Karel Bendl
Karel Bendl, or , pseudonym: "Podskalský" (16 April 1838, Prague, Bohemia, Austrian Empire 20 September 1897, Prague) was a Czech composer. Life. Bendl was born and died in Prague. He studied at the organ school, where he met and befriended Antonín Dvořák one year before graduating with honors in 1858. By then he had already composed a number of small choral works. In 1861 his "Poletuje holubice" won a prize and at once became a favorite with the local choral societies. In 1864, Bendl went to Brussels, where for a short time he held the post of second conductor  of the opera. After visiting Amsterdam and Paris. In Paris, he became influenced by the stage works of Charles Gounod and Ambroise Thomas and especially by Giacomo Meyerbeer. By 1865, he was back in Prague where he was appointed conductor of the choral society known as "", and he held the post until 1879, when Russian (originally from Hamburg), includes engaged his services for his private band. Bendl's first opera "Lejla" was successfully produced in 1868. It was followed by "Břetislav a Jitka" (1870), "Starý ženich", a comic opera (1883), "Karel Škréta" (1883), "Dítě Tábora", a prize opera (1892), and  Máti Míla (1891). Other operas by Bendl are "Indická princezna", "Černohorci", a prize opera, and the two operas "Čarovný květ" and "Gina". His ballad "Švanda dudák" acquired much popularity; he published a mass in D minor for male voices and another mass for a mixed choir; two songs to "Ave Maria"; a violin sonata and a string quartet Op.119 in F Major; and a quantity of songs and choruses, many of which have come to be regarded as national possessions of Bohemia.