Hans Krása
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Hans Krása, (November 30, 1899 – October 17, 1944), was a Bohemian composer.
Krása was born in Prague to a Czech father, a lawyer, and a German-Jewish mother. He learned both the piano and violin as a child and went on to study composition at the German Music Academy in Prague. After graduating he went on to become a vocal coach at the Deutsches Landestheater, where he met the conductor and composer Alexander von Zemlinsky, who had a major impact on Krása's career. In 1927 he followed Zemlinsky to Berlin, where he was introduced to Albert Roussel. Krása made a number of trips to France to study under Roussel whilst he lived in Berlin. Krása eventually returned to Prague to take up his old job as a coach at the Deutsches Landestheater.
Krása's debut as a composer came in 1920 with his Four Orchestral Songs, which were based on the poetry of Christian Morgenstern, this work was widely acclaimed upon its release. His other major work was the opera for children Brundibár, which he wrote with his friend Adolf Hoffmeister, the piece was written for a competition organized by the Ministry for Public Education in 1938.
Brundibár, which was based on a play by Aristophanes, was the last work Krása completed before he was arrested by the Nazis on August 10, 1942. After his arrest Krása was sent to the ghetto of Theresienstadt where he reworked Brundibár, which was performed in Theresienstadt 55 times. Whilst he was interred in the ghetto Krása was at his most productive, although due to the circumstances some of his work has been lost.
In October 1944 Krása was taken to Auschwitz and, being considered too old to work and also being a possible threat to order, was gassed.
[edit] Further reading
- Karas, Joža. Music in Terezin: 1941-1945. New York: Beaufort Books, 1985. ISBN 0-8253-0287-0.
[edit] References
- Schultz, Ingo. "Hans Krasa." Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Online. 12 April 2002.
- Bek, Josef. "Hans Krasa." Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Online. 12 April 2002.
