Frantisek Ondricek
Frantisek Ondricek was a Czech violinist, teacher, and composer. He was born in Prague on April 29, 1857, and was the older brother of violinists Karel and Emmanuel Ondricek.
He studied violin with his father, Jan Ondricek, then at the Prague Conservatory with Antonin Bennewitz from 1873 to 1876 and at the Paris Conservatory with Lambert Joseph Massart from 1877 to 1879. Massart influenced the development of Ondricek’s individual style. From 1879 to 1881, Ondricek was a soloist with the Pasdeloup Orchestra, touring with it in London and Brussels. From 1882, he toured in many countries. In 1883, he gave the first performance in Prague of Antonin Dvorak’s Violin Concerto. He first visited Russia in 1884.
Ondricek founded the New Vienna Conservatory and served as its director from 1912 to 1919. From 1919 to 1922, he taught violin at the Paris Conservatory; his students included Karel Navratil. His playing was noted for clear intonation, emotional breadth, and careful artistic refinement. He died in Milan on April 12, 1922, and was buried at Vysehrad Cemetery.
As a composer, he wrote works for violin and piano, including a Fantasy on Themes from Glinka’s opera Ivan Susanin (1889), a Czech Rhapsody (1906), and a Fantasy on Themes from Smetana’s opera The Bartered Bride. He also wrote cadenzas for Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, and Brahms’s Violin Concerto in D major. With the conductor S. Mattelman, he co-wrote a 1909 book on advanced violin technique based on anatomical and physiological principles. An international violin competition named after Slavik and Ondricek was held in Prague in 1956.