Jiří Tancibudek
Encyclopedia
Jiří Tancibudek AM was a Czech
-born Australia
n oboist
, conductor and teacher of great renown in his adopted country and elsewhere. His obituary in the Adelaide Review, titled "Prince of the oboe", said of his playing:
, Czechoslovakia
(now in the Czech Republic
). His first teacher was Jan Mikeš. He studied at the Prague Conservatory
, and in 1944 became oboist with the National Theatre Orchestra. In 1945 he was appointed Principal Oboe of both the Czech Philharmonic (under Rafael Kubelík
) and the Czech Chamber Orchestra (under Václav Talich
).
In 1947 he met and became life-long friends with the Australian oboist Charles Mackerras
, who was studying conducting under Václav Talich in Prague. Mackerras mentioned that he had never heard an opera by Leoš Janáček
, so Tancibudek suggested he attend a performance of Káťa Kabanová
that was then playing. Mackerras did, and this experience sparked his interest in the music of Janáček, to the point that he became a world-renowned expert in Janáček's music in particular and in Czech music in general. Also in in 1947, Tancibudek attended master classes with Léon Goossens
in England.
Due to his senior position with the Czech Philharmonic, Tancibudek was in no immediate danger of harassment from the Communist authorities in Czechoslovakia; however, his wife Vera née Hašková, a pianist, was in a much more precarious position. They decided to escape from Czechoslovakia into Bavaria
, West Germany
in January 1950. To fool the authorities by making it look as if they had just gone out for a walk, they could take nothing with them, but he did manage to take his oboe. They lived in a displaced persons' camp in West Germany, struggling to save enough money to emigrate to Canada
. However, there was no employment for an oboist in Canada at that time, so instead they turned their sights to Australia
. The British conductor John Barbirolli
arranged with the then Director of the NSW Conservatorium of Music
, his compatriot Eugene Goossens
(Léon Goossens's brother), for Jiří Tancibudek to became a teacher there, and he arrived in Sydney in 1950. (In the meantime, he had been offered a post with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
, but the offer of a visa did not extend to his wife at that time, so he had no choice but to decline.)
In Sydney he and his wife presented the first oboe and piano recital ever given in Australia. In 1953 he became Principal Oboe with the Victorian Symphony Orchestra (as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
(MSO) was then known), a position he held for 11 years. He played with Yehudi Menuhin
at the 1962 Adelaide Festival of Arts
, at the invitation of John Bishop. At Bishop's behest, he moved to Adelaide
in 1964 to become Professor of Oboe at the Elder Conservatorium
, University of Adelaide
(until 1986). He was also a foundation member of the University of Adelaide Wind Quintet, the first Australian chamber group to tour internationally. From 1973 to 1985 he was the conductor of the University of Adelaide Chamber Orchestra. From 1978 to 1986 he was Reader in Music (Oboe) at the university.
He could not return to his native country until February 1969, when he played there with the University of Adelaide Wind Quintet. But his name was generally suppressed by the Czech authorities until 1989, when he returned to give concerts and master classes, and to be a jury member of the Prague Spring International Music Festival.
In the Australia Day
Honours of 1989, Tancibudek was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia
(AM).
Jiří Tancibudek died on 1 May 2004, on board an aircraft passing over Central Australia, while en route to attend the 7 May 2004 wedding of his grand-daughter Sarah in Vienna. A memorial concert to Tancibudek was held at Elder Hall at the University of Adelaide on 15 August 2004, involving musicians who had travelled from Berlin, Vienna, Hong Kong and many parts of Australia. They all gave their services free of charge, in aid of a new "Jiří Tancibudek Memorial Scholarship" established by the Elder School of Music. Other tributes included that of Daniel Barenboim
, who wrote to his widow, "He was an exceptional human being and a great musician".
's Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra
(1955) was written for Jiří Tancibudek. It was commissioned by the Sydney
Daily Telegraph
in celebration of the 1956 Olympic Games
in Melbourne
. It had its world premiere in August 1956 in Sydney, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
.
Tancibudek also gave the European premiere (Hamburg, March 1958), and local premieres in Vienna and Vancouver. He was due to play the British premiere but time contraints prevented this; instead, it was performed there by his friend Evelyn Rothwell
, John Barbirolli's wife.
Jindřich Feld
's Oboe Concerto, arguably the best 20th century oboe concerto after Martinů, was written for Tancibudek.
Colin Brumby
's first work to receive a professional performance, the Romance for Oboe and Strings, was premiered in 1954 by Jiří Tancibudek with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
.
Margaret Sutherland
wrote her Concertante for Oboe and Strings for him in 1961.
Other composers who wrote for him included Miriam Hyde
, Dorian Le Gallienne
, and Franz Holford. Ross Edwards
was inspired by Tancibudek's playing to write for the oboe.
); Jeffrey Crellin (another MSO Principal Oboe); David Nuttall; Anne Gilby; Peter Veale; Vivienne Brooke; and David Sydney Morgan.
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
-born Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n oboist
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, conductor and teacher of great renown in his adopted country and elsewhere. His obituary in the Adelaide Review, titled "Prince of the oboe", said of his playing:
- His performing was characterised by a brilliant agility, but always at the service of a singing line. He was particularly renowned for a sparkling upper register, beyond the reach of all but a few of his contemporaries. Critics worldwide consistently commented on his excellence, lauding his "superb craftsmanship", "ease and naturalness of playing", "effortless virtuosity", "expressive shading"‚ and "tonal beauty".
Biography
Jiří Tancibudek was born at Mnichovo HradištěMnichovo Hradište
Mnichovo Hradiště is a town in the Central Bohemian Region in the Czech Republic. Its population is 8,500.The town was first mentioned in 1279 and contains a Renaissance castle which used to belong to the Wallenstein family...
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
(now in the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
). His first teacher was Jan Mikeš. He studied at the Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory, sometimes also Prague Conservatoire, in Czech Pražská konzervatoř, is a Czech secondary school in Prague dedicated to teaching the arts of music and theater acting.- Instruction :...
, and in 1944 became oboist with the National Theatre Orchestra. In 1945 he was appointed Principal Oboe of both the Czech Philharmonic (under Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Kubelík
Rafael Jeroným Kubelík was a Czech conductor and composer.-Early life:Kubelík was born in Býchory, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, today's Czech Republic. He was the sixth child of the Bohemian violinist Jan Kubelík, whom the younger Kubelík described as "a kind of god to me." His mother was a Hungarian...
) and the Czech Chamber Orchestra (under Václav Talich
Václav Talich
Václav Talich was a Czech conductor, violinist and pedagogue.- Life :Born in Kroměříž, Moravia, he started his musical career in a student orchestra in Klatovy. From 1897 to 1903 he studied at the conservatory in Prague with Otakar Ševčík...
).
In 1947 he met and became life-long friends with the Australian oboist Charles Mackerras
Charles Mackerras
Sir Alan Charles Maclaurin Mackerras, AC, CH, CBE was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan...
, who was studying conducting under Václav Talich in Prague. Mackerras mentioned that he had never heard an opera by Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janácek
Leoš Janáček was a Czech composer, musical theorist, folklorist, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style. Until 1895 he devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research and his early musical output was influenced by...
, so Tancibudek suggested he attend a performance of Káťa Kabanová
Káta Kabanová
Káťa Kabanová is an opera in three acts, with music by Leoš Janáček to a libretto by Vincenc Červinka, based on The Storm, a play by Alexander Ostrovsky. The opera was also largely inspired by Janáček's love for Kamila Stösslová...
that was then playing. Mackerras did, and this experience sparked his interest in the music of Janáček, to the point that he became a world-renowned expert in Janáček's music in particular and in Czech music in general. Also in in 1947, Tancibudek attended master classes with Léon Goossens
Léon Goossens
Léon Jean Goossens CBE, FRCM was a British oboist.He was born in Liverpool and studied at the Royal College of Music...
in England.
Due to his senior position with the Czech Philharmonic, Tancibudek was in no immediate danger of harassment from the Communist authorities in Czechoslovakia; however, his wife Vera née Hašková, a pianist, was in a much more precarious position. They decided to escape from Czechoslovakia into Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
in January 1950. To fool the authorities by making it look as if they had just gone out for a walk, they could take nothing with them, but he did manage to take his oboe. They lived in a displaced persons' camp in West Germany, struggling to save enough money to emigrate to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. However, there was no employment for an oboist in Canada at that time, so instead they turned their sights to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The British conductor John Barbirolli
John Barbirolli
Sir John Barbirolli, CH was an English conductor and cellist. Born in London, of Italian and French parentage, he grew up in a family of professional musicians. His father and grandfather were violinists...
arranged with the then Director of the NSW Conservatorium of Music
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
, his compatriot Eugene Goossens
Eugène Aynsley Goossens
Sir Eugene Aynsley Goossens was an English conductor and composer.-Biography:He was born in Camden Town, London, the son of the Belgian conductor and violinist Eugène Goossens and the grandson of the conductor Eugène Goossens...
(Léon Goossens's brother), for Jiří Tancibudek to became a teacher there, and he arrived in Sydney in 1950. (In the meantime, he had been offered a post with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1891, the Symphony makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival...
, but the offer of a visa did not extend to his wife at that time, so he had no choice but to decline.)
In Sydney he and his wife presented the first oboe and piano recital ever given in Australia. In 1953 he became Principal Oboe with the Victorian Symphony Orchestra (as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
(MSO) was then known), a position he held for 11 years. He played with Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
at the 1962 Adelaide Festival of Arts
Adelaide Festival of Arts
The Adelaide Festival of Arts is an arts festival held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Although locally considered to be one of the world's greatest celebrations of the arts, that is internationally renowned and the pre-eminent cultural event in Australia, it is actually...
, at the invitation of John Bishop. At Bishop's behest, he moved to Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in 1964 to become Professor of Oboe at the Elder Conservatorium
Elder Conservatorium
The Elder Conservatorium of Music is Australia's senior academy of music and one of the country's most distinguished institutions for comprehensive education, professional training, and research in music...
, University of Adelaide
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide is a public university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third oldest university in Australia...
(until 1986). He was also a foundation member of the University of Adelaide Wind Quintet, the first Australian chamber group to tour internationally. From 1973 to 1985 he was the conductor of the University of Adelaide Chamber Orchestra. From 1978 to 1986 he was Reader in Music (Oboe) at the university.
He could not return to his native country until February 1969, when he played there with the University of Adelaide Wind Quintet. But his name was generally suppressed by the Czech authorities until 1989, when he returned to give concerts and master classes, and to be a jury member of the Prague Spring International Music Festival.
In the Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
Honours of 1989, Tancibudek was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(AM).
Jiří Tancibudek died on 1 May 2004, on board an aircraft passing over Central Australia, while en route to attend the 7 May 2004 wedding of his grand-daughter Sarah in Vienna. A memorial concert to Tancibudek was held at Elder Hall at the University of Adelaide on 15 August 2004, involving musicians who had travelled from Berlin, Vienna, Hong Kong and many parts of Australia. They all gave their services free of charge, in aid of a new "Jiří Tancibudek Memorial Scholarship" established by the Elder School of Music. Other tributes included that of Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim
Daniel Barenboim, KBE is an Argentinian-Israeli pianist and conductor. He has served as music director of several major symphonic and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings....
, who wrote to his widow, "He was an exceptional human being and a great musician".
Premieres and works written for him
Bohuslav MartinůBohuslav Martinu
Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...
's Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra
Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra (Martinů)
Bohuslav Martinů's Concerto for Oboe and Small Orchestra, H. 353, was written in 1955 for the Czech-born Australian oboist Jiří Tancibudek.The work was commissioned by the Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper, in celebration of the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.Jiří Tancibudek gave the world premiere...
(1955) was written for Jiří Tancibudek. It was commissioned by the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
in celebration of the 1956 Olympic Games
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. It had its world premiere in August 1956 in Sydney, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra , commonly known as the Sydney Symphony, is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney...
conducted by Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt
Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt was a German conductor and composer.-Early life:Born in Berlin, he studied music in Heidelberg and Münster. He was also a composition student with Franz Schreker at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, and received a doctorate in 1923.-Career:He was a repetiteur at the...
.
Tancibudek also gave the European premiere (Hamburg, March 1958), and local premieres in Vienna and Vancouver. He was due to play the British premiere but time contraints prevented this; instead, it was performed there by his friend Evelyn Rothwell
Evelyn Barbirolli
Evelyn, Lady Barbirolli OBE was an English oboist, and wife of the conductor Sir John Barbirolli.She was born Evelyn Rothwell, and was known professionally by that name until after she was widowed, when she became known as Evelyn Barbirolli...
, John Barbirolli's wife.
Jindřich Feld
Jindrich Feld
Jindřich Feld was a Czech composer of classical music.-Biography:Feld was born into a musical family, his father a well-known professor of violin at the Prague Conservatory which followed the tradition of Otakar Ševčík, the master of Jan Kubelík. His mother was a violinist...
's Oboe Concerto, arguably the best 20th century oboe concerto after Martinů, was written for Tancibudek.
Colin Brumby
Colin Brumby
Colin Brumby is an Australian composer and conductor.He was born in Melbourne and studied at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, from which he graduated in 1957. He went to Spain to study advanced composition with Philipp Jarnach, and to London to study with Alexander Goehr...
's first work to receive a professional performance, the Romance for Oboe and Strings, was premiered in 1954 by Jiří Tancibudek with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Melbourne, Australia. It has 100 permanent musicians. Melbourne has the longest continuous history of orchestral music of any Australian city and the MSO is the oldest professional orchestra in Australia...
.
Margaret Sutherland
Margaret Sutherland
Margaret Sutherland was an Australian composer, probably the best-known female composer her country has produced....
wrote her Concertante for Oboe and Strings for him in 1961.
Other composers who wrote for him included Miriam Hyde
Miriam Hyde
Miriam Beatrice Hyde AO, OBE was an Australian composer, pianist, poet and music educator.She composed over 150 works for piano, songs and other instrumental and orchestral works and performed as a concert pianist with eminent conductors including Sir Malcolm Sargent, Sir Bernard Heinze and...
, Dorian Le Gallienne
Dorian Le Gallienne
Dorian Leon Marlois Le Gallienne was an Australian composer, teacher and music critic.-Biography:Dorian Le Gallienne was born in Melbourne in 1915. His father, an actor, was born in France, and his mother, a pianist who had studied with G. W. L. Marshall-Hall, was the daughter of the Assistant...
, and Franz Holford. Ross Edwards
Ross Edwards
Ross Edwards is a former Western Australian and Australian cricketer.Edwards played in 20 Tests for Australia, playing against England, West Indies and Pakistan. He also played in nine One Day Internationals including the 1975 Cricket World Cup series...
was inspired by Tancibudek's playing to write for the oboe.
Students
Tancibudek's students included: Norman Weiner (who succeeded him as Principal Oboe with the MSO, and who was in turn the grand-teacher of Diana DohertyDiana Doherty
Diana Doherty is an Australian oboist, currently Principal Oboe with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.-Life:Diana Doherty was born in Brisbane, where she began her education. She attended Brisbane State High School...
); Jeffrey Crellin (another MSO Principal Oboe); David Nuttall; Anne Gilby; Peter Veale; Vivienne Brooke; and David Sydney Morgan.