Die finanzielle Lage Bedřich Smetanas im Lichte der Quellen
The Financial Situation of Bedřich Smetana in the Light of Historical Sources

Summary/Abstract: The study investigates the financial situation of Bedřich Smetana and its fluctuations in the individual phases of his life. It is based especially on a detailed analysis of the composer's financial records preserved in various types of written sources (diaries, catalogues of his music institute, records of revenues from opera performances, correspondence, and other individual documents). With a few exceptions, Smetana kept regular and systematic records of his revenues from as early as the 1850s; as of the 1860s, his records also included family expenditures. These overviews provide rather detailed and credible information about the amount and structure of Smetana's finances in the individual periods. Apart from investigating the changes in the value and proportions of the incomes and expenses, the study also uses the above described sources to analyse the circumstances determining Smetana's financial situation and the way in which they interacted with his artistic and social activities, and to determine his actual economic situation in general. The supplemented tables summarize his annual income and expenses in the individual years, including the main items constituting their structure.

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