Prague's Municipal House: A.Vivaldi  — The Four Seasons

Artists

Municipal House (Obecní dum)

The Municipal House is a popular Prague attraction and one of the most beautiful buildings in the Old Town, situated at Republic Square not far from the Powder Gate. In the Middle Ages the site housed the palace of the King of Bohemia,and was later used as a college, archbishop´s residence, and a military academy. The structure was eventually torn down, and in 1912 the new Municipal House was erected in the Art Nouveau style. Since opening, the Municipal House has been a glamorous location for festive balls, concerts, exhibitions and important meetings, including the declaration of Czechoslovak Independence in 1918. Today the Municipal House is used primarily as a venue for classical concerts in Prague. Its main hall is named after famous Czech composer Bedrich Smetana, and serves as one of the principal stages for the Prague Spring International Music Festival. The hall can accommodate up to 1200 people and has unique acoustics. The architectural highlight of the Smetana Hall is a glass dome decorated with steel grids and stained glass, which is illuminated when darkness falls. A place of pilgrimage for many of the worlds greatest organists, the real jewel of the Municipal House is the great organ, its almost 5000 pipes crowned with Smetana´s portrait.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Perhaps the most important composer of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer of the late 18th century. Born in 1756 in Salzburg, he showed prodigious musical talent from childhood. Beginning at five years of age, he composed more than 600 works, including concertos, symphonies, religious works and operas before his premature death at the age of 35. Hi influence over successive generations cannot be overestated - Ludwig van Beethoven wrote of Mozart "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years”. Despite the immense success of his compositions, and the acclaim he received across Europe, Mozart achieved little financial security and rwas buried in an unmarked grave in Vienna's St Marx Cemetery.

Antonio Vivaldi

Antonio Vivaldi went down in history as a creator of the instrumental concert genre and the father of orchestral music. He was born in Venice on the 4th of March 1678. Vivaldi was a weak and sickly child suffering from asthma, however could not stop him from devoting himself completely to music. His father, Giovanni Batista a professional violinist, taught his elder son Antonio to play the violin. With his father young Antonio met the best musicians of Venice of that time and gave concerts in local churches. He also worked as a violin teacher and later as a music director at the orphanage Ospedalle della Pieta. Meanwhile he composed concertos, sacred works and vocal music and in 1713 he achieved great recognition with his sacred choral music. Vivaldi got captivated by the world of opera and worked both as opera composer and impresario at the Teatro San Angelo. In 1717 he obtained a prestigious position by the prince court in Manua as a director of secular music and worked there until around 1720. During that time he composed his world-renowned masterpiece The Four Seasons. In the 1730's his career dwindled as his music became unfashionable and the great composer died in poverty. It took the world two centuries to rediscover and reevaluate Vivaldi’s music, as it was buried into oblivion after his death. In the early 20th century many previously unknown works were found and immediately captured the hearts of the music lovers.