František Ondříček
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František Ondříček (29 April 1857 in Prague –12 April 1922 in Milan) was a Czech violinist and composer. He gave the first performance of the Violin Concerto by Antonín Dvořák, and his achievements were recognised by the rare award of honorary membership of the Philharmonic Society of London (now the Royal Philharmonic Society) in 1891.
Ondříček was born in Prague, the son of the violinist and conductor Jan Ondříček. He studied at the Prague Conservatory, and was then supported by Henryk Wieniawski through two years studying at the Paris Conservatoire where he gained a first prize.
He was the soloist in the first performance of Dvořák's Violin Concerto Op. 53 in Prague on 14 October 1883, and performed it again in Vienna on 2 December 1883. In the late 1880s he settled in Vienna, where he taught. He also published a technical treatise on violin technique in 1909.
Ondříček returned to Prague after World War I where he directed the violin masterclass at the Prague Conservatory.
As well as being a highly regarded violinist, Ondříček was also a composer, his works including a set of Bohemian Dances Op. 3 for violin and piano from 1891, a Bohemian Rhapsody Op. 21 for violin and piano, and a String Quartet Op. 22 both from 1907. He also left cadenzas for several violin concertos, including those of Mozart and Brahms.
[edit] References
- Vysloužil, Jiří (1980). in Sadie, Stanley (ed.): The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London. ISBN 1-56159-174-2.
