Jan Klusák (born 18 April 1934 in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

as Jan Porges) is a contemporary

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, author of

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, television and

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as th ...

Life

Klusák was born to a Czech

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family, who owned a farm in Prosek, Prague. After he graduated from the gymnasium, he pursued his studies at the Prague Music Academy as a pupil of Jaroslav Řídký and Pavel Bořkovec (in 1953-57Vysloužil, p. 256). 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 Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

, and later by the Second Viennese School, especially by

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

and

Serialism In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were also ...

. Since 1959 he cooperated closely with Czech conductor Libor Pešek and with ''Chamber Philharmony''. However, after the

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The ...

in August 1968, Klusák was condemned as a "politically undesirable" person (he composed music for prohibited films). During the

normalization Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

Klusák was engaged in the Jára Cimrman Theatre, but he was forced to leave in 1975. In the 1980s Klusák focused more on vocal compositions. He began to compose song cycles, cantatas, and wrote an opera. Following the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

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 The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. He was awarded a "Classic 1995" Award for his compositions and for his ''String Quartet No. 5'' in particular. Since the 1960s he occasionally acted in films, such as '' A Report on the Party and the Guests'' (1966) or '' Valerie and Her Week of Wonder (1970).

Selected works

Compositions

*''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) *''Eight Inventions for Various Instrumental Arrangement'' (1961–73) - his key work *''Four Little Voice Exercises to the Words of

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

)'' (1960) *''Images for 12 Wind Instruments'' (1962) *''Variations on the Theme of

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

'' (1962) *''String Quartet No. 2.'' (1962) *''Rejdovák for bass clarinet, viola and double bass'' (1965) *''Sonata for String and Wind Instruments'' (1965) *''Le forgeron harmonieux: variations on George Frideric Handel's The Harmonious Blacksmith per grande orchestra'' (1966) *''Rondeau for Piano'' (1967) *''Radix nativitatis I.S. for voice, flute, clarinet, viola and piano'' (1972) *''Duet for Flute and Piano'' (1977) *''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) * ''String Quartet No. 4'' (1994) * ''String Quartet No. 5'' (1970) * ''String Quartet No. 6'' (1970)Musicbase.cz Quartet 6 Page
/ref> *''Whatever you want'' (1986) - opera

Film music

* '' The Cry'' (1963) * '' Courage for Every Day'' (1963) * '' Perličky na dně'' (1964) * '' Návrat ztraceného syna'' (1965) * '' Martyrs of Love'' (1966) * '' Late August at the Hotel Ozone'' (1966) * '' Farářův konec'' (1968) * '' Hospital at the End of the City'' (1977) TV series * '' Dimensions of Dialogue'' (1982) short film

Footnotes

References

External links

Czech infoEnglish info, works, bibliography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Klusak, Jan 1934 births Living people 20th-century Czech classical composers 20th-century Czech male musicians Czech opera composers Czech film score composers Czech Jews Czech male opera composers Czech male film score composers Composers from Prague Recipients of Medal of Merit (Czech Republic)