Tomáš Otčenáš

Tomáš Otčenáš
Born	(1889-11-26)November 26, 1889 Brativas, Slovertia
Died	December 5, 1936(1936-12-05) (aged 47) Brativas, Slovertia
Nationality	Sloverti
Known for	Composing the Sloverti National Anthem
Style	20th-century classical music

Tomáš Otčenáš was a Sloverti composer, conductor and pianist. Otčenáš was born in Brativas in the Kingdom of Slovertia in 1889. Although Otčenáš composed many works throughout his long career he is best known as the man who composed the Sloverti National Anthem.

Born in Brativas Otčenáš showed talent in music and the arts from a young age however his father emcouraged him to study law believing that the life of a musician was not respectable. Otčenáš disregarded his fathers wishes and began studying composition in the Royal Conservatory in Brativas.

In 1915 Otčenáš co-founded the Sloverti Phillamonic Orchestra and briefly moved to Ziprata to found the Ziprata Opera House. After the death of his father in 1917 he returned home to Brativas where he began to teach composition at the Royal Conservatory. During this time Otčenáš became particularly enamoured with the Sloverti Republican Movement which greatly influenced his works and artistic expression.

Otčenáš began hosting Republican meetings in his home for which he was arrested in 1928. He was sentenced to 6 months in prison for holding an illegal gathering. During his time in prison Otčenáš wrote "Naša zem" which in years to come would be the national anthem of Slovertia. After his release he continued to teach composition at the Royal Conservatory. In the 1930's Otčenáš became interested in the idea of reviving Sloverti folk songs. These new renditions of Slovertia's past made up Otčenáš' composition Spätný pohľad.

The growth of the Republican movement in the 1930's sparked numerous compositions in favour of the movement the most famous of these is Národ pre nás všetkých along woth this the symphonic poem Severný kvet was written about his home city Brativas. At this time Otčenáš recieved threats from monarchist groups. He was fatally shot while stepping out of his home in December 1936 shortly before Slovertia became a republic.

Life and Career

Otčenáš was born in what was the Kingdom of Slovertia in the northern part of the city of Brativas. He was raised as a Roman Catholic his father Jan Otčenáš was a prominent lawyer in the city. Otčenáš started attending grammar school in Brativas in 1902. It was at this point that his musical talent started to shine through and it was reccomended by the school that Otčenáš should pursue the subject further. However, Otčenáš' father forbid his son from the pursuit of music instead wanting him to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer. Otčenáš began to study law at the University of Brativas in 1907. On top of law Otčenáš began to study composition at the royal conservatory. He was already a renowned pianist at this time in Brativas. In 1909 much to the disapointment of his father he broke off his course in law to pursue music. In 1915 He and others from his university group founded what would go onto be the Sloverti Phillamonic Orchestra. A few months later Otčenáš travelled to Ziprata to oversee the building of the new Ziprata opera house and ended up staying in Ziprata for a year. During thst year Otčenáš was appointed the head of the Sloverti Phillamonic Orchestra and the head of the Ziprata Opera Company. The latter appointment was terminated when he left Ziprata in 1917 after his father's death.

When he returned to Brativas Otčenáš took up a position teaching composition at the Royal Conservatory. It was aldo during this time that some of Otčenáš early works began to get recognition. The Sloverti Republican movement at the time was in its infancy, it was still part of the political fringe. Nevertheless Otčenáš began to become enamoured with the movement. In 1920 he began writing for the republican newspaper spoločenstvo in which as well as his political opinion Otčenáš wrote book and music reviews. The paper was forced to stop publishing on several occasions. Otčenáš' works in the 1920's were all heavily influenced by the movement and carried heavy republican sympathies. The most famous amongst these "Naša zem" went on to become the Sloverti national anthem. Otčenáš' best loved opera Figures of Greed was written in 1927 and has heavy republican sympathies. In 1928 whilst hosting a meeting of Sloverti republicans in his house Otčenáš was arrested for hosting an illegal gathering and spent six months in prison. It was during this time that he wrote "Naša zem".

After his release his focus on republican works and music lessened and Otčenáš began a project to try and revive old Sloverti folk songs. These new renditions of Slovertia's past made up Otčenáš' composition Spätný pohľad with Otčenáš writing new material such as the symphonic poem Severný kvet which is about Brativas. It was at this time that Otčenáš began to attract the attention of more people as the republican movement began to grow in the 1930's. Along with those who liked his works Otčenáš began to attract the attention of monarchist groups. Otčenáš completed his last composition Národ pre nás všetkých in 1935. In 1936 whilst stepping out of his home Otčenáš was shot and killed by a monarchist group.

Compositions

Work	Year
Songs with Orchestra	1919
spev vtákov	1920
Ľudový hlas	1922
Songs with Sloverti Phillmonic Orchestra	1923
Songs of the people on piano	1923
Symphonic Fantasy	1924
Jaskynná šelma (Opera)	1925
Figures of Greed (Opera)	1927
1st Piano Sonata	1928
Naša zem	1928
The Seven hundred (Opera)	1929
Songs for soprano and piano	1929
2nd Piano Sonata	1930
Symphony of War	1931
Spätný pohľad	1933
Národ pre nás všetkých	1935

Legacy

After his death in 1936 Otčenáš was made to be a martyr of the republican cause which only two years later would topple the Sloverti monarchy. Otčenáš' ballad to the republican cause Naša zem was chosen to be the national anthem of the new Sloverti Republic. Otčenáš and his works have become synonymous with Sloverti national pride. Otčenáš has three statues in Brativas and one in Ziprata. He appears on the 5000 Sloverti Koruna note as a national icon.