Dissertation - International Bass Clarinet Research Center

Kučera. Interested in promoting as many works as possible, their recital programming
and recording always reflected a mixture of pieces from home and abroad.
Scherzi Pastorali
Scherzi Pastorali, written in 1956 by Jan Novák, was beloved by both Josef and
Emma. Novák was born on April 8, 1921 in Nová Říše, a small town in southwest
Moravia. His musical talents on violin and piano were apparent from an early age, and in
1940 he entered the Brno Conservatory in Czechoslovakia to study composition. The
Nazi occupation interrupted his schooling, and he was forced to complete two-and-a-half
years of labor in Germany. Novák came back to Brno after the conclusion of the war and
finished his education in 1946. He then traveled to the United States, spending a summer
at Tanglewood with Aaron Copland and working with Bohuslav Martinů in New York. 30
He returned to Brno on February 25, 1948, the day of the Communist takeover. Novák’s
liberal views consistently conflicted with the Communist government which eventually
led to his expulsion from the Union of Czechoslovak Composers in 1961. In 1963 he
helped form Creative Group A, a group of theoreticians and composers dedicated to
furthering contemporary music and compositional techniques. After the Soviet invasion
of 1968, he left the country and lived in exile with his family in Denmark, Italy, and
finally West Germany where he died in 1984. 31
30 Czech Music Information Centre, “Jan Novák," http://www.musica.cz/novakj/
(accessed February 15, 2009).
31 Alena Němcová, "Novák, Jan," Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,
http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.turing.library.northwestern.edu/subscriber/article/gro
ve/music/20142 (accessed February 15, 2009).
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