Archive for February 2017

The four composers on this ASO program were major twentieth-century figures in the musical tradition of a region in Central Europe: the Czech lands of Bohemia and Moravia, famed for contributions to European culture, particularly in music. The historic capital of Bohemia, Prague is now the capital of the Czech Republic. Before this, it was…

Born December 5, 1870, in Kamenice nad Lipou, Southern Bohemia Died July 18, 1949, in Skuteč, Czech Republic Composed in 1902 Premiered on November 25, 1902 in Prague by the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Oskar Nedbal Performance Time: Approximately 25 minutes Vítězslav Novák was a gifted and prolific composer who was at the core of…

Born December 8, 1890, in Polička, Czechoslovakia Died August 28, 1959, in Liestal, Switzerland Composed in 1944 Premiered on October 12, 1945 in Boston by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitsky Performance Time: Approximately 30 minutes Before coming to New York City in 1941 as a political refugee, Czechoslovak composer Bohuslav Martinů obtained recognition…

Born January 4, 1874, in Křečovice, Czechoslovakia Died May 29, 1935, in Benešov, Czechoslovakia Composed in 1903 Premiered on April 18, 1905 in the Rudolfinum, Prague Performance Time: Approximately 15 minutes Canonic figures like Felix Mendelssohn (Midsummer Night’s Dream Overture from 1826), Hector Berlioz (Queen Mab from the 1839 choral symphony Roméo et Juliette), and…

by Michael Beckerman Born June 8, 1894, in Prague Died August 18, 1942, in Würzburg, Germany Composed in 1938–9 Premiered on March 5th, 1965 in Weimar by the Weimar State Orchestra conducted by Gerhardt Pfluger Performance Time: Approximately 36 minutes There is no style shift more dramatic than that undergone by Erwin Schulhoff after his “conversion”…