Zdeněk Fibich - Spring (1881)

Zdeněk Fibich

 

( 21 December 1850 – 15 October 1900) was a Czech composer of classical music.

 Spring (1881)  

Conducted by Marek Stilec with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.

If reputation could be likened to a horse race, then in the “19th Century Czech Composer’s Derby” Antonin Dvorak would cross the finish line several lengths ahead of his nearest rival, Bedrich Smetana, and then, after an even greater distance, would come Zdenek Fibich, far behind in third place. But reputation must not be confused with quality. Fibich (1850-1900) is no third rate composer. His music is of very high quality, and totally undeserving of the near obscurity into which it has fallen.

Fibich, in contrast to either Dvorak or Smetana, was the product of two cultures, German and Czech. He had been given a true bi-cultural education. And during his formative early years, he had lived in Germany, France and Austria in addition to his native Bohemia. He was perfectly fluent in German as well as Czech. All of these factors were important in shaping his outlook and approach to composition. In his instrumental works, Fibich generally wrote in the vein of the German romantics, first falling under the influence of Weber, Mendelssohn and Schumann and later Wagner. It seems, that like Tchaikovsky, Fibich did not wish to write music that merely sounded nationalistic. And therein lies the reason that Fibich has never been held in the same regard by his countrymen as either Dvorak and Smetana or even Janacek. Yet Fibich was the first of any Czech composer to use native Czech folk melody in his works and these melodies, though not as pronounced as in Dvorak's, nonetheless can be heard in most of his works.