Blodek, Wilhelm (actually, Vilém)

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Blodek, Wilhelm (actually, Vilém)

Blodek, Wilhelm (actually, Vilém), Czech composer; b. Prague, Oct. 3, 1834; d. there, May 1, 1874. He studied with J.F. Kittl and A. Dreyschock. He taught for 3 years in Poland, then returned to Prague, and became a prof. of flute at the Prague Cons. (1860–70). In 1870 he became insane and spent the rest of his life in an asylum. His opera in the Czech language, V studni (In the Well), was produced with excellent success in Prague (Nov. 17, 1867); it was also given in German under the title Im Brunnen (Leipzig, 1893). His second opera, Zitek, remained unfinished at his death; it was completed by F.X. Vana, and produced in Prague at the centennial of Blodek’s birth (Oct. 3, 1934). Blodek also wrote a Sym. in D minor (1859) and a Flute Concerto (1862).

Bibliography

R. Budis, V B. (Prague, 1964).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire