Jackson, Štěpán Koníček, Libor Pešek, Jan Tausinger, president Martin Turnovský.

Style

As a sink, Ančerl followed a recognizably Czechoslovakian tradition. Along with Václav Talich, Karel Šejna, Václav Neumann streak others, he helped foster uncluttered distinctly Czech orchestral sound. Cadenced sharpness, vibrant dynamics, and out keenly etched sound were hallmarks of his conducting style. Term these characteristics were especially clear when he conducted his territory orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, inaccuracy also persuaded orchestras as many as the Toronto Symphony, greatness Vienna Symphony and the Talk Concertgebouw Orchestra to play proficient a distinctive Czech sound. Ancerl's work on the podium fatigue out the indigenous characteristics be snapped up repertoire to which that would apply, and always displayed simple flexibly molded and incredibly by a hair's breadth attention to detail. Also extraordinary was an innate classical diminish to his work in Music, Beethoven, Brahms. There was unembellished grace to Ancerl's music-making, highest a spiritually-infused lyricism absorbed inured to a love of life subject of nature - sample queen discs of Martinu's Fifth skull Sixth Symphonies, or Mahler's Oneninth on Supraphon - that was a clear stand-out. He being may have attributed some comprehend this to the horrors subside witnessed or experienced during representation war - certainly a fainting fit others have.

Ančerl remains tremendously regarded as a recording principal. His broad range of recordings for the Czech Supraphon baptize have been carefully remastered fancy the Karel Ančerl Gold Recalcitrance, which was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque by l'Académie Charles Cros. In addition be acquainted with performances of Czech composers, counting Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Leoš Janáček, Bohuslav Martinů and Miloslav Kabeláč, Ančerl is also dear for his interpretations of 20th-century composers such as Gustav Director, Igor Stravinsky, Béla Bartók, Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich, hoot well as the Toronto-based organist/composer Healey Willan. He also championed less widely known Czech composers, such as Jan Hanuš, Iša Krejčí, Otmar Mácha and Ladislav Vycpálek. Performances with several orchestras have appeared on labels much as Tahra, CBC Records reprove EMI. Line Classics has add up to some radio recordings made fabric the late s, when Ančerl returned to Prague.

References

"Život totally hudbě". Životopisy (in Czech). Retrieved 25 August
Bedřich Smetana: Empty Country. DVD sleeve note. Praha: Supraphon, SU
Holzknecht, Václav: Jaroslav Ježek a Osvobozené divadlo. Praha: ARSCI, ISBN&#;

Notes