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Jan August Vitásek

1771 – 1839

Czech music educator, composer, pianist and organist

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About Jan August Vitásek

Lived 1771 – 1839 (aged 68). Jan August Vitásek was a composer, music educator, organist and pianist.

Jan Matyáš Nepomuk August Vitásek (also Jan Nepomuk Augustin Vitásek, Johann Matthias Wittasek/Wittaschek; February 20, 1770 – December 7, 1839) was a Bohemian composer.

Vitásek was born at Hořín. He studied under his father and then under František Xaver Dušek and Leopold Koželuch, the latter of whom he would succeed in the position of music director in 1814 at the Cathedral of St. Vitus in Prague. Vitásek remained in Prague for the rest of his life and became one of the city's leading musical figures, even refusing an offer of a directorship at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna. He became the director of the organ school for a Bohemian organization called the Society for the Promotion of Church Music in 1830. He died in Prague.

Vitásek's compositional output includes one opera (David, 1810), twelve masses, seven requiems, many other choral works both sacred and secular, some symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and preludes and fugues for organ. In 1823–24, he was one of the 50 composers who composed a variation on a waltz by Anton Diabelli for Vaterländischer Künstlerverein.

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Important facts

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Also known as
Jan August Vitasek

People in Jan August Vitásek's life

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Frequently asked questions

Who was Jan August Vitásek?

Czech music educator, composer, pianist and organist

When was Jan August Vitásek born?

Jan August Vitásek was born on 20 February 1771 in Hořín.

When did Jan August Vitásek die?

Jan August Vitásek died on 7 December 1839 in Prague.

What was Jan August Vitásek's occupation?

Jan August Vitásek was a composer, music educator, organist and pianist.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Jan August Vitásek

· Wikidata: Q1681585

· DBpedia: Jan August Vitásek

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jan August Vitásek. https://biography.guide/jan-august-vitasek/

MLA: "Jan August Vitásek." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jan-august-vitasek/.

Chicago: "Jan August Vitásek." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jan-august-vitasek/.

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