Emil František Burian

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The voiceband EF Burian in 1928 in Siena; Burian probably upstairs

Emil František Burian (born June 11, 1904 in Pilsen , Austria-Hungary , † August 9, 1959 in Prague ) was a Czech composer , poet , publicist , singer , actor , musician , playwright , director and dramaturge .

Live and act

Burian was a student of Josef Bohuslav Foerster at the Prague Conservatory . His father was the baritone Emil Burian , his uncle the tenor Karel Burian , who became known as a Wagner singer. His son Jan Burian (* 1952 in Prague) is a well-known songwriter in the Czech Republic .

He was a member of the Devětsil Modern Culture Association . From 1926 to 1927 he worked in the "Liberated Theater" ( Osvobozené divadlo ), which he left after arguments with Jindřich Honzl together with Jiří Frejka and founded his own Dada theater, the divadlo Da-Da . In addition, he worked with the Schauspielhaus Modernes Studio ( Moderní studio ).

In 1923 he joined the communist party KSČ - out of conviction, which also strongly influenced his later work. In 1927 he founded the musically recitative theater group Voiceband .

Furthermore, he founded the avant-garde theater D 34 in 1933 (the number in the name changed according to the current year) in Prague, which he directed until 1940 and again from 1946 until his death.

Between 1940 and 1945 he was imprisoned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp , later in Dachau and finally in Neuengamme . In his free time he illegally devoted himself to organizing cultural events for the detainees. On May 3, 1945 he was able to save himself from the ship Cap Arcona under dramatic circumstances after the air raid by the Royal Air Force .

After the war he re-established Theater D 46 . In addition to these three theaters, he also ran three theaters in Brno , as well as the Karlín Operetta in Prague, which were united in the so-called Cooperative of Theaters of Work (Družstvo divadla práce). After the seizure of power in Czechoslovakia by the KSČ 1948 he was Parliament deputy of the "National Assembly from February 1948" ( "Poúnorové národní shromáždění").

In 1951 he transferred Theater D 51 to the Association of the Czechoslovak Army . It later became the Army Art Theater, earning him the rank of officer. In 1955 he left the army and the theater was renamed D 34 after the year it was founded. The artist Christo was one of Burian's students .

Burian composed several operas and ballets , a symphony , a song cycle for voice and jazz band , a requiem for jazz band and voice band, a cantata , chamber music works, drama , radio play and film music .

He was married to the actress Zuzana Kočová .

See also

Works

His works are influenced by Dadaism , Futurism and poetism . They are strongly socialist and sometimes agitative. Although they are no longer the focus of cultural interest even today, they have left their mark on the Czech cultural landscape. Abroad, however, they are almost forgotten and hardly arouse interest. Some of his work was destroyed during World War II. At the documenta 8 in Kassel in 1987 , recordings of him were presented as an official contribution to the exhibition as part of the "Archeology of Acoustic Art 1: Radiofonia Futurista".

German-language publications

Operas

  • 1925: Before sunrise ( Před slunce východem ). Opera in one act . Libretto : Bedřich Bělohlávek. Premiere November 1925 Prague ( National Theater )
  • 1934: Alladina and Palomid ( Alladina a Palomid ). Opera. Libretto: based on Maurice Maeterlinck, new version: Tales of a great love ( Pohádka o velké lásce ). Opera. Premiere 1934 Prague
  • 1940: Maryša . Opera in 5 images, op. 81. Libretto: Emil František Burian (based on Alois and Vilém Mrštík ). WP April 16, 1940 Brno (Brünn)
  • 1955: The Quack ( Mastičkář ). Opera buffa ( parody ). Libretto: Václav Lacina / Jan Trojan. Premiere 1928 Prague (Divadlo Dada). - New version (1955). Libretto: Radovan Krátký
  • 1999: Bubu vom Montparnasse ( Bubu z Montparnassu ). Lyric jazz opera. Libretto: after Charles-Louis Philippe . Premiere 1999 Prague

drama

  • Tavern on the other bank ( Krčma na druhém břehu )

Film direction

  • Věra Lukášová
  • We want to live ( Chceme žít )

Film music

  • 1932: Golden Small Bird (Zlaté ptáče)
  • 1932: Before graduation (Před maturitou)
  • 1936: The alley to paradise (Ulička v Ráji)
  • 1947: The Siren (Siréna)
  • 1951: At two minutes (Karhanova parta)
  • 1955: The Dogs Heads (Psohlavci)
  • 1955: The journey into primeval times (Cesta do praveku)

Books

  • Negro dances ( Černošské tance )
  • Come on, people, to the iron hammer theater ( Pojďte, lidé, na divadla s železnýma kladivama )
  • To a new theater ( O nové divadlo )
  • Turn the stage ( Zameťte jeviště ) - here he expressed the view that the theater belongs to those who make it.

Productions

literature

  • Kay Less : Between the stage and the barracks. Lexicon of persecuted theater, film and music artists from 1933 to 1945 . With a foreword by Paul Spiegel . Metropol, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-938690-10-9 , p. 77.
  • Jiří Bajer: Vztah vyjadřovacích prostředků hudby, poezie a divadla v Burianově tvorbě dvacátých a třicátých let. In: Hudební věda. 8, 1971, ISSN  0018-7003 , pp. 288-297.
  • Jaroslav Jiránek: Burianův přínos slohovému vývoji české hudby meziválečného období. In: Hudební věda. 8, 1971, ISSN  0018-7003 , pp. 277-287.
  • Jaroslav Kladiva: EF Burian . (= Jazzpetit 14). Jazzová sekce, Prague 1982.
  • Ladislav Šíp: Česká opera e její tvůrci. Průvodce . Supraphon, Prague 1983, pp. 229-234.
  • Bořivoj Srba: Poetické divadlo EF Buriana . SPN, Prague 1971 (Czech).
  • Helena Valentová: Bubu z Montparnassu. Lyrická opera EF Buriana. In: Opus musicum. 27, 1995, 1, ZDB -ID 1141611-7 , pp. 3-12.
  • Bedřich Bělohlávek: Před Východem Slunce. Václav Čechák, Praha 1925 (= Dobrá Edice 1, Czech)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rainer Pöllmann: Jazz was his elixir of life. A matinee for Emil Frantisek Burian in the Hebbel Theater . In: Berliner Zeitung . September 15, 1992: [...] the interest in the missing person does not seem to be too great. [...] the Nazis destroyed his compositions before his eyes. Today Burian's work is as good as forgotten, documents and sources can hardly be found.
personal data
SURNAME Burian, Emil František
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Czech composer
DATE OF BIRTH June 11, 1904
PLACE OF BIRTH Pilsen
DATE OF DEATH August 9, 1959
Place of death Prague