(b. Kelfi, Moravia, 1882), Czech composer, choirmaster and professor at the Prague Conservatoire. Kricka entered the Conservatoire as a student in 1902, working at composition under Stecker. He belongs, however, to the group of musicians directly influenced by Vit. Novak. Leaving the Prague Conservatoire in 1905 he spent a little time in Berlin before visiting Russia. Fascinated by the artistic life of that country, he settled down for several years as professor of composition at the Music School at Ekaterinoslav. Kridka was a great admirer of Rimsky-Korsakov, and this Russian period left its traces upon his earlier works. He returned to Prague in 1909, and quickly made a reputation as a choirmaster, directing the famous choral society * Hlahol * until 1920. In the meantime he discarded external influences in his creative work and formed a clear personal style which deepens as time goes on. Kridka enjoyed a happy childhood in beautiful surroundings, and in the companionship of a younger brother, Peter, now a poet of distinction. From this unspoilt past he has kept a simple and delightful humour which enables him to sympathise with children, for whom, and about whom, he has written charmingly and- what is rarer-appropriately. Although much of his music is optimistic, he is by no means without a shadow. In his later choral works he touches chords of tragic memory and profound human sympathy. He has also a sincere religious sense, which is finely expressed in his cantata for chorus, soli and orchestra, 4 Pokuseni * (The Temptation in the Wilderness). Kridka's best work is lyrical and choral. His earlier song cycles ' Severni noci ' (Northern Nights), containing the remarkable song ' The A(batross,' ' 0 lasce a smtr i' (Of Love and Death), and ' Pisne rozchodu * (Songs of Parting) would-if well translated-enrich the recital programmes of other lands. The later songs, including the * Tfi bajky ' (Three Fables) and the ' Children's Songs ' require more intimate interpretation. His overture to The Blue Bird of Maeterlinck is a happy inspiration. His short choral works are sung by all such Czech choirs as are equal to the demands they make upon the technical powers of the singers. Kridka has only made one operatic e s sa y : ' Hypolita,' based on a story from Maurice Hewlett's Little Novels of Italy, produced at the National Theatre, Prague, in 1917. The following is a list of his chief compositions : O r c h e s t r a l :