Robert Frank Kurka (December 22, 1921 – December 12, 1957) was an American

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 Defi ...

, who also taught and conducted his own works.

Biography

Kurka was born in

Cicero, Illinois Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an Incorporated town#Illinois, incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was ...

. He was mostly self-taught as a musician. He studied for short periods under

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

and

Otto Luening Otto Clarence Luening (June 15, 1900 – September 2, 1996) was a German-American composer and conductor, and an early pioneer of tape music and electronic music. Luening was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to German parents, Eugene, a conducto ...

, and received his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in music from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1948. After that he lived most of his life in New York. Kurka held teaching positions at

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

. He wrote a total of two symphonies, five string quartets, six violin sonatas, and other works for piano, voice, and chorus. He is probably best known for the instrumental suite, ''The Good Soldier Schweik.'' This was inspired by

Jaroslav Hašek Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czech writer, humorist, satirist, journalist, bohemian and anarchist. He is best known for his novel '' The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk during the World War'', an unfinished collection of farcical incide ...

's anti-war novel ''

The Good Soldier Schweik ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'', published in English translation in 1956. Kurka expanded his music for an opera of the same name, completed just before his death in 1957. The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

was written by Abe Meeropol of New York, who in 1937 had written the song, "

Strange Fruit "Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song protests the lynching of Black ...

" about

lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged transgressor, punish a convicted transgressor, or intimidate people. It can also be an ex ...

s in the American South. The opera's

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

was completed by

Hershy Kay Hershy Kay (November 17, 1919 – December 2, 1981) was an American composer, arranger, and orchestrator. He is most noteworthy for the orchestrations of several Broadway shows, and for the ballets he arranged for George Balanchine's New York City ...

. ''

'' premiered at the

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

on April 23, 1958. Its music attracted critical comparisons to the compositions of

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

, especially for its satirical, ironic bent and incorporation of popular styles. Kurka died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

on December 12, 1957, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

List of works

Full orchestra

*''Music for Orchestra'', Op. 11 (1949) *''Three Pieces for Orchestra'', Op. 15 *Symphony No. 1, Op. 17 (1951) *Symphony No. 2, Op. 24 (1952) *Serenade for (Small) orchestra "after

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

", Op. 25 (publ. 1954; composed probably around 1945) *'' John Henry'', Portrait for Orchestra, Op. 27 *''Julius Caesar, Symphonic Epilogue After

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

'', Op. 28 (1955)

Chamber orchestra

*Chamber Symphony, Op. 3 (1948) *Symphony for Strings and Brass, Op. 7 (1948) *''

'', Suite from the Opera, for band, Op. 22 *''Chamber Sinfonietta'', Op. 39 (1957)

Concertos

*Concerto for violin and chamber orchestra, Op. 8 (1948) *Concertino for two pianos, string orchestra and trumpet obbligato, Op. 31 (1955) *Concerto for Marimba and Orchestra, Op. 34 *''Ballad'' for French Horn and Strings, Op. 36

String quartets

*String Quartet No. 1, Op. 1 *String Quartet No. 2, Op. 4 *String Quartet No. 3, Op. 9 *String Quartet No. 4, Op. 12 *String Quartet No. 5, Op. 25

Other chamber works

*Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1, Op. 2 *Sonata for Solo violin, Op. 5 *Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2, Op. 10 *''Music for Violin, Trumpet, Clarinet, Horn and Bass'', Op. 14 *Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano, Op. 16 *''Little Suite for Woodwing Quartet'', Op. 18 *Sonatina for Cello and Piano, Op. 21 *Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3, Op. 23 *Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 4, Op. 30

Piano works

*Sonatina, Op. 6 *''For the Piano'', Op. 13 *Sonata, Op. 20 *''Dance Suite'' for Piano, Four Hands, Op. 29 *''Sonatina for Young Persons'', Op. 40 (1957) *''Notes from Nature'', 10 pieces for children

Choral works

*''Who Shall Speak for the People'', for men’s chorus, Op. 32 *''Song of the

Broadaxe A broadaxe is a large (broad)-headed axe. There are two categories of cutting edge on broadaxes, both are used for shaping logs by hewing. On one type, one side is flat, and the other side beveled, a basilled edge, also called a side axe, sing ...

'', for men’s chorus, Op. 38

Opera

*''

'', 2 acts (1957)

References

Don Randel Don Michael Randel (born December 9, 1940) is an American musicologist, specializing in the music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Spain and France. He is currently the Chair of the Board of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a trustee ...

. "Robert Kurka", in ''The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music''. Harvard, 1996, p. 473.

External links

Robert Kurka papers, 1941-1982
Music Division, The New York Public Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurka, Robert 1921 births 1957 deaths American male classical composers American classical composers 20th-century classical composers Dartmouth College faculty City College of New York faculty Queens College, City University of New York faculty Columbia University alumni Deaths from leukemia People from Cicero, Illinois Musicians from Illinois Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Pupils of Darius Milhaud 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians