Josef Bohuslav Foerster

Josef Bohuslav Foerster was born on 30 December 1859 in Prague (at that time Austria-Hungary, today Czech Republic). He was born in a musical family with his father Josef Förster being organist at a local church and teacher at the Prague conservatory. Therefore the musical education of Josef Bohuslav Foerster began early and he showed great talent. In 1878 Josef Bohuslav Foerster completed his school and began to study chemistry in Prague because of the wish of his father. But only a year later he quit and enrolled at the Prague Organ School where he studied under Adolf Prucha, Frantisek Blazek and Frantisek Zdenek Skuhersky.
After his studies in 1882 Josef Bohuslav Foerster became organist at the church St. Vojtech until 1888 and then choir master at church of Our Lady of the Snows, both in Prague. Beside these activities Josef Bohuslav Foerster also began to compose. The first orchestral performance of one of his works was his suite "V horach" op.7 which was premiered at the Prague conservatory under its director Antonin Bennewitz in 1884. But crucial for his life became the marriage to Berta Lautererova, a professional soprano in 1888, because in the following decades Josef Bohuslav Foerster followed his wife to the different places of her employments. That happened in 1893 when Berta Lautererova obtained a position at the opera in Hamburg. The couple moved and Josef Bohuslav Foerster made a living as a critic and music teacher (privately and later at the conservatory) in Hamburg. In 1903 he moved to Vienna, again due to a new contract of his wife at the Vienna Opera. Josef Bohuslav Foerster continued to work as a private teacher and since 1910 taught at the conservatory. He also worked as a critic for different newspapers.
In 1918 the first Czechoslovak Republic was founded and that was the reason that Josef Bohuslav Foerster moved back to Prague. There he became professor at the conservatory and later lectured at the Charles University in Prague as well. From 1931 to 1939 Josef Bohuslav Foerster was president of the National Academy of Science and Arts. In 1945 he was the first person to be awarded the title "National Artist".
During all the decades Josef Bohuslav Foerster composed music, in his last years he strongly focused on choral music. In total he created 194 numbered compositions of all genres and in addition hundreds of songs and choral music. 
Josef Bohuslav Foerster died on 29 May 1951 in Novy Vestec (Czech Republic).

Suita op.7

In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the "Suita op.7" in the version for piano four-hands by Josef Bohuslav Foerster. The work became later known under the name "V horach" (In the mountains) and in its final orchestral version. This piano reduction is very likely a preceding version and already contains a few indications for a later orchestral setting. Interesting is that the piano reduction is only titled "Suita" and there is no clue to the later title. The work is dedicated to the memory of his mother Marie who had already died on 16 February 1878.

The final orchestral version was the first large-scale composition by Josef Bohuslav Foerster that received a performace. The world premiere was given at the Prague Conservatory by an orchestra under the baton of Antonin Bennewitz in 1884.