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Introduction to Karel Husa
Few composers of the twentieth century match the musical sophistication and historical significance of Karel Husa. He has been awarded numerous accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his String Quartet No. 3 (1968), the Lili Boulanger Award and Bilthoven Festival Prize for his String Quartet No. 1 (1947), and the Grawemeyer Award for his Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra (1988).1 Husa's latest work, Cheetah,2 represents an explosive and intricately crafted addition to the wind band repertoire.
Born August 17, 1921 in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Husa was profoundly influenced by the political climate of his time. Although he began violin studies at the age of eight, the early direction of Husa's education was toward engineering.3 In the spring of 1939, though, the Nazi army invaded Czechoslovakia. With concerns for Karel, who was near the war zone, his parents were persuaded by composer Jaroslav Rídky that he would be safer studying at the Prague Conservatory.4 In 1941, Husa was accepted into the Conservatory and able to focus solely on music, studying composition with Rídky and conducting with Pavel Dedecek. While at the Conservatory, he composed his first significant works: Sonatina (1943) for piano and Overture (1944) for large orchestra. After graduating in 1945, Husa studied at the Academy of Musical Arts and in Paris with composers Arthur Honegger and Nadia Boulanger.5 By this time, Husa's compositions had been met with such success that he was regarded as "one of the greatest hopes of Czech music."6 Husa's conducting and composing opportunities continued to flourish. In 1954, he was invited to teach composition and orchestra at Cornell University, where he would teach until 1992.
Husa's music often evokes a powerful emotional depth that connects with audiences of all musical levels of sophistication. Orchestra administrator Henry Fogel remarks that "...while making use of devices developed in recent years, (Husa) still writes music that cuts across all lines of tastes and appeals because it simply is good music."7 His compositional style reflects adaptations of the modern and atonal techniques of the twentieth century, including the use of twelve-tone rows with repeated notes, octave doublings, and changes in pitch order.8 Husa's works also employ tonal clusters that create large sound masses, displaying unique and vibrant colors...