Emil Břetislav Lvovský

Emil Břetislav/Brzetislav Lvovský was born in Prague on 10 September 1857. However, he is entered as Emil Pick in the civil registry. He probably chose the Slavic patriotic name Břetislav himself. It is derived from the Old Czech verb břěčeti, i. e. to sound, to make noise. He died on 12 July 1910 in Vienna. If we add Lviv to Prague and Vienna, we have three cities where Lvovský spent his life.

The records kept by the Prague Police Directorate show that he was initially listed as an accountant (Buchhalter, Geschäftsleiter, Geschäftsreisende, Handelsagent), and later as composer (Tonkünstler, Komponist). Josef Srb-Debrnov already mentioned musical education in the entry “Lvovský” in his manuscript dictionary, drawing on documents sent to the Lvovský family in 1895: “He [Lvovský] studied the bass with Professor Simandl at the Vienna Conservatory.” 13 The quote suggests that Lvovský was a student at the Conservatory, but according to the director of the Archiv Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (where the Conservatory collection from 1817–1909 is kept), Lvovský’s name is not in the lists of students.14 This means that he studied with Simandl privately, and this is what statements such as “he studied with Simandl in Vienna” or “student of Simandl” refer to;15 his studies are also confirmed by the dedication in Lvovský’s composition Drei Stücke im alten Style nach den Violinsonaten von Arcangelo Corelli (published in 1904). There is no information about Lvovský’s playing level as a double bassist, as he only appears in concert programmes as an accompanying pianist. Lvovský must have been an excellent player – he also composed for this instrument and dedicated some of his compositions to his virtuoso teacher Simandl, who played them publicly (and taught them, especially to advanced students). The question then arises where Lvovský had studied (piano, double bass) before Simandl became his teacher. Without that education he would not have been able to get a position as a teacher at the Lviv Conservatory.

Thanks to Jan Kment we have the following quotation:

"An interesting comparison was arrived at by B. Lvovský after Bottesini’s death. Some concert audiences preferred Bottesini’s playing because he used a salon double bass, equipped with weak strings. Simandl, however, used an instrument of normal construction and strings (from 1893 he played a Maggini instrument) and yet, in the view of those who had the opportunity to hear both virtuosos in the same works, Simandl surpassed Bottesini in power and beauty of tone and in wonderful technique."

Lvovský debuted in Vienna as a composer, a double bass player and a piano accompanist at the end of 1890. He and Simandl performed at the same concerts, and it is possible that it was Simandl who helped Lvovský to establish himself.