Frantisek Blatt

František Tadeáš Blatt (Frantisek Tadeas Blatt) was a Czech clarinetist and composer born in 1793 in Prague and died there on 9 March 1856. His family moved to Vienna in 1796, and although he initially studied at an academy of painting in accordance with his father's wishes, the death of his father in 1807 allowed him to pursue music in earnest. He returned to Prague and undertook clarinet studies with Václav František Fárník from 1811 to 1817 and composition with Dionys Weber at the Prague Conservatory, becoming in 1815 one of its first twelve graduates.

Blatt made his performance debut in Germany in 1814 and successfully toured in Germany and Northern Europe in the following years. From 1817 he served as first clarinetist of the Estates Theatre orchestra, and a year later he became an assistant professor at the conservatory. In 1820 he succeeded Fárník as professor of clarinet at the Prague Conservatory, where he also acted for a period as deputy director.

Highly respected in his time, Blatt was praised by Hector Berlioz, who once called him the finest musician of the day after conducting a performance featuring him. His virtuosity was also commended by Carl Maria von Weber, François-Joseph Fétis, and other contemporaries. His contributions to clarinet pedagogy were significant, and in the late 1820s he published his "Clarinet Method," issued in both German and French and focused on the nine- and twelve-key clarinet. An expanded 1839 edition included a fingering table for the thirteen-key clarinet.

As a composer, Blatt produced a body of works written almost exclusively for the clarinet, including études, duets, trios, concert pieces, and a clarinet concerto. Among his notable works are the Variations in C minor Op. 12, Variations in G minor Op. 14, the 12 Capricci Op. 17, 15 Amusing Exercises Op. 26, a clarinet trio Op. 27, and the Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra Op. 28. He also authored extensive pedagogical literature for oboe and English horn, and some of his exercises later became part of saxophone teaching repertoire.

In addition to his instrumental work, Blatt taught singing and published a vocal manual, "Kurzgefasste theoretische praktische Gesangschule" in 1829. He was married to Johanna Kotul and had several children, including sons Friederich, Adolf, and Ludwig.

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