Karel Boleslav Jirák (né Karel Bohuslav Jirák; January 28, 1891,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Bohemia - January 30, 1972,

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Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...

composer and conductor. Jirák became a pupil of

Josef Bohuslav Foerster Josef Bohuslav Foerster (30 December 1859 – 29 May 1951) was a Czechs, Czech composer and musicologist. He is often referred to as J. B. Foerster, and his surname is sometimes spelled Förster. Life Foerster was born in Prague. His ancestors ...

and

Vítězslav Novák Vítězslav Augustín Rudolf Novák (5 December 1870 – 18 July 1949) was a Czech composer and academic teacher at the Prague Conservatory. Stylistically, he was part of the neo-romantic tradition, and his music is considered an important ...

at the Charles University and at music academy in Prague. From 1915-18 he was the Kapellmeister at the

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and worked from 1918 to 1919 as a conductor at the National Theatre in Brno and

Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four riv ...

.Grove Music Online
/ref> From 1920-30, he was a composition teacher at the

Conservatory, and principal conductor of the Czechoslovak Radio Orchestra until 1945. In 1947, he emigrated to the United States, where from 1948 to 1967 a professor at

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The unive ...

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, and, in 1967, a composition teacher at the Conservatory college in

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. He remained in this position until 1971. Jirák's opera was ''Apolonius z Tyany'' (Apollonius of Tyana, 1912–1913), which was initially ignored by Prague's National Theatre and later accepted under the title ''Žena a Bůh'' (''The Woman and the God'', 1936). He wrote six symphonies and several symphonic variations. In 1952, he wrote a Symphonic Scherzo for volume. He also wrote many suites and

overtures Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...

, numerous pieces of chamber music, many preludes and a Suite for organ, a Requiem, choruses, and song cycles. He was a popular and renowned musical theorist.

References

External links

Biography
Musicbase.cz; accessed February 10, 2018.
Piano Concerto (1946)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jirák, Karel Boleslav 1891 births 1972 deaths Czech composers Czech male composers 20th-century composers 20th-century Czech male musicians Charles University alumni