Milan Křížek
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Milan Křížek (; 9 March 1926 – 15 February 2018) was a
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 ...
, music teacher and viola player.


Life

After graduating from the secondary grammar school in
Tábor Tábor (; ) is a town in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants, making it the second most populated town in the region. The town was founded by the Hussites in 1420. The historic town centre is well pres ...
(1937–1945), he studied musicology, music education and history at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University 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 ...
(1946–1951). He privately studied composition under Jaroslav Řídký (1946–1950). In 1959 he passed the state examination in
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
. Křížek became Doctor of Philosophy at Palacký University, Olomouc, 1971: his postgraduate research was undertaken externally at the Institute of Musicology of the
Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences The Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences (Czech: ''Československá akademie věd'', Slovak: ''Česko-slovenská akadémia vied'') was established in 1953 to be the scientific center for Czechoslovakia. It was succeeded by the Czech Academy of Science ...
(1966–1972; awarded Candidate of Sciences in 1975). After finishing his university studies, he taught music education at the Pedagogical Grammar School in
Znojmo Znojmo (; ) is a town in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 34,000 inhabitants. Znojmo is the historical and cultural centre of southwestern Moravia and the second most populated town in the South Moravian Region. The hi ...
(1950–1951). On his return from compulsory military service he moved to
České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...
, where he started to teach at the Music School (1953–1956), then at the Pedagogical School (1956–1958). He also helped to popularise music generally. In 1959 he became assistant professor at the Department of Music of the Faculty of Education. In 1991 the faculty became one of the founding constituent parts of the
University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (, , JU or JČU) is a public university located in the city of České Budějovice (with branch campuses in Tábor, Vodňany, Nové Hrady) in the Czech Republic. Established in 1991, it has mo ...
. He continued working in the Department of Music until his retirement in 1986. After the political changes of 1989 he was appointed associated professor (1990). During 1990-2001, Křížek taught the theory of music and composition at the Conservatoire in České Budějovice. Until 1992 he was also employed as violist in the Opera Orchestra of the South Bohemian Theatre, in the South Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and in several other chamber ensembles. His compositions have their roots in
neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
. His later works explore new compositional techniques. His works incline to the synthesis of the means of modern musical language. The South Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra performed the premiers of ''Variations on a theme of
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 ...
'' (1985), ''Concerto for orchestra'' (1988), ''Concerto for 14 string instruments'' (1998) and other works. A selection of his works has often been included in the Days of Contemporary Music in Prague: ''Sonata for viola solo'' (1996), ''Sonatina danzante for flute and clarinet'' (2000), ''Seven sequences for clarinet and percussions'' (2002), ''Capriccia for soprano, flute, viola and percussion on verses of Konstantin Biebl'' (2005), ''Largo desolato for violin, viola and violoncello'' (2010) and ''Collage IV for 3 violoncellos'' (2012). His music scores are deposited in the archives of the Czech Music Fund, at the Museum of South Bohemia, in the archives of the South Czech Philharmonic and at the Conservatoire in České Budějovice.


Selected works


Orchestral music

* ''Divertimento I for string orchestra'' (1983) * ''Variations on a theme of
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 ...
'' (1984) * ''Concerto for orchestra'' (1987) * ''Concerto grosso for violin, viola and orchestra'' (1989) * ''Divertimento II for orchestra'' (1992) * ''Concerto for 14 string instruments'' (1995) * ''Divertimento III for string orchestra'' (2002) * ''Concertino for clarinet, strings and harp'' (2003) * ''Concerto for violin and orchestra'' (2010).


Chamber music

* ''Preludium and giga for oboe and piano (In memory of
Jan Dismas Zelenka Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Bohemian composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint. Zelenka was ...
)'' (1959) * ''Partita parva for 2 violins'' (1973) * ''It was love: variations on a Moravian song for flute, violoncello and piano'' (1976) * ''Musica brevis for 3 violoncellos'' (1987) * ''String quartet I for 2 violins, viola and violoncello'' (1988) * ''Partita for violin and piano'' (1993) * ''Collage I for 4 flutes'' (1995) * ''Trio for clarinet, violoncello and piano'' (1996) * ''Sonata a due for violin and viola'' (1997) * ''Sonatina danzante for flute and clarinet'' (1999) * ''Good King Wenceslas (variations on English carol for violin, clarinet and piano)'' (2000) * ''Seven sequences for clarinet and percussions'' (2001) * ''Collage III for 2 violins and viola'' (2003) * ''String quartet II (Epitaph for 2 violins, viola and violoncello with baritone solo)'' (2008) * ''Largo desolato: Preludium-Interludia-Postludium for violin, viola and violoncello'' (2009) * ''Collage IV for 3 violoncellos'' (2011) * ''String quartet III'' (2014) * ''Diaphonia, viola and violoncello'' (2017).


Instrumental

* ''Trifolium memoriae Bélae Bartók for piano'' (1965) * ''Strophes for clarinet solo'' (1978) * ''Sonata I for unaccompanied violin'' (1982) * ''Passacaglia for violoncello solo'' (1988) * ''Aulétés (fluteplayer) oboe solo'' (1992) * ''Sonata for unaccompanied viola'' (1994) * ''Sonata II for unaccompanied violin'' (1998) * ''Cantus variabilis for unaccompanied violin'' (2006) * ''Soliloquia for unaccompanied violin'' (2009) * ''Sonata quasi una ballata (violoncello solo)'' (2012) * ''Sonata III for unaccompanied violin solo'' (2013) * ''Diferencias, viola sola'' (2014).


Vocal and choral works

* ''Child (diptych for women's chorus)'' (1960) * ''Points (four songs on texts of Miroslav Holub for middle voice and piano)'' (1965) * ''Three madrigals on old Czech texts for women's chorus, flute, violin and percussion'' (1979) * ''Elegiac fragments for middle voice and viola'' (1994) * ''Noctiluca (4 nocturna pro střední hlas, flétnu, violu a kytaru)'' (1998) * ''Capriccia for soprano, flute, viola and percussions on verses of Konstantin Biebl'' (2005) * ''Butterflies do not live here (children's chorus on verses of Pavel Friedman, Theresienstadt Ghetto 4.6.1942)'' (2006) * ''Two sonnets'' (2017).


Literary works

Book * '' Jan Rychlík, the life and work of a composer'' (1st ed. Prague: H&H, 2001, 190 s. ). (Czech) Other * ''Music life of South Bohemia'' (České Budějovice 1989) (Czech)PADRTA, Karel. Music life of South Bohemia. 1. ed. České Budějovice, 1989. 167 p. (Czech)


References


External links


South Czech Philharmonic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krizek, Milan 1926 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Czech classical composers Czech classical composers Czech male classical composers Czech classical violists Charles University alumni People from České Budějovice District