Josef Richard Rozkošný

Josef Richard Rozkošný (21 September 1833 – 3 June 1913) was a Czech composer and pianist.[1]

Life

Rozkošný was born on 21 September 1833 in Prague. He studied at a gymnasium, but he also took piano lessons and later studied composition privately with Jan Bedřich Kittl. Although his main occupation was as a bank clerk, he also devoted his entire life to music. From 1869 to 1875, he was the choirmaster of the Lumír singing association in Prague. In 1871–1873 and 1883–1889, he was the chairman of the music department of Umělecká beseda. He also edited the music magazine Hudební listy. In 1897, he was elected a member of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts. Towards the end of his life, he served on the committee of the Prague Conservatory. He died on 3 June 1913 in Prague.[2][3]

He is buried at the Olšany Cemetery in Prague.[4]

Works

Operas

  • Ave Maria, libretto by V. Trappl; unperformed, lost (1855 or 1856)
  • Mikuláš ('Saint Nicholas') 1870
  • St John's Rapids (Czech: Svatojanské proudy) (about the St John's Rapids on the Vltava), also called Vltavská víla (The Spirit of the Vltava) 1871
  • Záviš z Falkenštejna (about Záviš of Falkenstein, 1250–1290) 1877
  • Mladí pytláci (The Young Poachers) 1877, libretto by Jindřich Hanuš Böhm, unperformed, lost
  • Alchymista ('The Alchemist') 1880, libretto also by Böhm, also unperformed, lost
  • Popelka ('Cinderella') 1885
  • Krakonoš 1889
  • Stoja 1894
  • Satanela, also Satanella 1898
  • Černé jezero ('Black Lake') also Šumavská víla ('The Spirit of the Bohemian Forest') 1906
  • Rusalka (unfinished)

Selected recordings

References

  1. ^ Warrack, John; West, Ewan (1996). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. p. 111.
  2. ^ "Rozkošný, Josef Richard". Česká divadelní encyklopedie (in Czech). Retrieved 2025-11-06.
  3. ^ Rehrig, William H. (1991). "Rozkozny, Josef Richard (1833–1913)". In Bierley, Paul E. (ed.). The Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music: Composers and their Music.
  4. ^ "Naučná stezka Olšanské hřbitovy". Stezky.info (in Czech). Retrieved 2025-11-06.