Franz Xaver Neruda was born in
Brno into a musical family. He was the fifth child of the organist of Brno Cathedral
Josef Neruda. He grew up in
Vienna and first learned violin with father (from 1852) and after the death of his brother Viktor, who played cello, he learned playing it himself. With his father and four siblings he performed through Europe in the Neruda Quartet and also as a soloist. In 1859, he studied cello for half a year with
Adrien-François Servais. Later Neruda became a member of the royal chapel in
Copenhagen. On 3 December 1868, he founded there a chamber music society and the next year, he was named royal chamber musician. In 1869, he married ballet dancer
Camilla Cetti. After engagements in
London and
Manchester, he moved back to Copenhagen until he became appointed by
Anton Rubinstein as a successor of cello professor
Karl Davydov at the
Saint Petersburg Conservatory. In 1891, he was appointed conductor of the Stockholm music society and in 1892, conductor of the
Copenhagen music society, succeeding
Niels Gade and
Emil Hartmann. In 1893, he was cello professor at the
Copenhagen conservatory. His students there included composer
Anna Schytte. After his death,
Carl Nielsen succeeded him as a director of the Copenhagen music society and he composed a Prologue for recitation and orchestra
In memoriam Franz Neruda. His sister
Wilma Neruda was a famous violinist while another sister
Maria Neruda, also a violinist, married the singer and composer
Fritz Arlberg. ==Works==