Řebíček, Josef

Conductor, violinist, composer

Born: 07.02.1844 in Prague

died: 24.03.1904 in Berlin

Řebíček. began studying the piano at the age of eight and later received violin lessons at the Prague Conservatory. He found his first position in Weimar with the court orchestra under Franz Liszt. At the age of 19, he was concertmaster of an orchestra in Prague, later at the German State Theater there.

He came to Wiesbaden in 1866 and became first concertmaster in 1868. He also conducted numerous operas at the Wiesbaden Theater and promoted the performance of Richard Wagner's operas. Thanks to his support, Antonín Dvořák's works were performed in Wiesbaden as early as 1879. In 1883, Řebíček was appointed to the Imperial Theater in Warsaw, and in 1891 he moved to the Royal Opera in Budapest. Řebíček returned to Wiesbaden in 1893.

For the opening performance of the new Wiesbaden theater in 1894, he composed a festival play based on a text by general director Georg von Hülsen and Josef von Lauff. He was also one of the most important conductors at the May Festival. In 1897, he joined the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra as Kapellmeister.

From 1872, he was married to the soprano Elisabeth Löffler (1849-1921), whom he had met in Wiesbaden. Řebíček left behind a number of his own compositions, including a symphony in B minor. Critics praised him above all as a conductor.