Václav Jan Tomášek
composer (1774–1850)
Václav Jan Tomášek (3/4/1774 Skuteč – 17/4/1850 Prague; often written as Wenzel Johann Tomaschek, Wenceslas Jean Tomaschek or Wenceslao Giovanni Tomaschek) is counted among the most significant figures of Czech musical scene in the first half of the 19th century. He was a brilliant pianist, acknowledged composer and a famous music preceptor.
Work of Václav Jan Tomášek is extensive and very diverse – it amounts to 114 pieces with assigned opus numbers and according to recent discoveries there is still 65 more pieces that have not yet been numbered. It includes songs, choruses, an opera, act plays set to music, chants, piano, chamber and orchestral pieces and concertos.
His work is however cantered around songs and piano pieces. His main asset for piano music resides in developing a new musical form – poetical piano piece. Tomášek musically expressed the structure of classical poetic forms – eclogues, dithyrambs and rhapsodies. By writing his song pieces he built a solid base for the “Czech Song“ as it is.
He set poems of 63 authors to music but he always preferred composing music on texts of J. W. Goethe and Fr. Schiller. Among the most favourite pieces of the 19th century we name his requiem op. 70, mass op. 46 and 81, eclogues op. 35 and songs on Goethe’s texts.
Titles for sale:
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra E flat major, op. 20