Jan Klusák
Encyclopedia
Jan Klusák is a contemporary Czech
composer
, author of film, television and incidental music
.
, he pursued his studies at the Prague Music Academy
as a pupil of Jaroslav Řídký
and Pavel Bořkovec
(in 1953-57). Later he concentrated solely on composing.
He has never worked directly with music groups or schools, although his style was temporarily influenced by the music of Sergei Prokofiev
and Igor Stravinsky
, and later by the Second Viennese School
, especially by Alban Berg
and Serialism
. Since 1959 he cooperated closely with Czech conductor Libor Pešek
and with Chamber Philharmony. In the 1960s he occasionally acted in films, such as the 1966 film A Report on the Party and the Guests
, in addition to composing the music. However, after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
in August 1968, Klusák was condemned as a "politically undesirable" person (he composed music for prohibited films). During the normalization
Klusák was engaged in the Jára Cimrman
Theatre, but he was forced to leave in 1975. Following the Velvet Revolution
in 1989, he began to participate in public life again, and worked as a member and director of various cultural institutions in the Czech republic
. He was awarded a "Classic 1995" Award for his compositions and for his String Quartet No. 5 in particular.
In the 1980s Klusák focused more on vocal compositions. He began to compose song cycles, cantatas, and wrote an opera.
Klusák is also the composer of the music to the popular Czech television series Hospital at the End of the City
.
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
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...
, author of film, television and incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
.
Life
Klusák was born to a Czech-jewish family, who owned the farm in Prague (Prosek). After he graduated from the gymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
, he pursued his studies at the Prague Music Academy
Academy of Performing Arts in Prague
The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague is a university level school of music, dance, drama, film, TV and multi-media studies.- Faculties :*Film and TV School - FAMU*Music Faculty - HAMU*Theatre Faculty - DAMU-Notable alumni:...
as a pupil of Jaroslav Řídký
Jaroslav Rídký
Jaroslav Řídký was a Czech composer, conductor, harpist, and music teacher.-Life:Řídký was born at Reichenberg, now Liberec. From 1919 to 1923 he studied at the Prague Conservatory with Josef Bohuslav Foerster, Karel Boleslav Jirák, and Jaroslav Křička...
and Pavel Bořkovec
Pavel Borkovec
Pavel Bořkovec was a Czech composer and music teacher.Bořkovec studied at the Prague Conservatory under Josef Suk. From 1946 to 1967 he taught at the Academy of Musical Arts in Prague. His students there included Pavel Blatný, Jiří Pauer, Vladimír Sommer, Petr Eben, Jan Klusák and Jan Truhlář...
(in 1953-57). Later he concentrated solely on composing.
He has never worked directly with music groups or schools, although his style was temporarily influenced by the music of Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
and Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, and later by the Second Viennese School
Second Viennese School
The Second Viennese School is the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils and close associates in early 20th century Vienna, where he lived and taught, sporadically, between 1903 and 1925...
, especially by Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
and Serialism
Serialism
In music, serialism is a method or technique of composition that uses a series of values to manipulate different musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though his contemporaries were also working to establish serialism as one example of...
. Since 1959 he cooperated closely with Czech conductor Libor Pešek
Libor Pešek
Libor Pešek KBE is a Czech conductor.Pešek was born in Prague and studied conducting, piano, cello and trombone at the Academy of Musical Arts there, with Václav Smetáček and Karel Ančerl among his teachers. He worked at the Pilsen and Prague Operas, and from 1958 to 1964 was the founder and...
and with Chamber Philharmony. In the 1960s he occasionally acted in films, such as the 1966 film A Report on the Party and the Guests
A Report on the Party and the Guests
A Report on the Party and the Guests is a 1966 Czechoslovak drama film directed by Jan Němec. It was entered for the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, but the festival was aborted owing to the events of May 1968 in France.-Cast:* Ivan Vyskočil - host...
, in addition to composing the music. However, after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
On the night of 20–21 August 1968, the Soviet Union and her main satellite states in the Warsaw Pact – Bulgaria, the German Democratic Republic , Hungary and Poland – invaded the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in order to halt Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring political liberalization...
in August 1968, Klusák was condemned as a "politically undesirable" person (he composed music for prohibited films). During the normalization
Normalization (Czechoslovakia)
In the history of Czechoslovakia, normalization is a name commonly given to the period 1969 to about 1987. It was characterized by initial restoration of the conditions prevailing before the reform period led by Alexander Dubček , first of all, the firm rule of the Communist Party of...
Klusák was engaged in the Jára Cimrman
Jára Cimrman
Jára Cimrman or Jára da Cimrman is a Czech fictional character created by Jiří Šebánek, Ladislav Smoljak and Zdeněk Svěrák. He is presented as one of the greatest Czech playwrights, poets, composers, teachers, travellers, philosophers, inventors, detectives, mathematicians and sportsmen of the...
Theatre, but he was forced to leave in 1975. Following the Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
in 1989, he began to participate in public life again, and worked as a member and director of various cultural institutions in the Czech republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. He was awarded a "Classic 1995" Award for his compositions and for his String Quartet No. 5 in particular.
Selected works
- Partita for viola solo (1954)
- Concertino for flute, violin, viola and cello (1955)
- Contrappunto fiorito for flute, English horn, clarinet, bassoon, violin, viola, cello and piano (1955–1956)
- Osm invencí (Eight Inventions for Various Instrumental Arrangement) (1961–73) - his key work
- Čtyři malá hlasová cvičení na slova F. Kafky (Four Little Voice Exercises to the Words of Franz KafkaFranz KafkaFranz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
) (1960) - Obrazy pro 12 dechových nástrojů (Images for 12 Wind Instruments) (1962)
- Variace na téma Gustava Mahlera (Variations on the Theme of Gustav MahlerGustav MahlerGustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
) (1962) - Smyčcový kvartet č. 2 (String Quartet No. 2.) (1962)
- Rejdovák for bass clarinet, viola and double bass (1965)
- Sonáta pro smyčcové a dechové nástroje (Sonata for String and Wind Instruments) (1965)
- Rondo pro piano (Rondeau for Piano) (1967)
- Radix nativitatis I.S. for voice, flute, clarinet, viola and piano (1972)
- Duet pro flétnu a piano (Duet for Flute and Piano) (1977)
- Luna v zenitu (Zenith Moon), 4 Poems of Anna Achmatová for mezzo-soprano, clarinet, viola and klavier (1981)
- Monolog „Ubi vult“ (Monologue "Ubi vult") for viola solo (1987)
In the 1980s Klusák focused more on vocal compositions. He began to compose song cycles, cantatas, and wrote an opera.
- Cokoli chcete (Whatever you want) (1986) - opera
Klusák is also the composer of the music to the popular Czech television series Hospital at the End of the City
Hospital at the End of the City
Hospital at the End of the City is a popular television series first released in Czechoslovakia in 1977, it featured an ensemble cast and received much viewer praise in central Europe. The series ran from 1977 to 1981 for a total of twenty episodes. The success of the series inspired the German...
.