n Czech composers active in the 1st half of the 20th century
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nJosef Suk (1874-1935)
nBohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)
nErwin Schulhoff (1894-1942)
nPavel Haas (1899-1944)

nJosef Suk (1874-1935)
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n „Under Dvořák,
Suk graduated from the conservatory in 1892 with his Dramatická ouvertura op.4. He was Dvořák’s
favourite pupil and in 1898 married his daughter Otilie (Otilka). Simrock had published his
Serenade for strings op.6 (1892) in 1896 on Brahms’s recommendation and by the turn of the century
Suk was regarded, with Novák, as the leading composer of the modern Czech school. In 1922 he was
appointed professor of composition for the advanced classes of the Prague Conservatory, where he
trained 35 composers, including Bořkovec, Ježek, Hlobil, Martinů … and several others.“ (GROVE)
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nMajor works by Suk
nSerenade for strings op.6 (1892)
nop.16 suite, Pohádka (‘Fairy Tale’, 1899–1900)
nAsrael symphony op.27 (1905–6).
nMeditation on the Old Czech Chorale Saint Wenceslas for String orchestra (also string quartet
version), op. 35a (1914)
nmarch V nový život (‘Towards a New Life’, op.35c, 1919–20), won an award at the 1932 Olympics at
Los Angeles

nBohuslav Martinů (1890-1959)
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n„Czech composer. Although he spent most of his creative life away from his native Czechoslovakia,
he is widely regarded, after Janáček, as the most substantial Czech composer of the 20th century.“
(GROVE)
nLarge operatic work (surrealistic operas, Julietta, Greek Passion after Kazantzakis)
nhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eATLId3SPHM&feature=related
nsymphonic works, concerts etc. (among them 6 symphonies)
nvarious vocal compositions (solo, choruses etc.)
nVarious chamber music
nLe Jazz (1928) a movement for vocal and orchestra

n Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942)
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nCzech composer and pianist of German descent. Died in concentration camp in Bavaria.
nWikipedia (eng): „Born in Prague of Jewish-German origin, Schulhoff was one of the brightest
figures in a generation of European musicians whose successful careers were prematurely terminated
by the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany. Despite making important contributions to the
development of European classical music during the early 20th century, their works have largely
languished in obscurity, including Schulhoff's.“
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nhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TImo6DutIHA
nEsquises de jazz (piano)

nPavel Haas (1899-1944)
n Czech composer, born in Brno.
n Studied composition at the Brno Conservatory in Janáček's masterclass (1920–22). „Haas took the
style of Janáček as his starting point, and came closer to Janáček's compositional method than any
of his other pupils. However, he developed this in his own way and soon achieved a mature
individuality in the Wind Quintet op.10, the Piano Suite op.13 and the opera Šarlatán (‘The
Charlatan’). During the German Occupation he suffered persecution on account of his Jewish origin,
performances of his compositions were banned, and neither he nor his wife were allowed to work. He
was imprisoned in Terezín concentration camp (1941–4), where he continued to compose, including ...
the Study for Strings (1943). Haas died in a gas chamber at Auschwitz.“ (GROVE)
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nSelected works
nRadio ouverture (1931)
n http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrzs9z79R2w&feature=related
n(I am sound…, I am wave, bearing the sound… I am microphone… we praise mankind´s spirit and are
looking for amplion… I am amplion… Bearing in my entrails sound, waves and microphone…and my
entrails are by man´s hands given to the billions of eustachian tubes… I am the interpreter of
continents…)
nStudy for strings (1943)
n http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxNSZ47DYA8