He was born in
Michle (now part of
Prague). His father, a gardener by occupation, was an amateur violinist. He taught his two sons the violin and after discovering the talent of Jan, who was aged five at the time, arranged for him to study with
Karel Weber and
Karel Ondříček. Aged eight he studied at the
Prague Conservatory with
Otakar Ševčík, of whose technique he became the most famous representative. As a child, he used to practice 10 to 12 hours a day, or "until my fingers started to bleed." After 1898, he toured as a soloist, soon becoming renowned for his great virtuosity and flawless intonation, and his very full and noble tone. He played a
Guarneri del Gesù and also two
Stradivarius violins: he acquired the 1715
Stradivarius Emperor in 1910. After great success following his debut in
Vienna, and in
London (where he first appeared at a
Hans Richter concert in 1900), Kubelík toured in the
United States in 1901 In 1902 he brought the
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra to London, having assisted it financially in the previous year. In 1903, he married Countess Anna Julie Marie Széll von Bessenyö (born 1 March 1880 in
Budapest), niece of former Prime Minister of Hungary
Kálmán Széll, with whom he had eight children, five violinist daughters and three sons, among them
conductor Rafael Kubelík. Kubelík made a number of recordings; his acoustic recordings were made for The
Gramophone and Typewriter Company Ltd., the
Victor Talking Machine Company,
Fonotipia/
Odeon and
Schallplatte Grammophon/
Polydor (who also recorded
Váša Příhoda,
Franz von Vecsey and
Jacques Thibaud). The Gramophone Company recorded him as accompanist to
Dame Nellie Melba in 1904, a match which reflected the classical phrasing, tonal purity and security of his art and was an ideal complement to it. Their early version of the
Bach-
Gounod Ave Maria (G.C. 03033) was recorded twice, in October 1904 and again in February 1905, and this was one of the great early classics of the
gramophone, one of those records which 'made' the instrument a popular success, though the double celebrity single-sided title retailed at one guinea. Nine years later (when technology had improved) the partnership was reformed to re-make the record (as 03333), in May 1913 with
organ accompaniment and again in October 1913. It was the latter version which then survived in the inter-war catalogue in two-sided form. His 1935
Carnegie Hall concert was also recorded and has been reissued. He wrote music, including six
violin concertos, and continued to perform in public until his death, with a pause between the end of
World War I and 1920, during which period he composed. In 1920 he resumed his concert career. In 1917, he was elected as an honorary member of
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia music fraternity by the fraternity's Alpha chapter at the
New England Conservatory in Boston. Jan Kubelík died in Prague in 1940, aged 60. == Critical reception and legacy ==