František Ondříček (1857–1922)

Czech violinist and composer. As an admired virtuoso violinist he travelled through Europe, the United States and Russia, like Dvořák he was an honorary member of the Philharmonic Society in London, and he was professor and director of the New Vienna Conservatory. He was the first performer of Dvořák’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor (premiered in Prague on 14 October 1883), which he frequently presented on his concert tours, thus ensuring its popularity among foreign audiences. As a member of various chamber ensembles he was involved in the premieres of Dvořák’s String Quintet in G major and Piano Trio in B flat major. Dvorak dedicated his Romance in F minor to Ondříček and assumed the role of witness at the latter’s wedding. At the time of the so-called “Dvorak Affair”, Ondříček published an article in the press in 1912 in stark defence of the composer’s musical legacy.