Search - Czech Philharmonic Orchestra;Zuzana Ruzickova (piano);Josef Suk (violin);Suk Trio;Vlach Quartet;Prague Chamber Soloists :: Music of Viktor Kalabis - Limited Authroized Edition

VIKTOR KALABIS (1923-2006) became one of the most important Czech composers in the last half of the 20th century. A master of composition, he developed a musical style entirely his own. He endured the poverty, scorn and hardship of life under totalitarian regimes -- first under the Nazis and then under communism. His music, therefore, may be characterized as a combination of struggle and sadness tempered with optimism. Listening to his music, one becomes aware of the triumph of the human spirit over darker forces. Other writers have suggested that a recurrent theme in his music is the sadness of the fleeting fate of human life, individually and collectively. In any case, Kalabis music is a witness to the political and social repercussions of a repressed society, in addition to attributes that can be associated with freedom: humor, imagination, beauty, and ultimately a faith in the dignity of mankind. These are profound themes expressed abstractly in his music. Viktor Kalabis was born on 27 February 1923 in a small town in eastern Bohemia, the only child of postal employees. At an early age he showed musical talent as a pianist. As a teenager he sang in a choir and played in a jazz band. This idyllic childhood ended when Hitler occupied Czechoslovakia. Because of poor eyesight, Viktor avoided conscription by the Nazis and was allowed to be a teacher, work in an airplane factory, and perform administrative duties. After the war, he studied at the Prague Conservatory (1945-48) and at the Academy of Performing Arts (1948-52). He also enrolled in Charles University, studying composition, musicology, philosophy and psychology, among other subjects. In 1948, freedom came to another abrupt end in Czechoslovakia when communist rule began. Subsequently, the academic authorities sympathetic to the regime refused to accept Kalabis thesis on Stravinsky and Bartók, whom they considered to be decadent bourgeois formalists . (It was not until 1990 that Viktor finally received his doctorate, thanks to Václav Havel, in a rehabilitation ceremony with many other distinguished persons.) As a young composer, Kalabis also had to endure the demeaning cultural directives of the authorities, who looked upon his music with great suspicion. One critic detected a chorale in his first symphony, which was thereafter forbidden to be performed. Another one wrote, Our workers demand music which reflects their sincere and heartfelt joy in the building of our socialist future. The road which Kalabis takes with no little self-confidence leads back, not forward! He should abolish those dissonant harmonies, be more active in the Socialist Youth! and learn from those new people rather than from the scores of western modernists. At that time, this was a dangerous warning. The eleven Kalabis works included on this 3-disc release were originally recorded in analogue for the 33-1/3 rpm long-play format by the Czech recording firm of Supraphon. These eleven works were composed by Kalabis between the years 1952-1980 and were recorded by Supraphon in 1956-1984. Inasmuch as the communist control of Czechoslovakia began in 1948 and the velvet revolution occurred in 1989, all of the music on this release was composed and recorded under communist rule. Fortunately, even under that repressive regime the audio technicians at Supraphon were excellent, and in this digital reissue we can enjoy the clear, spacious sound for which Supraphon was admired.