Jaroslav Křička was born into the family of the Kelč village cantor and headmaster František Křička (1848–1891) as the oldest of three siblings. His mother was Františka Křičková (1861-1936). His brother Petr Křička (1884–1949) later became a well-known poet, and his sister Pavla Křičková (1886–1972) became a writer. Their father enthusiastically supported the musical education of his children; Jaroslav received violin, piano, and voice lessons as a child.[1]
After studying for a year in
Berlin (1905–1906), he moved to
Russia for three years (1906–1909) and taught
music theory, harmony, and
chamber music at the Imperial Music School in
Ekaterinoslav. There he founded an orchestra with which he performed works by Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana. In Russia, he developed friendships with the composers
Alexander Glazunov and
Sergei Tanejev. Křička was inspired by Russian poetry and music, and the work of composers
Mikhail Glinka and
Modest Mussorgsky particularly influenced his compositions. It was in Ekaterinoslav that he penned one of his most famous songs, "Albatross," from the cycle Severní noci(Northern Nights). Mussorgsky's song cycles for children also inspired him to compose his own children's songs.[1][2]
Křička moved to Prague in 1909, and from 1911 to 1920 he directed the Prague choir Hlahol[cs]. His tenure as director afforded him the opportunity to study numerous works by contemporary Czech composers such as
Leoš Janáček, Vítězslav Novák, and
Otakar Jeremiáš, in addition to premiering Novák's cantata Svatební košile (The Wedding Shirt), Op.48. During this period, he also began his first major work: the opera Hipolyta. From 1911 he championed his former teacher Karel Stecker at the Prague Conservatory, and after Stecker's death in 1919 he was appointed as a full professor of composition.
On October 14, 1918, he married Marie Krbová, a
pianist and singer in the Hlahol choir who studied under
Josef Bohuslav Foerster. Together with his student
Jaroslav Řídký, Křička conducted the choir of the
Czech Philharmonic from 1922 to 1930. During the critical years of World War II and the German occupation (1942–1945), he also served as
rector of the Conservatory.[1]
During his many years of teaching at the Prague Conservatory, Jaroslav Křička trained numerous composers, including Jaroslav Řídký, Karel Hába,
Emil Hlobil, Karel Janeček,
Václav Trojan,
Ján Cikker,
Jan Kapr and
Jarmil Burghauser. He spent the last years of his life in the peaceful foothills of the Bohemian forest, where he dedicated himself to his composing in the village of Červené Dvorce near
Sušice.[1] He is buried in the Vyšehrad cemetery in Prague.
He was elected a member of the
Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts in 1921, and in 1957 he received the esteemed title of Honored Artist (Zasloužilý umělec). The Křička Brothers Museum is located in his hometown of Kelč.[4]
Works
Jaroslav Křička's work encompasses almost all musical genres, in his words, “from
passions to
operetta,”[2] with a distinct emphasis on
vocal compositions. In addition to
song cycles and
cantatas, he also composed
operas, operettas,
incidental music,
symphonies, string quartets, and chamber music works. His compositions for children were significant and unique for his time; he wrote numerous children's song cycles and the first Czech children's opera, Ogaři (1918). At the end of the silent film era, Křička began composing
film scores;[5] in 1929, he wrote the music for the historical film Svatý Václav, which commemorated one thousand years since the death of the Bohemian ruler
Wenceslaus I. He began composing operettas after 1945.
In addition to his musical compositions, Křička wrote many treatises on music and published regularly in the music periodicals Hudební revue and Hudební rozhledy.
Song Cycles
Severní noci (Northern Nights), Op. 14 (1909/1910), four songs based on poetry by
Konstantin Balmont
1. Albatros (Albatross)
2. Labuť (Swan)
3. Ukolébavka (Lullaby)
4. U skandinávských skal (By the cliffs of Scandinavia)
O lásce a smrti (On Love and Death), Op. 15 (1910), four songs on texts by
Konstantin Balmont
Písně rozchodu (Farewell Songs), Op. 19 (1916), four songs based on texts by Otakar Theer
[cs]
Tři bajky pro soprán a klavír (Three Fables for soprano and piano), (1917), based on fairytales by
Božena Němcová and
Alexander Afanasyev's fables
Jaro pacholátko (Spring Child), Op. 29 (1919), three recitatives for high voice and piano
Daniny písničky a říkadla (Dana's Songs and Rhymes), Op. 49 (1928), children's songs and rhymes for toddlers
Míšovy písničky (Míša's Songs) (1932), collection of children's songs
Naše paní Božena Němcová (Our Lady Božena Němcová), Op. 112 (1954), five songs for mezzo-soprano and orchestra based on texts by
František Halas.
Cantatas
Pokušení na poušti (Temptation in the Desert), Op. 34 (1922), cantata for soli, choir, orchestra, and organ based on the
Gospel of Matthew (text from the
Kralice Bible)
Studentské vzpomínky (Student Memories), cantata for soli, choir, and orchestra
Tyrolské elegie (
Tyrolean Elegies), Op. 52 (1930), cantata for soli, male choir, and orchestra based on a poem by
Karel Havlíček Borovský
Moravská kantáta (
Moravian Cantata), Op. 65 (1935) for mixed choir, soli, and orchestra
Valašská jitřní mše (
Wallachian Morning Mass) (1941) for soli, mixed choir, and orchestra on a text by František Táborský
Requiem in memoriam fratris dilectissimi, op. 96 (1949) in memory of his brother
Petr Křička
Orchestral works
1. Symphony in D minor ("Jarní") (1905), "Spring Symphony"
2nd symphony in a minor ("Letní") (1907), "Summer Symphony"
Modrý pták (Blue Bird), Op. 16 (1911), overture to the fairytale play by
Maurice Maeterlinck.
Adventus, Op. 33 (1921)
Horácká suita(
Horácko Suite a.k.a. Mountain Suite), Op. 63 (1936) won 3rd prize in the composition competition in the 1936 Summer Olympics
Chamber music
1st String Quartet in D major ("Ruský") (1907), "Russian String Quartet"
Divertimento Novodvorico (1921), serenade for string quartet
Sonata in E minor for violin and piano ("Památce Jana Štursy"), Op. 40 (1925), "In Memory of Jan Štursa"
Piano Trio ("Malé domácí trio"), Op. 38 (1934), "Little domestic trio"
Ogaři (The Boys), Op. 27 (1918), children's opera based on texts by Ozef Kalda
Bílý pán aneb Těžko se dnes duchům straší (The Gentleman in White, or It's Tough Scaring Ghosts Today), Op. 50 (1929), musical comedy based on
Oscar Wilde's short story "
The Canterville Ghost"
Tlustý pradědeček, lupiči a detektývové aneb Dobře to dopadlo (The Fat Great-Grandpa, the Robbers, and the Detectives, or It Turned Out Well), Op. 56 (1932), children's
Singspiel
České jesličky (Czech
Nativity), Op. 69 (1937), Christmas Singspiel
Hra na květinky. A-o-i-e-u, jaro již je tu!(A Flower Play. A-E-I-O-U, Spring is upon us!), Op. 71 (1937), Singspiel for children's choirs
Psaníčko na cestách aneb Pošťácká pohádka (A Letter on A Journey, or The Postman's Fairy Tale) , Op. 79 (1941), children's Singspiel based on a fairy tale by
Karel Čapek
Jáchym a Juliana (Joachim and Julianna), Op. 90 (1948), opera
Zahořanský hon(The Hunt of
Zahořany), Op. 98a (1949), musical comedy based on a story by
Alois Jirásek
Český Paganini aneb Slavík a Chopin (Czech Paganini, or Slavík and Chopin) (1951), operetta
Kolébka (The Cradle), Op. 101 (1950), musical comedy with songs and dances based on a story by
Alois Jirásek
Tichý dům (The Silent House), Op. 105 (1952), operetta based on a story by
Jan Neruda
Polka vítězí (The Polka Wins), Op. 111 (1954), operetta
Pohádka o 12 měsíčkách (Fairy Tale of the 12 Months) (1962), Singspiel for school children based on a fairy tale by
Božena Němcová
Dvě komedie televizní: 1. Měsíc divů; 2. Šlechetný kasař aneb s poctivostí nejdál dojdeš (Two TV Comedies: 1. The Month of Marvels; 2. The Noble Safecracker, or Honesty is the Best Policy) (1963), two opera miniatures