Jan Novák

Jan Novák was born in Nová Říše. He acquired his general education at the elect Jesuit institute in Velehrad followed by a humanistic classical college in Brno. This is indeed one of the roots of his lifelong interest in Latin language and Roman culture. He studied piano and composition at the Conservatory in Brno.

As other students of his age group, he was forced to interrupt his studies to do forced labor in Germany, so that he could finally finish his studies in the composition class of Vilém Petrželka in 1946. He then continued his studies at the newly established Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU) and in Brno (JAMU). In 1947 he was awarded a scholarship for studying at the Berkshire Music Centre in Tanglewood with Aaron Copland and subsequently with Bohuslav Martinů in New York. Although the private classes lasted only little more than half a year, Martinů had a very significant influence on his further artistic development.

He returned home in the politically fateful February 1948, when the communist party came to power, to settle down in Brno. He started to work as a freelance composer and from the beginning gained respect for his talent. But as a free thinker, unwilling to conform to the political regime, interested in the classical culture and catholic of denomination, Novák suffered under political pressure.

In the late fifties and early sixties he wrote music also for film and theater (films with Karel Kachyňa, Jiří Trnka, Karel Zeman and others) and performed with his wife, herself a highly accomplished concert pianist, as a piano duo. In 1961 he refused to vote in the general election, causing a political scandal which led to his exclusion from the Czechoslovak Composer´s Union. In the freer political environment of the late sixties, he received anew membership in the Composer´s Union, becoming a respected personality in the world of modern music in Brno and throughout Czechoslovakia.

After the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 he emigrated and worked subsequently in Denmark (1968), Italy (1969–1977) and Germany (1977–1984), where he died in November 17, 1984. After 1968 his music was forbidden in Czechoslovakia and his new compositions remained almost unknown in his home country. Only after the fall of the communist regime, Czech audience was given the opportunity to discover this significant composer again.

Titles for hire:
Concentus biiugis
Concerto for two pianos and orchestra
Variations on a Theme by Bohuslav Martinů for Orchestra

Titles for sale:
Aeolia for two Flutes and Piano
Capriccio for Violoncello and Orchestra
Capriccio for Violoncello and Orchestra - Piano score
Dido / piano score
Due preludi e fughe per flauto solo
Elegantiae tripudiorum
Elegantiae tripudiorum for Piano
IV Hymni christiani (for Piano and Vocal part ad libitum)
Choreae vernales for Flute and Piano
Choreae vernales for Flute and Guitar
Choreae vernales for Flute, String Orchestra and Harp with Celesta or Piano
Ioci pastorales
Magic Songs for Flute (or clarinet), High Voice and Snare Drum)
Marsyas for Piccolo and Piano
Odae for Piano
Odarum concentus choro fidium
Panisci fistula
Prima sonata for Piano
Rotundelli for Violoncello and Piano
Scherzi pastorali for Clarinet (or Bass Clarinet) and Piano
Sonata brevis for Harpsichord
Sonata gemella per due flauti
Sonata tribus for Flute, Violin and Piano
Sonatina for Flute and Piano
Strepitus festivi for Four French Horns
Tibia fugitiva for Flute solo
Toccata chromatica for Piano
Variations on the Theme by Bohuslav Martinů for two Pianos