Prof. Vladimír Franz is a prominent Czech composer and painter, stage music author and since the beginning of 1990´s also one of the leading personalities of newly forming face of Czech post-modern drama.
His stage music compositions affected and inspired the work of the most important representatives of the new generation of Czech theatre directors, i.e. J.A.Pitínský, Vladimír Morávek, Jiří Pokorný and Sergej Fedotov among others. In his work he follows the principles of his own theoretical concept of independent status of stage music as one of the determining components of the drama.
Besides stage, film and TV music he has composed monumental as well as chamber music pieces, which includes several oratorios, operas, a symphony, a musical, cantatas, songs, artificial folk songs or madrigals.
Vladimir Franz´s artwork on the field of painting arches from symbolistically elaborated elementary natural motifs and water-coloured impressions to large expressive variations to musical themes and large "altarpieces". To date, he has held more than fifty independent exhibitions both in the Czech Republic and abroad and participated in more than fifty collective shows, exhibitions and competitions. His works of art are on display in galleries and form part of private collections on three continents.
Musical works
Up to the present time, Vladimír Franz has composed music for 130 drama productions (some of them were released on CD), stage oratorios Júdith (Judit, 1999), Ruth (Rut, 2000) and Hercules (Hérakles, 2002) and the musical Temptation of St Anthony (Pokušení sv.Antonína, 2001).
He has composed 150 songs and ballads, folk suittes Love and Death (Láska a smrt, 1985) and Mardi grass (Masopust, 1984), music for the performances Construction of the Tower of Babel (Stavba Babylónské věže, 1994), Icaros Ascending (Ikarův vzestup, 1995) and The Republic Celebrates its Birthday (Republika má narozeniny, 2006) and for radio plays Hamlet (2001), The Tempest (Bouře, 2002), and Achájové (2007).
Furthemore, he has composed a chamber cantata The Cry of Spectres (Křik strašidel) to the same-name poem of a famous Czech poet and the Nobel Prize winner Jaroslav Seifert and a cantata for a mixed choir Tractatus Pacis (based on the text of a medieval European peace agreement proposal and some parts of biblical Apocalypse).
Vladimír Franz has also composed music for the TV play Historical Events (Dějinné události), for the documentaries Journey to Sambhala (Cesta do Šambhaly) and Varga, music for Tomáš Vorel´s feature film The Stone Bridge (Kamenný most, 1996), part of the music for Vít Olmer´s movie Czech Waterloo (Waterloo po česku, 2002) and music for Jakub Hussar´s feature sci-fi movie Skeletons (Skeletoni).
Futhermore, he has composed a symphony for solo voices, narrator, children´s choir, mixed choir, organ and orchestra Songs on solitudes (Písně o Samotách, 2003; first performance 2004), the oratorio Ludus Danielis (1989) and the same-name opera (2001), a "pocket oratorio" Young Men in the Stew (Mládenci v peci ohnivé, 2007), an opera The War with the Newts (Válka s mloky, 2005), a symphonic overture The Bourgeois Gentleman (Měšťák šlechticem, 2007) and a ballet Goldilocks (Zlatovláska, 2006; first performance 2006).
Vladimír Franz has also composed the organ and drums variations Dialogues (Dialogy) organ Variations in Homage to IV of Drazice (Variace k pocte Jana IV z Dražic), Variations in Homage to St George (Variace k pocte sv. Jiří), Homage to Vitkov Hill (Pocta hoře Vítkov), Variations in Hommage to St Wenceslas (Pocta sv. Václavovi) and the cycles of madrigals Choruses from Oedipus the King (Sbory z Krále Oidipa), Theatre Madrigals (Divadelní madrigaly) and The Radiant Night (Zářící noc).
Futrher MP3 samples can be found here: http://franz.wz.cz/mp3/