Jeremiáš, Jaroslav
Jeremiáš Otakar, *17 October 1892 Písek, †5 March 1962 Prague, Czech cellist, conductor and composer, Bohuslav’s son. In 1907–09, he studied at the conservatory in Prague with J. Klički (organ), K. Stecker (theory, composition) and J. Burian (cello); in 1909–10, he studied composition privately with V. Novák. From 1911 to 1913, he was a cellist in the Czech Philharmonic in Prague and a pianist in the Prague Trio; with his brother Jaroslav as accompanist, he went on a concert tour around Europe; in 1918–28, he was the director of a music school, conductor of the orchestra, choir and opera in České Budějovice. From 1929 to 1945, he led the symphony orchestra of a radio station in Prague. After World War II, he was the director of Národni Divadlo in Prague; in 1949, chairman of the Czechoslovak composers’ union.
Otakar Jeremiáš is one of the representative composers of the Czech late romantic style. He was modelled on the work of B. Smetana, which, in his opinion, most fully expressed the essence and spirit of the Czech nation (cf. essay by O. Jeremiáš from 1924); he looked for inspiration in folk songs (mainly Hussite), but also in Czech literature (mainly contemporary), making vocal and vocal-instrumental forms the main domain of his work. O. Jeremiáš’s lyrical talent was most fully revealed in the cycle of songs accompanied by the Lásek orchestra and in the melodrama with the orchestra The Ballad of Charles IV, however, one of the composer’s most famous works is the opera Bratři Karamazovi, which is permanently present in the repertoire of the Czech stage, and in which the dramatic tension of the action finds its counterpart in highly emotionally saturated music.
The musical legacy of the Jeremiáš family is kept in the Jíhoce Museum in České Budějovice.
Literature: H. Hlasová Otakar Jeremiáš. Bratři Karamazovi, Prague 1958; J. Plavec Národni umĕlec Otakar Jeremiáš, Prague 1964 (contains catalogue of compositions); B. Mikoda Dílo Otakara Jeremiáše, «Sborník Pedagogické Fakulty v Plzni», Prague 1965; M. Jeremiášová-Budiková Ze vspomínek na Otakara Jeremiáše, “Živá Hudba” IV, 1968.
Compositions
Instrumental:
orchestra:
Symphony No. 1 Op. 4, 1911
Jarní ouvertura Op. 9, 1912
Symphony No. 2 Op. 11, 1915
Fantasia Op. 12 for large orchestra, 2 choirs, 1915
The Ballad of Charles IV Op. 13, melodrama with orchestra, text J. Neruda, 1917
chamber:
Piano Trio Op. 2, 1910
String Quartet Op. 3, 1910
Piano Quartet Op. 5, 1911
Suita ve starém slohu Op. 6, for string quartet, 1910
String Quintet Op. 7, 1911
Fantasie na staročeské chorály (also entitled Year 1938) for nonet, 1938, 2nd version for orchestra and organ, 1939
piano:
Sonata No. 1 Op. 1, 1909
Sonata No. 2 Op. 10, 1913
Ciacona na thema V. Nováka 1910
Variace na thema hebrejského chorálu Op. 8, 1913
Večer-Vzpomínka 1917
Vocal:
for choir a cappella:
Ostrava for male choir, 1920, text P. Bezruč
Ty a já for male choir, 1927, text P. Bezruč
Medynia Glogovska for male choir, text P. Křička, 1922
cycle of 6 pieces Zborov for male choir, text R. Medek, 1927
cycle Před nowým dnem (K lásce) for male choir, text B. Belohlavek, 1933
Úraz na ulici for mixed choir, text J. Hořejši, 1924
Vocal-instrumental:
cycle of 5 songs Láska for soprano and orchestra, 1921
Jen dál for voice accompanied by piano, text J. Neruda, 1918, 2nd version for choir unisono and orchestra, 1937
cantata Píseň o rodné zemi for solos, choir and orchestra, based on a poem by J. Hora, 1941
edition of Tři smĕsi národních písní for solos, children choir and orchestra, from 1934, 1935, 1941–42
Scenic:
Bratři Karamazovi, opera, libretto based on F. Dostoevsky’s novel, 1927, staged in Prague 1928
Enšpigl, opera, libretto by Ch. de Coster, 1944, staged in Prague 1949
music to numerous theatre plays, including The Merchant of Venice 1931, Otello 1931 and Macbeth 1939 by Shakespeare, Sophocles’ Antigone, 1932, J. Vrchlicki’s Twardowski, 1937, Goethe’s Faust, 1938
film music
Works:
O B. Smetanowi, našem nejvĕtším národním umĕlcí, Prague 1924
Leoš Janáček, Prague 1938
Praktické pokyny k instrumentaci symfonického orchestru, Prague 1942, 4th ed. 1959
Praktické pokyny k dirigování, Prague 1943, 4th ed. 1959
numerous articles, studies and polemics in musical and daily press