Václav Jan Tomášek (1774-1850) - Symfonie D-Dur (1807)
Performers: Dvοřák Chamber Orchestra; Vladimir Válеk (1935-2025, conductor)
Painting: Borrosch & André, 1841 - Hradschin, Kleinseite. Altstädter Brückenthurm. Ansicht von Südost (Praga)
Further info: Vranicky - Tomasek: Symphonies
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Bohemian composer and teacher. The thirteenth child in the family of a
weaver and burgher, Jakub Tomášek, he acquired the rudiments of music
(in violin and singing) under the local choirmaster in Chrudim. At the
age of twelve he became a vocalist at the Minorite monastery in Jihlava,
where he also studied music theory and organ. In 1790 he left for
Prague, where he completed gymnasium and went on to earn a degree in
law. At university he also studied mathematics, history, and aesthetics.
While still at gymnasium he conscientiously studied music on his own.
Obtaining both new and old books on piano and composition, he continued
to work diligently at his music, so that by 1796 he was already famous
in Prague as a virtuoso of the piano. In 1806, with a number of
successful compositions behind him, he was taken on as a music teacher
and composer by Count Georg Franz Buquoy. Tomášek was thus financially
secure for the next sixteen years, and was able to concentrate on his
music. The position, on the other hand, also had its disadvantages, for
had he been forced to make a living as a touring virtuoso, say, he would
undoubtedly have met with a number of inspirations. In 1824, he founded
his own conservatory in Prague, and successfully competed in piano and
composition instruction with the established Prague conservatories and
organ schools. Among his important pupils were Jan Václav Hugo Voříšek,
Josef Dessauer, and Alexander Dreyschock. As a composer, he wrote in all
forms, from song to chamber and orchestral works, choral music,
cantata, opera, and church music. He started from the Viennese
Classicism, but was influenced by early Romanticism as well. This is
most evident in his songs and in particular his piano compositions. He
was the dominant musical figure in Prague during the first half of the
19th century. His influence was spread throughout Europe by his many
students and through his many widely distributed songs and his piano
music.
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