Tomáš Svoboda (December 6, 1939 – November 17, 2022) was a French-born Czech-American contemporary classical composer and pianist, whose debut took place in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

on September 7, 1957, with the world premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (''Of Nature'') with the FOK Prague Symphony conducted by Václav Smetáček. Svoboda's catalog contains over 200 compositions, including six symphonies and five concerti. His music is performed worldwide and recordings of more than 50 works have now been released. Svoboda's Piano Trios CD recording received a 2001 "Critics Choice Award" from the

American Record Guide The ''American Record Guide'' (''ARG'') is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935. History and profile The magazine was founded by Peter Hugh Reed in May 1935 as the ''American Music Lover''. It chang ...

and his Marimba Concerto received recognition in a 2003

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination for the

Oregon Symphony The Oregon Symphony is an American symphony orchestra based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded as the 'Portland Symphony Society' in 1896, it is the sixth oldest orchestra in the United States, and oldest in the Western United States. I ...

Biography

Svoboda was born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. A Professor Emeritus from

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

, Svoboda composed his first music at age nine. He was a professor at PSU for 27 years. There have been over 1,200 performances of his music. Svoboda died in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

on November 17, 2022, at the age of 82. He had suffered a major stroke in 2012.

Works

Selected recordings

* ''Children's Treasure Box, Vols. 1-4, for Piano''
North Pacific Music
(NPM LD 026), Recording by Tomas Svoboda. * ''Chamber Works, Vol. 1, With Clarinet''
North Pacific Music
(NPM LD 016), Recording by members of Oregon Festival of American Music & Tomas Svoboda. * ''Four Visions, Music for 1, 2 & 3 Pianos''
North Pacific Music
(NPM LD 013), Recording by Daniel Wiesner, David Svec & Tomas Svoboda. * ''Nine Etudes in Fugue Style, Vols. 1 & 2, for Piano''
North Pacific Music
(NPM LD 015), Recording by Tomas Svoboda. * '' Orchestral Works by Tomas Svoboda'',

Albany Records Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians. It was established by Peter Kermani in 1987 and is based in Albany, New York. See also * List of record la ...

: Troy 604, Recording by the Oregon Symphony. * ''Piano Concertos''
Artisie 4 Recordings
(1006), Recording by the

Dayton Philharmonic The Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (DPO) is a fully professional musical group in Dayton, Ohio, formed in 1933. It is a member of the League of American Orchestras (LAO) and the Regional Orchestra Players' Association (ROPA), and presents programs ma ...

. * ''Piano Trios''
North Pacific Music
(NPM LD 008), Recording by Lubomír Havlák, Jitka Vasankova & Tomáš Svoboda. * ''Piano Works, Vol. 1, for Piano''
North Pacific Music
(NPM LD 006), Recording by Tomáš Svoboda. * ''String Quartets, Vols.1 and 2''
North Pacific Music
(NPM LD 022), Recording by the Martinů Quartet.

References

External links

Tomas Svoboda Official Website

Oregon Public Broadcasting, Oregon Art Beat episode of Thursday April 6, 2006 featured Mr. Svoboda and his wife, Jana.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Svoboda, Tomas 1939 births 2022 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Czech male musicians 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century Czech male musicians Concert band composers Czech classical composers Czech classical pianists Czech male classical composers Czech music educators Male classical pianists Musicians from Paris