Zelinka, Jan Evangelista
Zelinka, Jan Evangelista
Zelinka, Jan Evangelista, Czech composer; b. Prague, Jan. 13,1893; d. there, June 30,1969. He studied music with his father, the organist and composer, Jan Evangelista Zelinka (1856-1935), and later with J.B. Foerster, Suk, Novak, and Ostrcil.
Works
dramatic: Opera:DceruSka hostinského (The Tavernkeeper’s Little Daughter; 1921; Prague, Feb. 24, 1925); Devátá louka (The 9th Meadow; 1929; Prague, Sept. 19, 1931); Odchod dona Quijota (Departure of Don Quixote; 1936); PaliMy svec (The Stubborn Cobbler; 1940; Prague, March 28, 1944); Meluzina (The Wailing Wind; 1947; Plzeñ, April 15,1950); Námluvy bez konce (Endless Wooing), radio opera (Czech Radio, Jan. 27,1950); Masopustni noe (Shrovetide Night; 1956); Lásky zal i smích (Love’s Woe and Laughter), after Goldoni (1958); èkola pro zeny (School for Wives), after Molière (1959); Blouznivé jaro (A Fanciful Spring; 1960); Dcevëny kûn (The Wooden Horse; 1962-63). Ballet-pantomime: Sklenënâ panna (The Glass Doll; 1927; Prague, July 2, 1928). Scenic Melodram a : Srdce na prázdninách (Heart on a Fishhook; 1932; Brno, Jan. 28, 1938). Also incidental music. ORCH.: Overture to a Renaissance Comedy (1919); Variz—Glotton, overture burlesque (1931); Weekend, suite (1939); Sinfonia rustica (1956); A Slovak Summer (1959); Musichetta primaverale for Chamber Orch. (1962); Satiricon, suite (1964). CHAMBER: 2 nonets: Capriccio (1937) and Cassation (1943); Late Summer, piano trio (1949); Sonata leggera for Saxophone and Piano (1962); Piano Sonata (1926); organ pieces. VOCAL: Cantatas; songs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire