PAVEL HAAS Study for String Orchestra
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born 1899 in Brno , Czechoslovakia ; died 1944 in Auschwitz concentration camp
• Haas was born into a Jewish family in Czechoslovakia . He studied piano and composition at the Brno Conservatory and went on to study with the great Czech composer Leoš Janáček . He was considered to be one of his greatest students .
• Haas wrote more than 50 pieces over the next 20 years , ranging from symphonic works to film scores . His talent earned him the Smetena Foundation Award .
• In 1941 , Haas was sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp ( the same camp as Gideon Klein ). He fell into a deep depression yet was encouraged to continue composing by Klein . Unfortunately , Haas was transferred to Auschwitz-Birkenau where he was killed in the gas chambers at the age of 45 .
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
1943
MUSIC Ralph Vaughan Williams ’ Symphony No . 5
ART Jacob Lawrence ’ s The Apartment
ABOUT THE PIECE
• Haas ’ Study for String Orchestra was written in the Theresienstadt concentration camp in 1943 . The piece was performed by the prisoners .
• The score did not survive , but after the war , Karel Ančerl , who had conducted the piece , discovered all the instrumental parts – with the exception of the double bass part , which was recreated by one of Haas ’ pupils .
• The work incorporates Moravian folk music and Jewish religious musical themes throughout the work .
SPORTS All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was created
HISTORY The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
BSO SESSIONS | FEBRUARY 2021
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