Škroup, František Jan
Škroup, František Jan
Škroup, František Jan , prominent Bohemian conductor and composer, brother of Jan Nepomuk Škroup ; b. Osice, near Pardubice, June 3, 1801; d. Rotterdam, Feb. 7, 1862. He received his musical training from his father, the teacher and composer Dominik Josef Skroup (1766–1830). He studied law in Prague. In 1827 he became asst. conductor, and in 1837 principal conductor, at the Estates Theater, Prague, and remained at that post until 1857; he put into performance several Wagner operas for the first time in Prague. He wrote several operas to Czech librettos, which he conducted in Prague: Dráteník (The Tinker; Feb. 2, 1826), Oldřich a Božena (Dec. 14, 1828), Libušin snatek (Libusa’s Marriage; April 11, 1835; rev. 1849; April 11, 1850), Die Geisterbraut (Nov. 17, 1836), Drahomim (Nov. 20, 1848), and Der Mergeuse (Nov. 29, 1851). In 1860 he went to Rotterdam as conductor of a German opera troupe. He also scored a success as a composer with his incidental music to Josef Tyl’s play Fidlovačka (Prague, Dec. 21, 1834), which includes the song Kde domov můj? (Where Is My Home?); the latter became so famous that it was mistaken for a folk song and the first part of it was made into the Czech national anthem in 1918. He also wrote sacred music, cantatas, choruses, chamber music, and songs.
Bibliography
J. Plavec, F S.(Prague, 1946).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire