Frantisek Kotzwara
Encyclopedia
František Kočvara, known later in England as Frantisek Kotzwara (1730 – February 2, 1791), was a Czech violist
, virtuoso
double bass
ist
and composer
. He is perhaps more famous for the notorious nature of his death
.
, Bohemia
and was something of a nomad. He travelled around Europe and performed with various orchestra
s. His mature career was based in England, where his compositions were published from 1775 onwards. These include string quartets, serenade
s and string trio
s. In London he played in the 'Concerts of Antient Music', in the Handel
Commemoration of 1791 and in the orchestra of the King's Theatre
.
The only piece of his to have achieved renown is The Battle of Prague, a composition based on the 1757 Battle of Prague, in which the Kingdom of Prussia
fought the Habsburg Monarchy
. The Battle of Prague was a popular piece of music during the late 18th and 19th centuries, with Mark Twain
mentioning the piece in his books Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
and A Tramp Abroad
. A similar piece, The Siege of Quebec, often attributed to Kotzwara, is probably an arrangement by de Krift using assorted materials of Kotzwara.
, Kotzwara visited a prostitute named Susannah Hill in Vine Street, Westminster
. After dinner
with her in her lodgings, Kotzwara paid her two shilling
s and requested that she cut off his testicle
s. Hill refused to do so. Kotzwara then tied a ligature around the doorknob, the other end fastened around his neck
, and proceeded to have sexual intercourse
with Hill. After it was over, Kotzwara was dead. His is most likely the first recorded death from erotic asphyxiation
.
Susannah Hill was subsequently tried for Kotzwara's murder
at the Old Bailey
but was acquitted. The jury chose to believe her testimony
about the nature of Kotzwara's death. The court records of the case were supposedly destroyed in order to avoid a public scandal, though it is likely that some kind of copy was made by an individual. It is believed that this copy was used to produce a pamphlet
about the incident, including Hill's account of the event. A 2005 radio competition organised by the Radio Prague station led a listener to reveal that these court records had in fact not been destroyed, and somehow found their way to the Francis Countway Library of Medicine in Boston.
In 1984 a paper about Kotzwara's death was published in the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, entitled "The sticky end of Frantisek Koczwara, composer of The Battle of Prague". A pamphlet, Modern Propensities, with details of the trial and an article about auto-erotic asphyxiation was published in London about 1797.
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
ist
and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He is perhaps more famous for the notorious nature of his death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
.
Life and music
Kotzwara was born in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and was something of a nomad. He travelled around Europe and performed with various orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
s. His mature career was based in England, where his compositions were published from 1775 onwards. These include string quartets, serenade
Serenade
In music, a serenade is a musical composition, and/or performance, in someone's honor. Serenades are typically calm, light music.The word Serenade is derived from the Italian word sereno, which means calm....
s and string trio
String trio
A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. The term is generally used with reference to works of chamber music from the Classical period to the present.-History:...
s. In London he played in the 'Concerts of Antient Music', in the Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....
Commemoration of 1791 and in the orchestra of the King's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
.
The only piece of his to have achieved renown is The Battle of Prague, a composition based on the 1757 Battle of Prague, in which the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
fought the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
. The Battle of Prague was a popular piece of music during the late 18th and 19th centuries, with Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
mentioning the piece in his books Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in England in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by...
and A Tramp Abroad
A Tramp Abroad
A Tramp Abroad is a work of non-fiction travel literature by American author Mark Twain, published in 1880. The book details a journey by the author, with his friend Harris , through central and southern Europe...
. A similar piece, The Siege of Quebec, often attributed to Kotzwara, is probably an arrangement by de Krift using assorted materials of Kotzwara.
Death
On February 2, 1791 while he was in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Kotzwara visited a prostitute named Susannah Hill in Vine Street, Westminster
Vine Street, Westminster
Vine Street is a thoroughfare in Westminster, London, England. Its main claim to notability is as one of the streets on the standard London Monopoly board....
. After dinner
Dinner
Dinner is usually the name of the main meal of the day. Depending upon culture, dinner may be the second, third or fourth meal of the day. Originally, though, it referred to the first meal of the day, eaten around noon, and is still occasionally used for a noontime meal, if it is a large or main...
with her in her lodgings, Kotzwara paid her two shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
s and requested that she cut off his testicle
Testicle
The testicle is the male gonad in animals. Like the ovaries to which they are homologous, testes are components of both the reproductive system and the endocrine system...
s. Hill refused to do so. Kotzwara then tied a ligature around the doorknob, the other end fastened around his neck
Neck
The neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
, and proceeded to have sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with Hill. After it was over, Kotzwara was dead. His is most likely the first recorded death from erotic asphyxiation
Erotic asphyxiation
Erotic asphyxiation or breath control play is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for sexual arousal. The sexual preference for that behavior is variously called asphyxiophilia, autoerotic asphyxia, hypoxyphilia. Colloquially, a person engaging in the activity is sometimes called a...
.
Susannah Hill was subsequently tried for Kotzwara's murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
at the Old Bailey
Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
but was acquitted. The jury chose to believe her testimony
Testimony
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. All testimonies should be well thought out and truthful. It was the custom in Ancient Rome for the men to place their right hand on a Bible when taking an oath...
about the nature of Kotzwara's death. The court records of the case were supposedly destroyed in order to avoid a public scandal, though it is likely that some kind of copy was made by an individual. It is believed that this copy was used to produce a pamphlet
Pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound booklet . It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths , or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddle stapled at the crease to make a simple book...
about the incident, including Hill's account of the event. A 2005 radio competition organised by the Radio Prague station led a listener to reveal that these court records had in fact not been destroyed, and somehow found their way to the Francis Countway Library of Medicine in Boston.
In 1984 a paper about Kotzwara's death was published in the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, entitled "The sticky end of Frantisek Koczwara, composer of The Battle of Prague". A pamphlet, Modern Propensities, with details of the trial and an article about auto-erotic asphyxiation was published in London about 1797.
Works
- 6 Songs (published 1775, London)
- 3 Serenades for violin, viola, cello and 2 horns, Op. 1 (published ca.1775, Amsterdam)
- 4 Sonatas for viola with basso continuo, Op. 2 (published by Bonvin, Paris 1787)
- 6 Trio Sonatas (published 1777?, London):
- Sonata I in E major for 2 violins with basso continuo
- Sonata II in G minor for flute and violin (or 2 violins) with basso continuo
- Sonata III in D major for flute and violin (or 2 violins) with basso continuo
- Sonata IV in C major for flute and violin (or 2 violins) with basso continuo
- Sonata V in F major for 2 violins with basso continuo
- Sonata VI in C major for 2 violas with basso continuo
- 6 Trio Sonatas for 2 violin with basso continuo (2 horns ad lib.), Op. 5 (published 1778)
- The Battle of Prague, Sonata in F major for pianoforte with accompaniments for violin, cello and drum, Op. 23 (published by J. Lee ca.1788)
- 3 Sonatas for the harpsichord or pianoforte with accompaniment for violin, Op. 34 (published ca.1791)
External links
- Frantisek Kotzwara in Epdlp (Spanish)