TITLE: Suite from the Good Soldier Schweik, Opus 22 (1956)

COMPOSER: Robert Kurka (1921-1937)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Robert Kurka was born in Cicero, Illinois and died of leukemia at the young age of thirty-five. He studied with Darius Milhaud and Otto Luening. He developed a distinctive style of his own, using a mixture of American jazz elements and European characteristics. Kurka developed an opera out of his Suite, shortly before his death. The opera was produced by the New York City Opera Company on April 23, 1958. Robert Kurka also composed a popular work entitled Second Symphony. Kurka was of Czech descent, which influenced his choice of Jaroslav Hasek, a great Czech novelist, as the source for his best known composition, Suite from the Good Soldier Schweik. Kurka lived in New York City for the majority of his life.

MOVEMENTS: Six

1. Overture
2. Lament
3. March
4. War Dance
5. Pastoral
6. Finale

PERFORMANCE TIME: 17' 52"

INSTRUMENTATION: 15 Instruments

• 1 Piccolo, 1 Flute, 1 Oboe, 1 English Horn, 1 Clarinet, 1 Bass Clarinet, 1 Bassoon, 1 Contra-Bassoon or Double Bass, 2 Trumpets, 3 Horns, 1 Trombone, Timpani

EDITIONS: Rental or Purchase

1. Weintraub Music Company, 33 W. 60th Street, New York, NY 10023

COMPOSITION SKETCH AND MUSICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The Suite was inspired by The Good Soldier Schweik, the antiwar satire by the Czech novelist and journalist, Jaroslav Hasek. Written shortly after the First World War, it is the story of the civilian, the common man, forced to become a soldier who must fight for a cause for which he has no sympathy. Schweik, the main character, appears to be crazy, yet, is actually exposing the arrogance, stupidity and hypocrisy of the authorities. Despite the indignities that Schweik is subjected, his optimism manages to emerge as indestructible and triumphant. He is the symbol of the common people and their resistance to war. Each of the six short pieces, which create the suite, represents a general theme that occurs in the novel rather than specific episodes. The Overture is a character sketch of Schweik, the good-natured common man. The Lament represents the element of sadness that results from the outbreak of war. The March represents the soldier's means of traveling. The War Dance represents the authorities pounding the war drums and insisting on war. The Pastoral is the countryside in time of war. The Finale is representative of Schweik's optimism that is triumphant and indestructible.

SELECTED RECORDINGS:

RELATED WEBSITES:

Download the Novel Good Soldier Schweik by J. Hasek - http://www.zenny.com/mnV3page.html