Šourek, Otakar
Šourek, Otakar
Šourek, Otakar, Czech writer on music; b. Prague, Oct. 1, 1883; d. there, Feb. 15, 1956. He was trained as an engineer, and although he was employed in the Prague City Council works dept. (1907–39), music was his avocation. He wrote music criticism for several publications, including Prague’s Venkov (1918–41). However, it was as an authority on the life and music of Dvo?ák that he gained distinction; he devoted fully 40 years to Dvorak research, and served as the first ed. of the composer’s collected works.
Writings
Život a dilo Antonína Dvo?áka (The Life and Works of Dvo?ák; 4 vols., Prague, 1916–33; vols. I-II, third ed., 1955–56; vols. III-IV, second ed., 1957–58; in Ger. as Dvo?ák: Leben und Werk, one vol., abr. by P. Stefan, Vienna, 1935; Eng. tr. by Y. Vance as Anton Dvo?ák, N.Y., 1941); Dvo?ák’s Werke: Ein völlstandiges Verzeichnis in chronologischer, thematischer und systematischer Anordnung (Berlin, 1917; rev. Czech ed., Prague, 1960); Výlety pana Brou?ka (Mr. Brou?ek’s Excursions; Prague, 1920); Dvo?ákovy symfonie (Prague, 1922; third ed., 1948; abr. ed. in Ger. in Antonin Dvo?ák Werkanalysen I, Orchesterwerke, Prague, 1954, and in Eng. in The Orchestral Works of Antonín Dvo?ák, Prague, 1956); Antonín Dvo?ák (Prague, 1929; fourth ed., 1947; Eng. tr., Prague, 1952, as Antonín Dvo?ák: His Life and Work); Dvo?ákova citanka (A Dvo?ák Reader; Prague, 1929; third ed., 1946; Eng. tr., Prague, 1954); Dvo?ák ve vzpomínkach a dopisech (Prague, 1938; 9th ed., 1951; Eng. tr., Prague, 1954, as Dvo?ák: Letters and Reminiscences; Ger. tr., 1955; Russian tr., 1964); Smetanova Ma vlast (Prague, 1940); Antonin Dvo?ák p?átel?m doma (Dvo?ák to His Friends at Home; 395 letters; Prague, 1941); Antonín Dvo?ák a Hans Richter (Letters to Richter; Prague, 1942); Dvo?ákovy skladby komorni (Prague, 1943; second ed., 1949; abr. ed. in Ger. in Antonín Dvo?ák Werkanalysen II, Kammermusik, Prague, 1954, and in Eng. in The Chamber Music of Antonín Dvo?ák, Prague, 1956); Dvo?ákovy skladby orchestralni (2 vols., Prague, 1944 and 1946; abr. ed. in Ger. in Antonin Dvo?ák Werkanalysen I, Orchesterwerke, Prague, 1954, and in Eng. in The Orchestral Works of Antonin Dvo?ák, Prague, 1956); Komorni skladby Bed?icha Smetany (Smetana’s chamber works; Prague, 1945); Rudolf Karel (Prague, 1947).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire