Husa learned to play the violin and the piano in early childhood. After passing his final examination at high school, he enrolled in the Prague Conservatory in 1941, where he studied with Jaroslav Řídký, and attended courses in conducting led by Metod Doležil and Pavel Dědeček.[3]
After the end of the Second World War, Husa was admitted to the graduate school of the Prague Academy, where he attended courses led by Řídký and graduated in 1947. He then continued composition and conducting studies in Paris. In 1947, he studied with Arthur Honegger and Nadia Boulanger. He studied conducting at the École Normale de Musique de Paris and at the Conservatoire de Paris. His conducting teachers included Jean Fournet, Eugène Bigot and André Cluytens.[4] He subsequently divided his career between composing and conducting.
Husa's String Quartet No. 1 received its premiere in June 1950, and won him international attention, as well as the 1950 Lili Boulanger Award and the 1951 Bilthoven Festival Prize.[4] Other performances in the aftermath of these prizes included the International Society for Contemporary Music in Brussels (1950), festivals in Salzburg (1950), Darmstadt (1951), and the Netherlands (1952) as well as at various concerts in Germany, France, Sweden, England, Switzerland, Australia and the United States. Other compositions written by Karel Husa during his time in Paris include Divertimento for String Orchestra, Concertino for Piano and Orchestra, Évocations de Slovaquie, Musique d'amateurs, Portrait for String Orchestra, First Symphony, First Sonata for Piano, and Second String Quartet. Throughout this period, the composer's underlying preoccupation and interest was style, which was primarily influenced by Vítězslav Novák, Leoš Janáček, Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky.
Husa and his wife Simone were married for 64 years. The couple had four daughters, Annette, Catherine, Elizabeth and Caroline. His widow and daughters survive him.[5]
The Prague Symphony Orchestra, the most professional performer of Husa's symphonic work in his native Czech Republic, premiered or recorded a number of his compositions. Music for Prague 1968 has become a regular part of the repertoire of the Prague Symphony Orchestra.
for brass quintet and optional percussion; expansion of movements from the Eight Czech Duets (1955)
1976
Drum Ceremony
for 5 percussionists from American Te Deum
1977
Krajinomalby pro žesťový kvintet
Landscapes for brass quintet
commissioned by Western Brass Quintet
1978
Sonáta pro housle a klavír
Sonata for Violin and Piano
1979
Tři taneční skici pro bicí nástroje
Three Dance Sketches for Percussion
4 or more performers
1981
Sonata à tre
Sonata à tre
for violin, clarinet and piano
1982
Vzpomínky pro dechové kvinteto a klavír
Recollections
for woodwind quintet and piano
1984
Variace pro housle, violu, violoncello a klavír
Variations
for piano quartet
1984
Intrada pro žesťový kvintet
Intrada
for brass quintet
1990
Smyčcový kvartet č.4
String Quartet No.4 "Poems"
1991
Cayuga Lake (Memories)
for string, woodwind and brass quartets, piano and percussion
1992
Tubafest Celebration
for tuba quartet
1994
Five Poems
for woodwind quintet
1997
Postcard from Home
for alto saxophone and piano
2003
"Sonatina" for flute and piano
transcription of "Sonatina" for violin and piano, Op. 6
2008
Three Studies for solo clarinet
commissioned for 60th anniversary of "Prague Spring Festival" and dedicated to Jiří Hlaváč on his 60th birthday
Keyboard
Date
Czech Title
English Title
Remarks
1943
Sonatina
Sonatina
Op.1; for piano
1952
Sonáta pro klavír č.1
Sonata No.1
Op.11; for piano
1955
Osm českých duet
Eight Czech Duets
for piano 4-hands
1957
Elegie pro klavír
Elegy
for piano
1975
Sonáta pro klavír č.2
Sonata No.2
for piano
1986
Fragmenty pro varhany
Frammenti (Fragments)
for organ solo
Vocal
Date
Czech Title
English Title
Remarks
1956
Spievanky, dvanáct písní moravských
Twelve Moravian Songs
for voice and piano
1955 1964
Slavnostní óda pro sbor a orchestr
Festive Ode (for an Academic Occasion)
for chorus and orchestra (or band, wind ensemble or organ)
1972
Apoteóza planety země pro sbor a symfonický orchestr
Apotheosis of This Earth
for chorus and orchestra; original version for concert band (1970)
1976
"Čas od času jsou jitra..." pro smíšený sbor a cappella
There Are from Time to Time Mornings...
for baritone and mixed chorus a cappella; text from An American Te Deum by Henry David Thoreau
1976
Americké Te Deum pro baryton, smíšený sbor a orchestr
An American Te Deum
for baritone, chorus and wind ensemble; for baritone, chorus and orchestra (1977); text compiled by the composer from the writings of Henry David Thoreau, Ole Edvart Rølvaag, Otokar Březina, folk, traditional and liturgical sources
^ abHartzell, Lawrence W. (January 1976). "Karel Husa: The Man and the Music". The Musical Quarterly. 62 (1): 87–104. doi:10.1093/mq/lxii.1.87. JSTOR741602.
.png){kind=small}
