Hans Krása
Encyclopedia
Hans Krása was a Czech
composer
who was killed in the Holocaust
at Auschwitz. He helped to organize cultural life in Theresienstadt concentration camp
.
to a Czech father who was a lawyer
, and a German-Jewish mother. He studied both the piano
and violin
as a child and went on to study composition at the German Music Academy in Prague. After graduating, he went on to become a répétiteur
at the Neues Deutsches Theater
, where he met the composer and conductor Alexander Zemlinsky, who had a major influence on Krása's career.
In 1927 he followed Zemlinsky to Berlin
, where he was introduced to Albert Roussel
. Krása, whose primary influences were Mahler, Schoenberg
and Zemlinsky, also felt an affinity with French music, especially the group of composers known as Les Six
and made a number of trips to France
to study under Roussel whilst he lived in Berlin. Krása eventually returned, homesick, to Prague
to resume his old job as a répétiteur at the Neues Deutsches Theater.
Krása's debut as a composer came with his Four Orchestral Songs op. 1, based on the Galgenlieder (Gallows Songs) of Christian Morgenstern
. The work was first performed under Zemlinsky's direction in Prague in May 1921 and was widely acclaimed. There followed a string quartet, a set of five songs for voice and piano and his Symphonie für kleines Orchester, which was performed in Zurich
, Paris
and Boston
. His major achievement, however, was the opera Verlobung im Traum (Betrothal in a Dream) after the novel Uncle's Dream by Dostoyevsky. This work was first performed at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague
in 1933 under Georg Szell and was awarded the Czechoslovak State Prize.
Brundibár
, a children's opera based on a play by Aristophanes
, was the last work Krása completed before he was arrested by the Nazis
on August 10, 1942. Krása was sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto
where he reworked
Brundibár
for the available forces, which was then performed 55 times in the camp and also features in the infamous propaganda film made for the Red Cross in 1944. While he was interned in the ghetto, Krása was at his most productive, producing a number of chamber works, although due to the circumstances, some of these have not survived.
, Pavel Haas
and Gideon Klein
, Krása was taken to Auschwitz
and, being considered too old to work and also a possible threat to order, was killed in October 1944. He was not yet 45 years old.
, Čtyřverší, Vzrušení and Přátelé, sung by Christian Gerhaher
, appear on the CD Terezín - Theresienstadt initiated by Anne Sofie von Otter, Deutsche Grammophon, 2007.
His String Quartet appears on Pavel Haas
and Hans Krása: String Quartets, performed by the Hawthorne String Quartet
as part of the Decca
series, Entartete Musik. Label: Decca 440 853-2
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
who was killed in the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
at Auschwitz. He helped to organize cultural life in Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
.
Life
Hans Krása was born in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
to a Czech father who was a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, and a German-Jewish mother. He studied both the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
as a child and went on to study composition at the German Music Academy in Prague. After graduating, he went on to become a répétiteur
Répétiteur
Répétiteur , repetitore , or Korrepetitor / Repetitor , originally from the French verb répéter meaning "to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse"....
at the Neues Deutsches Theater
Prague State Opera
The Prague State Opera , is an opera and ballet company in Prague, Czech Republic. The theatre was originally founded in 1888 as the New German Theatre and from 1949 to 1989 it was known as the Smetana Theatre....
, where he met the composer and conductor Alexander Zemlinsky, who had a major influence on Krása's career.
In 1927 he followed Zemlinsky to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he was introduced to Albert Roussel
Albert Roussel
Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period...
. Krása, whose primary influences were Mahler, Schoenberg
Schoenberg
Schoenberg is the surname of several persons:* Arnold Schoenberg , Austrian-American composer* Claude-Michel Schoenberg , French record producer, actor, singer, popular songwriter, and musical theatre composer...
and Zemlinsky, also felt an affinity with French music, especially the group of composers known as Les Six
Les Six
Les six is a name, inspired by The Five, given in 1920 by critic Henri Collet in an article titled "" to a group of six composers working in Montparnasse whose music is often seen as a reaction against the musical style of Richard Wagner and impressionist music.-Members:Formally, the Groupe des...
and made a number of trips to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to study under Roussel whilst he lived in Berlin. Krása eventually returned, homesick, to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
to resume his old job as a répétiteur at the Neues Deutsches Theater.
Krása's debut as a composer came with his Four Orchestral Songs op. 1, based on the Galgenlieder (Gallows Songs) of Christian Morgenstern
Christian Morgenstern
Christian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern was a German author and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on March 7, 1910...
. The work was first performed under Zemlinsky's direction in Prague in May 1921 and was widely acclaimed. There followed a string quartet, a set of five songs for voice and piano and his Symphonie für kleines Orchester, which was performed in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. His major achievement, however, was the opera Verlobung im Traum (Betrothal in a Dream) after the novel Uncle's Dream by Dostoyevsky. This work was first performed at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
in 1933 under Georg Szell and was awarded the Czechoslovak State Prize.
Brundibár
Brundibár
Brundibár is a children's opera by Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása with a libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister, originally performed by the children of Theresienstadt concentration camp in occupied Czechoslovakia...
, a children's opera based on a play by Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
, was the last work Krása completed before he was arrested by the Nazis
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
on August 10, 1942. Krása was sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto
Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt concentration camp was a Nazi German ghetto during World War II. It was established by the Gestapo in the fortress and garrison city of Terezín , located in what is now the Czech Republic.-History:The fortress of Terezín was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 by the orders...
where he reworked
Brundibár
Brundibár
Brundibár is a children's opera by Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása with a libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister, originally performed by the children of Theresienstadt concentration camp in occupied Czechoslovakia...
for the available forces, which was then performed 55 times in the camp and also features in the infamous propaganda film made for the Red Cross in 1944. While he was interned in the ghetto, Krása was at his most productive, producing a number of chamber works, although due to the circumstances, some of these have not survived.
Death
Along with fellow composers Viktor UllmannViktor Ullmann
Viktor Ullmann was a Silesia-born Austrian, later Czech composer, conductor and pianist of Jewish origin.- Biography :...
, Pavel Haas
Pavel Haas
Pavel Haas was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not large, he is notable particularly for his song cycles and string quartets.-Pre-war:Haas...
and Gideon Klein
Gideon Klein
Gideon Klein was a Czech pianist and composer of classical music, organizer of cultural life in Theresienstadt concentration camp.-Life:...
, Krása was taken to Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
and, being considered too old to work and also a possible threat to order, was killed in October 1944. He was not yet 45 years old.
Works
- 4 Orchesterlieder - op. 1 (1920) (text by Christian MorgensternChristian MorgensternChristian Otto Josef Wolfgang Morgenstern was a German author and poet from Munich. Morgenstern married Margareta Gosebruch von Liechtenstern on March 7, 1910...
) - String Quartet - op. 2 (1921)
- Symphonie für kleines Orchester (1923)
- 5 Lieder op. 4 - for voice and piano (1925) (text by Rilke, CatullusCatullusGaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
, MorgensternMorgensternMorgenstern is a Germanic surname meaning morning star.-Surname:* Barbara Morgenstern , German musician* Erin Morgenstern, American author* Joe Morgenstern, American film critic...
) - Verlobung im Traum (Betrothal in a Dream) (1928-30) - opera in two acts after the novel Uncle's Dream by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- Die Erde ist des Herrn (The Earth is the Lord's) (1931) - cantata for soloists, chorus and orchestra.
- Kammermusik - for harpsichord and seven instruments (1936)
- Theme and Variations - for string quartet (1936)
- BrundibárBrundibárBrundibár is a children's opera by Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása with a libretto by Adolf Hoffmeister, originally performed by the children of Theresienstadt concentration camp in occupied Czechoslovakia...
(1938-43) - symbolic anti-Nazi opera - Three Songs - for baritone, clarinet, viola and cello (1943) (text by Arthur RimbaudArthur RimbaudJean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet. Born in Charleville, Ardennes, he produced his best known works while still in his late teens—Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare"—and he gave up creative writing altogether before the age of 21. As part of the decadent...
) - Overture - for small orchestra (1943)
- Tanec - dance for string trio (1944)
- Passacaglia and Fugue - for string trio (1944)
Recordings
His Three Songs after poems by Arthur RimbaudArthur Rimbaud
Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a French poet. Born in Charleville, Ardennes, he produced his best known works while still in his late teens—Victor Hugo described him at the time as "an infant Shakespeare"—and he gave up creative writing altogether before the age of 21. As part of the decadent...
, Čtyřverší, Vzrušení and Přátelé, sung by Christian Gerhaher
Christian Gerhaher
Christian Gerhaher is a German baritone and bass singer in opera, concert and notably Lied.- Biography :Christian Gerhaher studied with Paul Kuen and Raimund Grumbach at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, and Lied with Friedemann Berger, already together with his accompanist for decades...
, appear on the CD Terezín - Theresienstadt initiated by Anne Sofie von Otter, Deutsche Grammophon, 2007.
His String Quartet appears on Pavel Haas
Pavel Haas
Pavel Haas was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not large, he is notable particularly for his song cycles and string quartets.-Pre-war:Haas...
and Hans Krása: String Quartets, performed by the Hawthorne String Quartet
Hawthorne String Quartet
The Hawthorne String Quartet is an American string quartet, all four of whose members are players from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Although its repertoire ranges from the 18th century to contemporary works, the ensemble specializes in works by composers who were interned at the Terezín...
as part of the Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
series, Entartete Musik. Label: Decca 440 853-2
Further reading
- Karas, Joža. Music in Terezin: 1941-1945. New York: Beaufort Books, 1985. ISBN 0-8253-0287-0.
- Schultz, Ingo & Bek. Josef. Hans Krasa, Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Online. 12 April 2002
External links
- Music and the Holocaust - Hans Krasa
- Comprehensive discography of Terezin Composers by Claude Torres
- Krása's Brundibár and Tanec with samples and a 28-page downloadable booklet onTerezín: The Music 1941-44Terezín: The Music 1941-44Terezín: The Music 1941–44 is a 2-CD set with music written by inmates at the Terezín concentration camp during World War II.Volume 1 contains chamber music by Gideon Klein, Viktor Ullmann, and Hans Krása; Volume 2 features the children's opera Brundibár by Krása, and songs by Ullmann and Pavel Haas...
- Scherzo from the op. 2 Quartet, played by the Stamic Quartet (YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
)