Karel Husa
Karel Husa ( born August 7, 1921 in Prague) is an American composer of Czech origin.
Life
He studied from 1939 at the Prague Conservatory with Jaroslav Řídký and conducting with Metod Dolezil and Pavel Dědeček and at the Prague Academy of Music, graduating in 1947. 1947 he completed his studies in Paris at the Conservatoire de Paris and at the Ecole Normale de Musique. Among his teachers was Arthur Honegger and Nadia Boulanger in composition, Andre Cluytens, Eugène Bigot and Jean Fournet for conducting.
In 1954 he became professor of composition and music theory at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York State and remained there until 1992. He also lectured at Ithaca College Composition. In 1974 he was elected member of the Royal Belgian Academy of Arts and Sciences. He also received an honorary doctorate more than once, so among other things from Coe College, the Cleveland Institute of Music, Ithaca College and Baldwin Wallace College.
In 1959 he became an American citizen.
Both he personally and his works have received numerous awards and honors. With his String Quartet No.. 3 he received in 1969 the well-known and coveted Pulitzer Prize, and his Cello Concerto in 1993 he got the Grawemeyer Award.
His Music for Prague 1968 is today with over 7000 performances worldwide to modern repertoire of good symphonic wind orchestra. In Germany made the first Stadtkapelle cheeks the music of Karel Husa known ( and brought with "Music for Prague 1968 " and " Al Fresco" several national and international music awards ). From his " Music for Prague 1968" made Husa even a symphony orchestra version and fulfilled a long- held dream when he could perform in Prague with the Czech Philharmonic this version on February 13, 1990.
He conducted nearly all the major orchestras in New York, Boston and Washington, DC as well as those in Paris, London, Prague, Zurich, Hong Kong and Singapore. Every year he visited 20 universities for guest conductor and as a lecturer for his music.
Among the well-known composer who studied at Husa, Henrique de Curitiba also counts.