Hába, Alois
Hába, Alois
Hába, Alois, notable Czech composer and pedagogue, brother of Karel Hába; b. Vizovice, Moravia, June 21, 1893; d. Prague, Nov. 18, 1973. He studied with Novák at the Prague Cons. (1914–15), then privately with Schreker in Berlin (1918–20), continuing as his student at the Hochschule für Musik (1920–22). He became interested in the folk music of the Orient, which led him to consider writing in smaller intervals than the semitone. His first work in the quarter tone system was the 2nd String Quartet (1920); in his 5th String Quartet (1923), he first applied sixth-tones, and in his 16th String Quartet (1967), he introduced fifth-tones. He notated these fractional intervals by signs in modified or inverted sharps and flats. The piano manufacturing firm A. Förster constructed for him 3 types of quarter tone pianos (1924–31), a quarter tone (1928) and a sixth-tone (1936) harmonium, and a quarter tone guitar (1943); other firms manufactured at his request a quarter tone clarinet (1924) and trumpet (1931). From 1924 to 1951 (World War II excepted) he led a class of composition in fractional tones at the Prague Cons., attracting a large number of students, among them his brother, Karel, the conductors Ančerl and Susskind, and the composers Dobiáš, Ježek, Kowalski, Kubín, Lucký, Ponc, Reiner (who, along with E. Schulhoff, specialized in quarter tone piano playing and premiered 10 of Hába’s works), Seidel and Srnka, as well as such foreigners as Iliev, Osterc, and Akses. Hába publ. an important manual of modern harmony, Neue Harmonielehre des diatonischen, chromatischen, Viertel-, Drittel-, Sechstel-, und Zwölfteltonsystems (New Principles of Harmony of the Diatonic, Chromatic, Fourth-, Third-, Sixth-, and Twelfth-Tone Systems; Leipzig, 1927), detailing new usages introduced by him in his classes; he further publ. Harmonicke základy čtvrttónove soustavy (Harmonic Foundation of the Quarter Tone System; Prague, 1922), Vonder Psychologie der musikalischen Gestaltung, Gesetzmässigkeit der Tonbewegung und Grundlagen eines neuen Musikstils (On the Psychology of Musical Composition; Rules of Tonal Structure and Foundation of New Musical Style; Vienna, 1925), and Mein Weg zur Viertel- und Sechsteton-musik (Düsseldorf, 1971). As a composer, he cultivated a “non- thematic” method of writing, without repetition of patterns and devoid of development. In 1963 he was made an Artist of Merit and in 1968 he received the Order of the Republic in recognition of his contributions to Czech music.
Works
dramatic: Opera: Matka (Mother; 1927-29; in quarter tones, 1st perf. in German as Die Mutter, Munich, May 17, 1931; 1st perf. in Czech, Prague, May 27, 1947); Nová Země (The New Land; 1934-36; only overture perf., Prague, April 8, 1936); Přijd kráovstvi Tvé (Thy Kingdom Come; 1937-40; in fractional tones). o r c h.: Overture (Berlin, Dec. 9, 1920); Symphonic Fantasy for Piano and Orch. (1921); Cesta èivota (The Path of Life; Winterthur, March 15, 1934); Valašská suita (Prague, Oct. 29, 1953); Violin Concerto (1955; Prague, Feb. 17, 1963); Viola Concerto (1955–57). CHAMBER: Violin Sonata (1951); string quartets Nos. 1, 7, 8, 9, 13, and 15 (1919; 1951; 1951; 1952; Astronautic, 1961; 1964); Fantasy for Flute or Violin and Piano (1928; also for Bass Clarinet and Piano, 1967); 4 nonets for Wind and String Instruments (1931, based on a 12-tone row; 1932, based on a 7-tone row; 1953; 1963); Sonata for Solo Guitar (1943); Sonata for Chromatic Harp (1944); Sonata for Diatonic Harp (1944); Intermezzo and Preludium for Diatonic Harp (1945); Suite for Bassoon (1950; also for Bass Clarinet, 1968); Suite, quartet for Bassoons (1951); Sonata for Solo Clarinet (1952); suites for Solo Violin (1955), Cello (1955), Cymbalom (1960), Bass Clarinet (1964), and Saxophone (1968); Suite for Bass Clarinet and Piano (1969); Observations from a Journal for Narrator and String Quartet (1970); Suite for Violin and Piano (1972). keyboard: piano: 2 morceaux (1917-18; arranged for String Orch. by R. Kubin, 1930); Sonata (1918); Fugue Suite (1918); Variations on a Canon by Schumann (1918); 6 Pieces (1920); 4 Modern Dances (1927); Toccata quasi una Fantasia (1931); 6 Moods (1971). organ:Fantasy (1951); Fugue (1951). other: works in quarter-tones: String quartets Nos. 2, 3,4, 6, 12, and 14 (1920, 1922,1922, 1950, 1960, 1963); Fantasy for Violin (1921); Music for Violin (1922); Fantasy for Cello (1924); Fantasy for Violin and Piano (1925); Suite No. 1 for Clarinet and Piano (1925); Fantasy for Viola and Piano (1926); Fantasy for Cello and Piano (1927); 2 suites for Guitar (1943, 1947); Suite No. 2 for Clarinet (1943–44); Suite for Trumpet and Trombone (1944); Suite for 4 Trombones (1950); Suite for Violin (1961–62); 6 suites for Piano (1922, rev. 1932; 1922, rev. 1932; 1923; 1924; 1925; 1959); 11 fantasies for Piano (Nos. 1-10, 1923-26; No. 11, 1959); Piano Sonata (1947). works in fifth-tones: String Quartet No. 16 (1967). works in sixth-tones: String quartets Nos. 5, 10, and 11 (1923, 1952, 1958); Duo for 2 Violins (1937); Suite for Violin (1955); Suite for Cello (1955); 6 Pieces for Harmonium (1928). VOCAL: Songs and choral pieces, many in the quarter-tone system.
Bibliography
J. Vysloužil, A. H.: Život a duo (Prague, 1974); J. Vysloužil, A. H., 1893-1973 (Vizovice, 1993).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire