V. F. Safranek

Vincent Frank "V.F." Safranek (March 24, 1867 in Bohemia – September 7, 1955 in San Diego) was a Czech American musician.

Safranek came to the United States at an early age. His father John was Chief Musician in the 34th Infantry in 1899. Safranek studied at the Conservatory of Music in Prague.

After graduation he applied for a bandmaster position and was selected for training and sent to the 25th Infantry band at Fort Missoula, Montana. Safranek served in the Spanish American War and World War I. He developed ideas on the concept of the military band and added such instruments as alto and bass clarinets, oboes, French horns and flugelhorns to his band. Many of the military band arrangements were designed for brass bands with extra reed parts.

As a result of his work combining and balancing the instrumentation of the military band, Safranek became the chief band arranger for the Carl Fischer publishing house. He made contributions to the band repertoires including marches, overtures and novelty numbers. He composed two popular suites for band, the Atlantis (1913) and Don Quixote (1914) suites. In 1916 he published a book on military music, Complete Instructive Manual for Bugle, Trumpet, and Drum, and in 1923 he published another on harmony called Safranek's Guide to Harmony.

He served for 30 years as a U.S. Army bandmaster and retired in 1930 from the army. Although many of his arrangements have disappeared from the band repertoire, his International Peace march medley and Master Melodies remain as classic band works.

Birth and Death Data: Born March 24, 1867, Died September 7, 1955

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1899 - 1916

Roles Represented in DAHR: arranger, composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Berliner 8 7-in. Before Apr. 1899 Coxey's army Band (unidentified; Berliner Gramophone Co.) Band composer  
Victor C-9752 12-in. 1/3/1911 Operatic masterpieces Arthur Pryor's Band Band arranger  
Victor C-10352 12-in. 5/17/1911 Směs čes kých písní Kryl's Bohemian Band Band composer  
Victor C-14318 12-in. 1/13/1914 Venetian scene, with barcarolle Vessella's Italian Band Band arranger  
Victor C-18745 12-in. 11/9/1916 Symphony no. 4 : Finale Vessella's Italian Band Band arranger  
Columbia 9000 12-in. ca. 1907 Smes ceskych pisni Prince's Military Band Band composer  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Safranek, V. F.," accessed April 19, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110926.

Safranek, V. F.. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110926.

"Safranek, V. F.." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 19 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/110926

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