A Musical Journey of Passion and Obsession

Zdeněk Fibich

Valentine’s Day is here, and love is once again in the air. While I hope that I will get lots of chocolates and flowers this year, I am also intrigued by how love, in all forms, shapes, and sizes, is represented in classical music.

And I just found one of the most remarkable musical diaries dedicated to love composed by the Czech composer Zdeněk Fibich (1850-1900). Will you join us on a musical journey of passion and obsession that was originally not to be shared with the public?

Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, Op. 41, Book 1 (Marián Lapšanský, piano)

Tragic Backstory

Anežka Schulzová

Zdeněk Fibich married Růžena Hanušová, the daughter of a mill owner, in 1873. Their happiness only lasted one year as one of their twin children, his wife’s younger sister, and his wife died in October 1874. Fibich was now alone with his nine-month-old daughter, but following his late wife’s wishes, he married her older sister Betty, a leading singer at the Czech Provisional Theatre.

Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, Op. 41, Book 2 (Marián Lapšanský, piano)

Anežka Schulzová

Růžena Hanušová

In 1886, Anežka Schulzová (1868–1905), the daughter of a well-known historian, writer, and literary critic, began to study piano with Fibich. In 1892, when she started composition lessons, Schulzová began to have a profound effect on her teacher. The passionate relationship that developed was the inspiration for many of Fibich’s later compositions.

Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, Op. 41, Book 3 (Marián Lapšanský, piano)

The Muse

Betty Hanušová

Schulzová, eighteen years Fibich’s junior, wrote the librettos for his last three operas, and he composed the most remarkable musical diary dedicated to love. Their passionate love affair caused a bit of a scandal in Prague, and his cycle of 376 piano pieces entitled Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences records his love for Schulzová.

Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, Op. 41, Book 4 (Marián Lapšanský, piano)

Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences

Anežka Schulzová

The collection contains pieces that range from one line to several pages in multiple styles and moods. These miniatures assumed a special significance for Fibich and Schulzová. The cross-referencing among the pieces and quotations from other works by Fibich and other composers, represent specific situations in their relationship.

Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, Op. 44, Book 1 (Marián Lapšanský, piano)

Titles and Descriptions

Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences

Fibich also assigned private titles to the pieces, but they were not included in the published scores. These musical descriptions detail everything from a walk in the woods and many events they shared to specific descriptions of Schulzová’s body and clothes.

Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, Op. 44, Book 2 (Marián Lapšanský, piano)

The Collection

The musical diary of love was composed over a number of years. Op. 41 contains 4 series and 171 pieces that date from between 1892 and 1894. The 33 pieces of Op. 44 were composed between July and August 1895, and Op. 47 contains 148 pieces in total. The 24 pieces of Op. 57 were composed between 1896 and 1899 and published posthumously.

Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, Op. 44, Book 3 (Marián Lapšanský, piano)

Opus 41 and 44

Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, Op. 41

The majority of pieces from Op. 41 are subtitled “Study for the opera The Storm,” possibly Fibich’s best-known stage drama. Much of Opus 44 is a description of Anežka wearing different clothes. We find pieces of extreme yearning and his tender portrayal of love and subdued passion.

Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, Op. 44, Book 4 (Marián Lapšanský, piano)

Personal Descriptions

The manuscript scores carry Fibich’s personal descriptions, but they were not taken over into the published scores. We know the background of some of the pieces from Anežka’s own notes and some thematic cross-references. In 1925, a critic and cultural explorer described these pieces in some detail in his “Fibich’s Erotic Diary,” but he steered clear of some of the most explicit ones. He did go as far as identifying the pieces related to Anežka’s breast, however.

Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, Op. 47, Book 10 (Marián Lapšanský, piano)

Happy Valentine’s Day

Except in a few obvious cases, the titles are more a code than a descriptive programme. There can be no doubt that some of the musical references held significance for the lovers alone, and they must remain a mystery to us today. I really don’t think it is necessary to provide a blow by blow description of this highly intimate musical diary—just listen carefully and the music will tell all.

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Zdeněk Fibich: Moods, Impressions and Reminiscences, Op. 57, Book 2 (Marián Lapšanský, piano)