Karel Husa
Karel Husa was a Czech-born classical composer and conductor, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Music and 1993 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition. In 1954, he immigrated to the United States and became an American citizen in 1959.
Overview
Husa learned to play the violin and the piano in early childhood. After passing his final examination at high school, he enrolled in the Prague Conservatory in 1941, where he studied with Jaroslav Řídký, and attended courses in conducting led by Metod Doležil and Pavel Dědeček.After the end of the Second World War, Husa was admitted to the graduate school of the Prague Academy, where he attended courses led by Řídký and graduated in 1947. He then continued composition and conducting studies in Paris. In 1947, he studied with Arthur Honegger and Nadia Boulanger. He studied conducting at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and at the Conservatoire de Paris. His conducting teachers included Jean Fournet, Eugène Bigot and André Cluytens. He subsequently divided his career between composing and conducting.
Husa's String Quartet No. 1 received its premiere in June 1950, and won him international attention, as well as the 1950 Lili Boulanger Award and the 1951 Bilthoven Festival Prize. Other performances in the aftermath of these prizes included the International Society for Contemporary Music in Brussels, festivals in Salzburg, Darmstadt, and the Netherlands as well as at various concerts in Germany, France, Sweden, England, Switzerland, Australia and the United States. Other compositions written by Karel Husa during his time in Paris include Divertimento for String Orchestra, Concertino for Piano and Orchestra, Évocations de Slovaquie, Musique d'amateurs, Portrait for String Orchestra, First Symphony, First Sonata for Piano, and Second String Quartet. Throughout this period, the composer's underlying preoccupation and interest was style, which was primarily influenced by Vítězslav Novák, Leoš Janáček, Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky.
From 1954 until 1992, Husa was a professor at Cornell University, eventually holding the Kappa Alpha chair in music. Composers who studied with Husa include Steven Stucky, Christopher Rouse, John S. Hilliard, Jerry Amaldev, Christopher Kaufman, David Conte, and Byron Adams. He was also a lecturer at Ithaca College from 1967 to 1986, and served as the first Director of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra from 1977 to 1984. Husa composed Music for Prague 1968, a work in memory of the 1968 Soviet bloc invasion of Czechoslovakia, which became one of his most celebrated compositions. His String Quartet No. 3 won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969. Husa was the 1993 recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity. In 2012, Husa received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Louisville. In his final years, Husa resided in Apex, North Carolina.
Husa and his wife Simone were married for 64 years. The couple had four daughters, Annette, Catherine, Elizabeth and Caroline. His widow and daughters survive him.
Compositions
Ballet
| Date | Czech Title | English Title | Remarks |
| 1974 | The Steadfast Tin Soldier | for narrator and orchestra after the fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen | |
| 1976 | Monodrama | commissioned by the Butler University Ballet | |
| 1980 | Trojské ženy | The Trojan Women | commissioned by the University of Louisville |
Orchestra
| Date | Czech Title | English Title | Remarks |
| 1944 | Předehra pro velký orchestr | Overture for Large Orchestra | Op.3 |
| 1944 | Sinfonietta pro komorní orchestr | Sinfonietta | Op.4; for chamber orchestra |
| 1946–1947 | Tři fresky pro orchestr | Trois fresques | Op.7; for orchestra |
| 1948 | Divertimento pro smyčcový orchestr | Divertimento 1. Overture 2. Aria 3. Finale | for string orchestra |
| 1952 | Musique d'amateurs, Four Easy Pieces | for oboe, trumpet, and string orchestra with percussion | |
| 1953 | Portrait pro smyčce | Portrait | for string orchestra |
| 1953 | Symfonie č.1 | Symphony No.1 | |
| 1955 | Čtyři malé kusy pro smyčce | Four Little Pieces | for string orchestra |
| 1956–1957 | Fantaisies 1. Aria 2. Capriccio 3. Nocturne | for orchestra | |
| 1960 | Mosaïques | for orchestra | |
| 1963 | Fresque | for orchestra; revision of No.1 from Trois fresques | |
| 1968 | Hudba pro Prahu 1968 | Music for Prague 1968 | original for symphonic band |
| 1971 | Two Sonnets by Michelangelo | for orchestra | |
| 1979 | Pastoral for strings | commissioned by the American String Teachers Association | |
| 1980 | Scenes from The Trojan Women | suite from the ballet | |
| 1983 | Reflections | ||
| 1984 | Symphonic Suite | for orchestra | |
| 1986 | Concerto for Orchestra | ||
| 1990 | Předehra "Mládí" | Overture "Youth" | commissioned by Seattle Youth Symphony |
| 1996 | Celebration Fanfare | for orchestra | |
| 1997 | Celebración | for orchestra |
Band
| Date | Czech Title | English Title | Remarks |
| 1958 | Divertimento pro žesťové a bicí nástroje | Divertimento | for brass and percussion; expansion of movements from the Eight Czech Duets |
| 1968 | Hudba pro Prahu 1968 | Music for Prague 1968 1. Introduction and Fanfare 2. Aria 3. Interlude 4. Toccata and Chorale | original version for concert band; also for orchestra |
| 1970 | Apoteóza planety země | Apotheosis of This Earth 1. Apotheosis 2. Tragedy of Destruction 3. Postscript | original version for concert band; also for chorus and orchestra |
| 1973 | Al Fresco pro koncertní dechový orchestr | Al Fresco | for concert band |
| 1974 1995 | Divertimento pro dechové a bicí nástroje | Divertimento | for symphonic winds and percussion |
| 1980 | Fanfara pro žesťové a bicí nástroje | Fanfare | for brass and percussion |
| 1980 | Intrady an interludia pro sedm trubek a bicí nástroje | Intradas and Interludes for Seven Trumpets and Percussion | |
| 1982 | Koncert pro dechový ansembl | Concerto for Wind Ensemble | winner of the first Sudler International Prize, 1983 |
| 1984 | Smetanovská fanfara | Smetana Fanfare | for large wind ensemble |
| 1996 | Les Couleurs fauves | commissioned by Northwestern University | |
| 1996 | Midwest Celebration | fanfare for 3 brass and percussion ensembles | |
| 2006 | Gepard | Cheetah | commissioned by the University of Louisville Wind Symphony |
Concertante
| Date | Czech Title | English Title | Remarks |
| 1949 | Concertino pro klavír a orchestr | Concertino for Piano and Orchestra | Op.10; also for piano and wind ensemble or 2 pianos |
| 1959 | Poem pro violu a komorní orchestr | Poem | for viola and chamber orchestra |
| 1967 | Koncert pro altsaxofon a koncertní dechový orchestr | Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Concert Band | also for alto saxophone and piano |
| 1961 | Elegie a rondo pro altosaxofon a orchestr | Elegy and Rondo | for alto saxophone and orchestra |
| 1965 | Sérénade | for woodwind quintet with string orchestra, xylophone and harp | |
| 1971 | Concerto for Brass Quintet and String Orchestra | ||
| 1971 | Koncert pro bicí nástroje a dechový soubor | Concerto for Percussion and Wind Ensemble | |
| 1973 | Koncert pro trubku a koncertní dechový orchestr | Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Orchestra | also for trumpet and piano |
| 1987 | Koncert pro varhany a orchestr | Concerto for Organ and Orchestra | |
| 1987 | Koncert pro trubku a orchestr | Concerto for Trumpet and Symphony Orchestra | also for trumpet and piano |
| 1988 | Koncert pro violoncello a orchestr | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra | winner of the 1993 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition |
| 1992 | Koncert pro housle a orchestr | Concerto for Violin and Orchestra |
Chamber
| Date | Czech Title | English Title | Remarks |
| 1943 | Smyčcový kvartet "0" | String Quartet "0" | Op.2 |
| 1945 | Suita pro violu a klavír | Suite for Viola and Piano | Op.5 |
| 1945 | Sonatina pro housle a klavír | Sonatina for Violin and Piano | Op.6; also for flute and piano |
| 1948 | Smyčcový kvartet č.1 | String Quartet No. 1 | Op.8 |
| 1951 | Slovenské evokace | Évocations de Slovaquie | for clarinet, viola and cello |
| 1953 | Smyčcový kvartet č.2 | String Quartet No. 2 | |
| 1963 | Serenáda pro dechový kvintet a klavír | Serenade | for wind quintet and piano |
| 1966 | Deux Préludes | for flute, clarinet and bassoon | |
| 1968 | Smyčcový kvartet č.3 | String Quartet No. 3 | winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Music |
| 1968 | Divertimento pro žesťový kvintet | Divertimento | for brass quintet and optional percussion; expansion of movements from the Eight Czech Duets |
| 1976 | Drum Ceremony | for 5 percussionists from American Te Deum | |
| 1977 | Krajinomalby pro žesťový kvintet | Landscapes for brass quintet | commissioned by Western Brass Quintet |
| 1978 | Sonáta pro housle a klavír | Sonata for Violin and Piano | |
| 1979 | Tři taneční skici pro bicí nástroje | Three Dance Sketches for Percussion | 4 or more performers |
| 1981 | Sonata à tre | Sonata à tre | for violin, clarinet and piano |
| 1982 | Vzpomínky pro dechové kvinteto a klavír | Recollections | for woodwind quintet and piano |
| 1984 | Variace pro housle, violu, violoncello a klavír | Variations | for piano quartet |
| 1984 | Intrada pro žesťový kvintet | Intrada | for brass quintet |
| 1990 | Smyčcový kvartet č.4 | String Quartet No.4 "Poems" | |
| 1991 | Cayuga Lake | for string, woodwind and brass quartets, piano and percussion | |
| 1992 | Tubafest Celebration | for tuba quartet | |
| 1994 | Five Poems | for woodwind quintet | |
| 1997 | Postcard from Home | for alto saxophone and piano | |
| 2003 | "Sonatina" for flute and piano | transcription of "Sonatina" for violin and piano, Op. 6 | |
| 2008 | Three Studies for solo clarinet | commissioned for 60th anniversary of "Prague Spring Festival" and dedicated to Jiří Hlaváč on his 60th birthday |
Keyboard
| Date | Czech Title | English Title | Remarks |
| 1943 | Sonatina | Sonatina | Op.1; for piano |
| 1952 | Sonáta pro klavír č.1 | Sonata No.1 | Op.11; for piano |
| 1955 | Osm českých duet | Eight Czech Duets | for piano 4-hands |
| 1957 | Elegie pro klavír | Elegy | for piano |
| 1975 | Sonáta pro klavír č.2 | Sonata No.2 | for piano |
| 1986 | Fragmenty pro varhany | Frammenti | for organ solo |
Vocal
| Date | Czech Title | English Title | Remarks |
| 1956 | Spievanky, dvanáct písní moravských | Twelve Moravian Songs | for voice and piano |
| 1955 1964 | Slavnostní óda pro sbor a orchestr | Festive Ode | for chorus and orchestra |
| 1972 | Apoteóza planety země pro sbor a symfonický orchestr | Apotheosis of This Earth | for chorus and orchestra; original version for concert band |
| 1976 | "Čas od času jsou jitra..." pro smíšený sbor a cappella | There Are from Time to Time Mornings... | for baritone and mixed chorus a cappella; text from An American Te Deum by Henry David Thoreau |
| 1976 | Americké Te Deum pro baryton, smíšený sbor a orchestr | An American Te Deum | for baritone, chorus and wind ensemble; for baritone, chorus and orchestra ; text compiled by the composer from the writings of Henry David Thoreau, Ole Edvart Rølvaag, Otokar Březina, folk, traditional and liturgical sources |
| 1981 | Tři moravské písně pro smíšený sbor a cappella | Three Moravian Songs | for mixed chorus a cappella |
| 1981 | Každý den pro smíšený sbor a cappella | Every Day | for mixed chorus a cappella; text by Henry David Thoreau |
| 1982 | Cantata for Male Chorus and Brass Quintet | text by Edwin Arlington Robinson, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman | |
| 2000 | Dobrou noc | Good Night | song for mixed chorus a cappella |