Adolf Míšek

Adolf Míšek was a Czech double-bass player, composer, pedagogue and conductor.

Míšek was born in the town of Modletín on 29th August 1875. From 1890 to 1894 he studied double-bass with František Šimandl at the Vienna Conservatory. After his graduation, he returned home to become the conductor of the town band in Chotěbuz. In 1898 he moved back to Vienna where he joined the Court Opera Orchestra, remaining in this position until the year 1920. Between 1910 and 1914 he taught at the New Vienna Conservatory. From that time on, he lived permanently in Prague where he became the first double-bass player in the National Theatre Orchestra. He died in Prague in 1955.

As a composer, Adolf Míšek originally drew on the style of A. Dvořák, but he managed to form his own singular mode of expression that is marked for its graceful emotionality typical of Czech national music. Apart from the String Quintet E-flat Major he wrote a number of compositions, very interesting from an instrumentalist’s point of view, in which the double-bass is presented as an independent solo instrument of a wide range of timbres: Polonaise Concertante, Three Sonatas for Double-Bass and Piano, Concerto C major and others.

Titles for sale:
String Quintet E-flat Major