Composer. Born in Prague, he studied composition with Antonin Dvorak but chose to concentrate on light music. Most of his 400 works are marches, waltzes, and polkas. Fucik conducted military bands in Prague, Vienna, and Berlin, and for a time he was billed as "The John Philip Sousa of Bohemia". In 1913 he settled in Berlin and opened a music publishing firm, but the privations of World War I ruined his business and his health. He returned to Prague in 1916 and died there at 44. Fucik's march "Entry of the Gladiators" (1897) is probably the most famous piece of music written by a Czech. Known in English-speaking countries as "Screamers" or "Thunder and Blazes", it has traditionally been used to introduce clowns in circuses.
Composer. Born in Prague, he studied composition with Antonin Dvorak but chose to concentrate on light music. Most of his 400 works are marches, waltzes, and polkas. Fucik conducted military bands in Prague, Vienna, and Berlin, and for a time he was billed as "The John Philip Sousa of Bohemia". In 1913 he settled in Berlin and opened a music publishing firm, but the privations of World War I ruined his business and his health. He returned to Prague in 1916 and died there at 44. Fucik's march "Entry of the Gladiators" (1897) is probably the most famous piece of music written by a Czech. Known in English-speaking countries as "Screamers" or "Thunder and Blazes", it has traditionally been used to introduce clowns in circuses.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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