Pavel Haas
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Pavel Haas | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | 17 October 1944 | (aged 45)
Occupation | Composer |
Pavel Haas (21 June 1899 – 17 October 1944) was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not large, he is notable particularly for his song cycles and string quartets.[1]
Pre-war
Haas was born in
Of the more than 50 works Haas wrote during the rest of his life, only 18 were given opus numbers by the self-critical composer. While still working in his father's business, he wrote musical works of all kinds, including symphonic and choral works, lieder, chamber music, and scores for cinema and theatre. His opera, Šarlatán (The Charlatan), was first performed in Brno to sincere acclaim in April 1938. He received the Smetana Foundation award for the opera (sharing the award with Vítězslava Kaprálová who received it for her Military Sinfonietta).
The war
In 1941, Haas was deported to the
In 1944 the Nazis remodeled Theresienstadt just before a visit from the
Post-war
Haas's large-scale symphony, which he began prior to his deportation to
Works
Principal publishers: Boosey & Hawkes, Bote & Bock, Sádlo, Tempo
Genre | Opus | Date composed | Czech title | English title | Scoring | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vocal | 1 | 1918–1919 | Šest písní v lidovém tónu | 6 Songs in Folk Tone | for soprano and piano | orchestrated 1938 |
Vocal | 2 | 1919–1920 | Tři písně | 3 Songs | for soprano and piano | words by Josef Svatopluk Machar |
Chamber music | 3 | 1920 | Smyčcový kvartet č. 1 | String Quartet No. 1 in C♯ minor | for 2 violins, viola and cello | |
Vocal | 4 | 1919 | Čínské písně | Chinese Songs | for medium voice and piano | words by Kao Shi, Tsui Hao, Thu Fu |
Orchestral | 5 | 1921 | Zesmutnělé scherzo | Scherzo triste | for orchestra | |
Vocal | 6 | 1923 | "Fata morgana" Klavírní kvintet se sólovým zpěvákem tenorového hlasu |
Fata morgana | for tenor, 2 violins, viola, cello and piano | words by Rabindranath Tagore |
Chamber music | 7 | 1925 | Smyčcový kvartet č. 2 "Z opičích hor" | String Quartet No. 2 From the Monkey Mountains | for 2 violins, viola, cello and percussion 'ad libitum' | |
Vocal | 8 | 1927 | Vyvolená | The Chosen One | for tenor, flute, horn, violin and piano | poems by Jiří Wolker |
Choral | 9 | 1928–1929 | Karneval | Carnival | for male chorus | words by Dalibor Chalupa |
Chamber music | 10 | 1929 | Dechový kvintet | Wind Quintet | for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon | |
Orchestral | 11 | 1931 | Předehra pro rozhlas | Overture for Radio | for small orchestra and male voices | words by Hugo Haas |
Choral | 12 | 1932 | Žalm 29 | Psalm XXIX | for baritone, female chorus and chamber orchestra with organ | |
Film score | – | 1933 | Život je pes | Life Is a Dog | for orchestra | music for the film |
Film score | – | 1934 | Mazlíček | The Little Pet | for orchestra | music for the film |
Piano | 13 | 1935 | Suita pro klavír | Suite | for piano | |
Opera | 14 | 1936 | Šarlatán | The Charlatan | for soloists, chorus and orchestra | opera in 3 acts; libretto by the composer |
Film score | – | 1937 | Kvočna | Mother-Hen | for orchestra | music for the film |
Piano | – | 1937 | Allegro moderato | Allegro moderato | for piano | |
Chamber music | 15 | 1937–1938 | Smyčcový kvartet č. 3 | String Quartet No. 3 | for 2 violins, viola and cello | |
Choral | 16 | 1938 | Od večera do rána muzika nám vyhrává... | From Evening Until Morning Music Plays For Us... | for soloists, chorus and orchestra | Medley of songs from the Moravian Slovakia region |
Chamber music | 17 | 1939 | Suita pro hoboj a klavír | Suite | for oboe and piano | |
Vocal | 18 | 1940 | Sedm písní v lidovém tónu | 7 Songs in Folk Style | for high voice and piano | words by František Čelakovský |
Orchestral | – | 1940–1941 | Symfonie | Symphony | for orchestra | unfinished; orchestration completed by Zdeněk Zouhar |
Choral | – | 1942 | Al s'fod | Do Not Lament | for male chorus | words by David Shimoni |
Orchestral | – | 1943 | Studie pro smyčcový orchestr | Study | for string orchestra | |
Vocal | – | 1944 | Čtyři písně na slova čínské poezie
|
4 Songs on Chinese Poetry
|
for bass (or baritone) and piano | poems by Wei Jing-wu, Wang-wei, Tchang Tiou-ling, Han I |
Vocal | – | The Advent | for mezzo-soprano, tenor and quintet | |||
– | Fantasy on a Jewish Melody | |||||
Piano | – | Partita in Olden Style | for piano | lost | ||
Vocal | – | Terezín Songs | ||||
Vocal | – | Tři skladby | 3 Pieces | for mezzo-soprano, tenor, flute, clarinet, 2 violins, viola and cello | lost | |
Concertante | – | Variace pro klavír a smyčcový orchestr | Variations | for piano and string orchestra |
Recordings
- Šarlatán (complete opera) – Prague Philharmonic Choir, Prague State Opera Orchestra, Israel Yinon(conductor); Decca Record Company 460 042-2 (1998)
- Pavel Haas: Orchestral Music – Staatsphilharmonie Brünn, Israel Yinon (conductor); Koch Schwann (1996)
- Scherzo triste, Op. 5
- Charlatan (opera suite), Op. 14
- Symphonie (unfinished; orchestration Zdeněk Zouhar )
- Janáček/Haas/Szymanowski: String Quartets Arranged for String Orchestra – Australian Chamber Orchestra, Richard Tognetti (conductor); Chandos CD 10016
- Pavel Haas: String Quartets 1-3 (Czech Degenerate Music, Volume 2) – Kocian Quartet; Praga Productions 250 118 (1998)
- Haas and Janáček String Quartets – Pavel Haas Quartet, Supraphon SU 3922-2
- String Quartet No. 1 in C-sharp minor, Op. 3
- String Quartet No. 3, Op. 15
- Haas/Korngold/Haydn string quartets: String quartet No. 2. Adamas Quartett; Gramola 2013.
- Pavel Haas: Bläserquintett, Suiten Op. 13 • Op. 17, Vyvolená – Jörg Dürmüller (tenor), Dennis Russell Davies (piano), Stuttgarter Bläserquintet; Orfeo International Music C 386 961 A (1996)
- Wind Quintet, Op. 10
- Suite for Piano, Op. 13
- Suite for Oboe and Piano, Op. 17
- Vyvolená, Op. 8
- Chamber Music of Pavel Haas – Ensemble Villa Musica; MD&G 304 1524-2
- Wind Quintet, Op. 10
- Suite for Oboe and Piano, Op. 17
- String Quartet No. 3, Op. 15
- Risonanza – Vilém Veverka (oboe), Ivo Kahánek (piano); Supraphon SU 3993-2
- Suite for Oboe and Piano
- Music from Theresienstadt – Wolfgang Holzmair (baritone), Russell Ryan (piano); Bridge Records 9280
- 4 Songs after Words of Chinese Poetry
- 4 Songs on Chinese Poetry, sung by Christian Gerhaher, appear on a CD Terezín/Theresienstadt initiated by Anne Sofie von Otter, Deutsche Grammophon, 2007.
- KZ Musik: Encyclopedia of Music Composed in Concentration Camps, Volume 4 – Petr Matsuszek (baritone), Francesco Lotoro (piano); KZ Music 231787
- Four Chinese Songs
The whole music written in Concentration Camps (including P. Haas's Study for Orchestra, 4 Chinese Songs and Al s'fod) are contained in the CD-Encyclopedia KZ MUSIK created by Francesco Lotoro (Musikstrasse Roma- Membran Hamburg), 2007
- The Bohemian Album - Dvořák, Haas, Schulhoff – Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Candida Thompson; Channel Classics 24409, 2009.
Haas in literature
Haas is a central character in David Herter's First Republic trilogy, comprising the novels On the Overgrown Path, The Luminous Depths and One Who Disappeared.
Haas is mentioned in Simon Mawer's The Glass Room.
Notes
- ISBN 80-86093-23-9.
- .
- ^ Matějková, p. 129
- ^ Letters of Pavel Haas to Frank Rybka in the U.C Berkeley library, Judaic collection.
- ISBN 978-1-4766-7056-0.
- ^ Matějková, p. 137
Sources
- Sadie, S. (ed.) (1980) The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians, [vol. # 8].
- Ross, A. (2007) The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York
- Matějková, J. Hugo Haas. Život je pes Prague: Nakladatelství XYZ, 2005. ISBN 80-86864-18-9
External links
- Free scores by Pavel Haas at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Pavel Haas at IMDb
- Pavel Haas at the Czech Music Information Centre.
- Pavel Haas, a brief biographical entry on the Boosey and Hawkes site
- Comprehensive discography of Terezin Composers by Claude Torres
- Music and the Holocaust - Pavel Haas
- Further reading and listening on Terezín: The Music 1941-44
- Pavel Haas Chamber Orchestra