František Neumann (16 June 1874 – 25 February 1929) was a Czech conductor and composer. He was particularly associated with the National Theatre in Brno, and the composer Leoš Janáček, the premieres of many of whose operas he conducted.
Biography
František Neumann was born in Přerov, Moravia in 1874. He attended school in Prostějov and Chrudim, then went to work in Prague while studying music under K. Sebor. He spent a year in voluntary military service at Olomouc, then joined his father's smoked meat business.[1]
He returned to Czechoslovakia and became Chief Conductor at the National Theatre in Brno, becoming its director in 1925. In his first season 1919-20 he introduced regular subscription concerts, and he brought a much needed discipline to the fledgling organisation.[2] There, among other achievements, he premiered four of Leoš Janáček's operas: