Jiří Herold

Jiří Herold (Czech: Jiří Herold; 16 April 1875 – 13 November 1934) was a Czech violist and composer. He studied at the Prague Conservatory, where he trained in violin with Franz Lachner and Antonín Bennewitz and studied composition with Karel Knittl.

Herold worked in Vienna and in Kraków. In 1902 he founded his own string quartet, and in 1906 he joined the renowned Czech Quartet, replacing Oskar Nedbal (who had been briefly substituted by Lionel Tertis). Herold remained the violist of the Czech Quartet until his death, and from 1922 he also served as professor of chamber ensemble at the Prague Conservatory.

He died in a broadcasting studio during a rehearsal of Berlioz’s symphony “Harold in Italy,” after which the Czech Quartet was dissolved. In his compositional output, works for viola are of particular interest.

Herold’s name has continued to be commemorated in later musical life: in 1998 young Czech musicians founded the Herold Quartet (Heroldovo kvarteto), and in 2025 the Italian violist Marco Mischnay recorded the world premiere of Herold’s “Etudes for Viola.”

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