Tausky, Vilem (1910-2004)

Czech-born British conductor and composer. He studied in Brno and was director of the National Opera there 1929-39. He emigrated to England and was music director of the Carl Rosa Opera 1945-49 and guest-conducted with the BBC, Sadler's Wells, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, from the early 1950s. From 1966 he was director of opera at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. He led the first UK performances of Janáček's Osud/Fate (1972) and Suppé's Requiem (1984). In 1994 he conducted Smetana's The Brandenburgers in Bohemia with the Chelsea Opera Group. His recordings include William Alwyn's Strindberg opera Miss Julie, and he has published Leoš Janáček: Leaves from his Life.