Eugen Suchoň
Eugen Suchoň (September 25, 1908 – August 5, 1993) was one of the most important Slovak composers of the 20th century.
Early life
Eugen Suchoň was born on September 25, 1908, in Pezinok, (Slovakia). His father, Ladislav Suchoň, was an organist and teacher. His mother, Serafína Suchoňová, was a piano teacher, and it was from her that he received his first piano tuition. The house was always filled with music and, as a small child, he would listen from under the piano when his father rehearsed at home with other musicians. In 1920, at the age of twelve, he started taking piano lessons at the Bratislava School of Music with the distinguished musician Frico Kafenda. Later, from 1927 to 1931, he continued his studies with the same teacher at the newly established Academy of Music in Bratislava. His early works include several piano compositions and a choral work Veľky Pôst (The Great Fast). He graduated from his composition classes with the Sonata in A-flat for Violin and Piano and a String Quartet (op. 2, 1931, revised 1939). His two-year studies at the Prague Conservatoire under Vítězslav Novák set the seal on the thorough training he had received from Kafenda.
Compositions from this period include a Piano Quartet (1933), and the song cycle Nox et solitudo for mezzo-soprano and small orchestra or piano (1932) based on a poem by Ivan Krasko, Little Suite with Passacaglia for piano (1930, orchestrated in 1967), Serenade for Brass Quintet and the Burlesque for Violin and Orchestra. All these works show an already distinguished and mature composer. During this time Eugen Suchoň taught music theory at the Academy of Music and Drama in Bratislava (1933). His works from this period are in a late Romantic idiom with elements of folk modality combined with chromaticism. In particular the popular male choral cycle O horách ("Of mountains") was a seminal work which established a Slovak national style. This was followed by his monumental cantata, The Psalm of the Sub-Carpathian Land (1938). Many folksong arrangements date from this period, which culminated in his opera Krútňava (The Whirlpool, 1949).[1]
Middle years
The success of Krútňava established modern Slovak opera, and drew international attention. From 1948 to 1960 Suchoň was professor and head of the Department of Music Education at the Teacher Training College in Bratislava. Works from this period include the Fantasies for Violin and Orchestra, Metamorphoses for piano, and the Symphonic Suite for grand orchestra. Suchoň became heavily involved in the practical and theoretical aspects of music education. Of particular significance was his second opera Kraľ Svätopluk ("King Svätopluk"), completed in 1959. This historic opera represents the monumental dramatic fresco from the period of the Great Moravian Empire. It is a large-scale work with noble aspirations, displaying Slavic motifs and culminating in the victory of good over evil. The work was premiered in Bratislava in 1960, and performed the same year in Prague and Košice.
Later years
From 1959 to 1974 he was professor of music theory at Bratislava University. His style changed as he incorporated serialism into his compositions. Harmonies emphasizing 2nds, 4ths and 7ths led to polymodality. His later output consists predominantly of chamber and orchestral works, e. g., the song cycle Ad astra (1961), based on poems by Štefan Žáry, the mixed choir cycle O človeku ("about a human"), the Poème macabre for violin and piano, Contemplations for narrator and piano, Six Compositions for Strings, the Rhapsodic Suite for piano and orchestra and the Symfonická fantasia na BACH (1971). His piano cycle Kaleidoscope also exists in a version for piano, string orchestra and percussion. His last works include a Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra, Elegy, Toccata, and the song cycles Glimpse into the Unknown and Three Songs for Bass.[2]
Suchoň died in Bratislava in 1993.
Works
Dramatic works
- Music to Stodola's drama King Svätopluk (1935–36)
- Music to Gerzo's play Barbara of Celje (1937)
Operas
- Krútňava (The Whirlpool; 1941–49), libretto by Suchoň and Štefan Hoza
- Svätopluk (1952–59), libretto by Suchoň, Jela Krčméry-Vrteľová and Ivan Stodola
Symphonic works
- The little Suite with Passacaglia (1967)
- Overture to Stodola's drama King Svatopluk (1934)
- Balladic Suite, op. 9 (1934–36, published 1940)[3]
- Psalm of the Carpathian land (1937–38)
- The fight will be finished tomorrow (1950)
- Metamorphoses (1951–53)
- Symfonietta Rustica (1954–55)
- The Breakthrough (1977)
- Three Songs for Bass (1984–85)
- The Night of the Witches (1927)
Orchestral works with soloist
- Burlesque (1933)
- Fantasia (1948)
- Rhapsodic Suite (1964)
- Symphonic Fantasia on B-A-C-H (1971)
- Concertino (1977)
Chamber works
- Sonata in A♭ Major (1929–30)
- String Quartet (1930–31, reworked 1939)
- Little Suite with Passacaglia (1931–32)
- Serenade (1932–33)
- Piano Quartet (1932–33)
- Balladic Suite (1935)
- Academic Fanfare of Comenius University (1937)
- Sonatina (1937)
- Wedding Dance from opera The Whirlpool (1971)
- Metamorphoses (1951–53)
- Poeme Macabre (1963)
- Six Pieces for Strings (1955–64)
- Kaleidoscope (1967)
- Toccata (1973)
Vocal works
- Nox et Solitudo (1932)
- Ad astra (1961)
- Contemplations (1964)
- Glimpse into the unknown (1977)
Choral works
- How Beautiful You Are (1932–33)
- Psalm of the Carpathian Lands, op. 12 (published in 1940)[3]
- From the Mountain (1934–42)
Works for children
- Pictures from Slovakia (1954–55)
References
Sources
- Suchon compositions
- The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie (1980), vol 18.
- "New Perspectives on Eugen Suchoň" by Petra Prievoznikovà in Two Countries: One Heart Bedford High School 2005
External links
- Official website
- Little Suite and Passacaglia on YouTube for piano
- Sonatina on YouTube for piano
- v
- t
- e
- 1964: Oto Bihalji-Merin
- Jan Kott
- Stanisław Lorentz
- Lucijan Marija Škerjanc
- 1965: Tudor Arghezi
- Manolis Hatzidakis
- Emanuel Hruška
- Zoltán Kodály
- László Németh
- Hugo Rokyta
- Hristo Vakarelski
- 1966: Ján Cikker
- Dezső Dercsényi
- Zlatko Gorjan
- Aleksander Kobzdej
- Anton Kriesis
- Niko Kuret
- Dimiter Statkov
- 1967: Iván Fenyő
- Vladimír Kompánek
- Witold Lutosławski
- Spyridon Marinatos
- Alexandru A. Philippide
- Mihai Pop
- Svetozar Radojčić
- 1968: Constantin Daicoviciu
- Roman Ingarden
- Miroslav Krleža
- Ludvík Kunz
- Anastasios Orlandos
- Lajos Vayer
- Pancho Vladigerov
- 1969: Jolán Balogh
- Albín Brunovský
- Bohuslav Fuchs
- Mihail Jora
- Marijan Matković
- Ksawery Piwocki
- France Stele
- 1970: Jan Białostocki
- Jan Filip
- Zoltán Franyó
- Milovan Gavazzi
- Gyula Illyés
- Yiannis Papaioannou
- Zeko Torbov
- 1971: Jiří Kolář
- Blaže Koneski
- Georgios Megas
- Kazimierz Michałowski
- Mihail Sokolovski
- Zaharia Stancu
- Bence Szabolcsi
- 1972: Dragotin Cvetko
- Atanas Dalchev
- Branko Maksimović
- Gyula Ortutay
- Jaroslav Pešina
- Henryk Stażewski
- Virgil Vătășianu
- 1973: Veselin Beshevliev
- Stylianos Harkianakis
- János Harmatta
- Zbigniew Herbert
- Eugen Jebeleanu
- Petar Lubarda
- Jan Racek
- 1974: Władysław Czerny
- Ivan Duichev
- Ivo Frangeš
- László Gerő
- Stylianos Pelekanidis
- Ján Podolák
- Zeno Vancea
- 1975: Józef Burszta
- Hristo M. Danov
- Stanislav Libenský
- Maria Ana Musicescu
- Gábor Preisich
- Pandelis Prevelakis
- Stanojlo Rajičić
- 1976: Jagoda Buić
- Marin Goleminov
- Ioannis Kakridis
- Dezső Keresztury
- Nichita Stănescu
- Rudolf Turek
- Kazimierz Wejchert
- 1977: Nikolaos Andriotis
- Riko Debenjak
- Emmanuel Kriaras
- Albert Kutal
- Máté Major
- Krzysztof Penderecki
- Anastas Petrov
- Ion Vladutiu
- 1978: Eugen Barbu
- Đurđe Bošković
- Kazimierz Dejmek
- Stoyan Dzudzev
- Béla Gunda
- Jiří Hrůza
- Yiannis Spyropoulos
- 1979: Magdalena Abakanowicz
- Ferenc Farkas
- Zdenko Kolacio
- Atanas Natev
- András Sütő
- Pavel Trost
- Apostolos E. Vacalopoulos
- 1980: Gordana Babić-Đorđević
- Iván Balassa
- Kamil Lhoták
- Manousos Manousakas
- Vera Mutafchieva
- Alexandru Rosetti
- Wiktor Zin
- 1981: Emil Condurachi
- Sándor Csoóri
- Stefka Georgieva
- Dimitrios Loukatos
- Vjenceslav Richter
- Eugen Suchoň
- Elida Maria Szarota
- 1982: Athanasios Aravantinos
- Ana Blandiana
- Vojislav J. Đurić
- Sona Kovacevicová
- Aleksandar Nichev
- Jan Józef Szczepański
- Imre Varga
- 1983: Władysław Bartoszewski
- Géza Entz
- Jozef Jankovič
- Gunther Schuller
- Zdenko Škreb
- Stefana Stoykova
- C. A. Trypanis
- 1984: Emilijan Cevc
- Konstantinos Dimaras
- Karel Horálek
- György Konrád
- Constantin Lucaci
- Krasimir Manchev
- Krzysztof Meyer
- 1985: Branko Fučić
- Růžena Grebeníčková
- Adrian Marino
- Demetrios Pallas
- Károly Perczel
- Simeon Pironkov
- Andrzej Wajda
- 1986: Georgi Baev
- Tekla Dömötör
- Boris Gaberščik
- Konrad Górski
- Johannes Karayannopoulos
- Jiří Kotalík
- Anatol Vieru
- 1987: Roman Brandstaetter
- Doula Mouriki
- József Ujfalussy
- Vladimir Veličković
- Velizar Velkov
- Gheorghe Vrabie
- 1988: Roman Berger
- Christos Kapralos
- Zoe Dumitrescu-Bușulenga
- György Györffy
- Donka Petkanova
- Mieczysław Porębski
- Edvard Ravnikar
- 1989: Maria Banuș
- Ákos Birkás
- Jerzy Buszkiewicz
- Václav Frolec
- Nikolai Genchev
- Petar Miljković-Pepek
- Nikos Gabriel Pentzikis
- 1990: Liviu Calin
- Bronisław Geremek
- Aris Konstantinidis
- Dejan Medaković
- Virginia Paskaleva
- Adriena Šimotová
- András Vizkelety
- 1991: Maja Bošković-Stulli
- Gerard Labuda
- Andor Pigler
- Yorgos Sicilianos
- Emil Skála
- Marin Sorescu
- Stoimen Stoilov
- 1992: Manolis Andronikos
- Jenő Barabás
- Blaga Dimitrova
- Stefan Kaszynski
- Jiří Kořalka
- Zmaga Kumer
- Jon Nicodim
- 1993: Vasilka Gerasimova-Tomova
- Petro Kononenko
- György Kurtág
- Jerzy Tchórzewski
- Răzvan Theodorescu
- Elena Várossová
- Māra Zālīte
- Dionysis Zivas
- Viktor Žmegač
- 1994: István Borzsák
- Dževad Juzbašić
- Ștefan Niculescu
- Andrzej Szczypiorski
- Jitka and Květa Válová
- Takis Varvitsiotis
- Zigmas Zinkevičius
- 1995: Sándor Kányádi
- Mirko Kovač
- Milcho Lalkov
- Michael G. Meraklis
- Mindaugas Navakas
- Wisława Szymborska
- Jaan Undusk
- 1996: Tamás Hofer
- Karel Hubáček
- Konstantin Iliev
- Marin Mincu
- Jože Pogačnik
- Pēteris Vasks
- Marian Zgórniak
- 1997: Tasos Athanasiadis
- Bogdan Bogdanović
- Oskár Elschek
- Ferenc Glatz
- Lech Kalinowski
- Jaan Kross
- Dunja Rihtman-Auguštin
- 1998: Imre Bak
- Andrei Corbea-Hoișie
- Eliška Fučíková
- Ismail Kadare
- Justinas Marcinkevičius
- Dorota Simonides
- Elena Toncheva
- 1999: Svetlana Alexievich
- Vera Bitrakova-Grozdanova
- Mircea Dinescu
- István Fried
- Henryk Górecki
- Dževad Karahasan
- Ferdinand Milučký
- 2000: Ján Bakoš
- Ivan Čolović
- Nikola Georgiev
- Imre Kertész
- Milan Kundera
- Karolos Mitsakis
- Arvo Pärt
- 2001: Yurii Andrukhovych
- Janez Bernik
- János Böhönyey
- Maria Kłańska
- Marek Kopelent
- Andrej Mitrović
- Evanghelos Moutsopoulos
- 2002: George Demetrius Bambiniotis
- Māris Čaklais
- Péter Esterházy
- Radost Ivanova
- Nedjeljko Fabrio
- Aurel Stroe
- Lech Trzeciakowski
- 2003: Vasil Gyuzelev
- Drago Jančar
- Károly Manherz
- Stanisław Mossakowski
- Ales Rasanau
- Ludvík Václavek
- Ana Maria Zahariade
- 2004: Theodore Antoniou
- Michał Głowiński
- Dušan Kováč
- Fatos Lubonja
- Éva Pócs
- Kazimir Popkonstantinov
- Romualdas Požerskis
- 2005: Károly Klimó
- Hanna Krall
- Primož Kuret
- Jiří Kuthan
- Andrei Marga
- Eimuntas Nekrošius
- Krešimir Nemec
- 2006: Włodzimierz Borodziej
- Nicos Hadjinicolaou
- Gabriela Kiliánová
- Ene Mihkelson
- Vojteh Ravnikar