Hostinský, Otakar (EN)

Hostinský Otakar, *2 January 1847 Martiněves, †19 January 1910 Prague, Czech musicologist, aesthetician and composer, founder of the Czech school of musicology. In 1865–66 he studied law at the University of Prague, later philosophy (under R. Volkmann) and aesthetics in Prague and Munich, obtaining his doctorate from the University of Prague in 1868. In 1871 he was a pupil of B. Smetana, though he remained self-taught in composition. In 1877, he obtained his habilitation in aesthetics at the University of Prague; in 1883, he was appointed associate professor there, and in 1892, full professor. Initially, Hostinský worked as a critic and editor for the magazines “Dalibor”, “Hudební Listy” and “Lumír”; he also wrote for the newspapers “Prorok” and “Národní Listy”. He also edited the “Almanach Českého Studenstva”, the “Věstník Kritický a Bibliografický” and the “Maj” almanac, published by the Umělecká Beseda artists’ forum. Between 1882 and 1886, he lectured on the history of music at the Prague Conservatory; in 1886, he also taught the history of art at the School of Applied Arts; and in 1892, the history of acting at the Drama School. He composed several songs, wrote piano pieces, and left behind sketches for the operas Elektra and Konrad Wallenrod, as well as the melodrama Pohlednice. He was also the author of the librettos for the operas Nevěsta mesinská by Z. Fibich and Popelka by Z. Rozkošný. He was a member of the Royal Scientific Society and the Bohemian Academy of Sciences, and chairman of the music section of the Umělecká Beseda forum in Prague.

Hostinský’s scholarly work reflects his wide-ranging interests. His studies in aesthetics had a decisive influence on the way he approached the issues he explored. Hostinský began with the aesthetics of J.F. Herbart, based on the principle of formalism; however, in the course of his own reflections, he moved away from the concept of form as an abstract property in favour of form as a concrete entity; he strongly emphasised the importance of experience and experimentation (O estetice experimentální). In his research on music and art, he advocated taking sociological and political aspects into account (O socialisaci umění, Umění a společnost). Hostinský supported Smetana in his endeavour to create a national style in Czech music (B. Smetana a jeho boj o moderní českou hudbu). He emphasised the significance of Wagner’s achievements, particularly in the field of musical drama and declamation based on linguistic accentuation, and advocated the application of his principles to Czech national opera (Wagnerianismus a česká národní opera, O české deklamaci hudební). In the field of ethnomusicology, he focused on the interpretation of Czech folk songs.

Literature: Z. Nejedlý O. Hostinský, “Česká Mysl” VIII, 1907; K. Hrobsky O. Hostinský, “Česká Hudba” XIV, 1911; V. Helfert Skladby O. Hostinského, “Hudebni Sborník” I, 1913; Z. Nejedlý O. Hostinského esthetika, Prague 1921; J. Raček O. Hostinský, tvùrce a zakladatel české hudební védy, “Musikologie” II, 1949; Z. Sádecký O nekterych otázkách estetiky O. Hostinského, Prague 1955; R. Mužiková Nepublikovaná částka Hostinského “Stručného překledu dejin hudby”,«Miscellanea musicología» I, 1956; Z. Strejc O. Hostinský a sociologie uměni, “Hudebni Véda” X, 1973.