The Czech Prism
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Oskar Morawetz: The Czech Prism by Radka Hanáková A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Faculty of Music University of Toronto © Copyright by Radka Hanáková 2020 Oskar Morawetz: The Czech Prism Radka Hanáková Doctor of Musical Arts Faculty of Music University of Toronto 2020 Abstract Oskar Morawetz (1917 – 2007) carved out a successful career in Canada, yet he remains relatively obscure in his native Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). The complexity of his social, political and cultural background framed his identity as a person and musician. Understanding Czech–Canadian dualism is a vital component of grasping both his identity as a composer and reception of his music in the two countries. The Czech Prism is a documentation of a multidisciplinary project I developed and carried out in the years 2015 – 2019 in both Morawetz’s homelands – Canada and the Czech Republic – in order to unveil the Czech identity of the composer. It is neither an analysis nor a biography, but it contains elements of both. As such it follows Morawetz’s footsteps geographically: beginning in Europe, then moving to Canada, and finally returning to the Czech Republic. Among the most valuable contributions of this research is the discovery of a large amount of fascinating Czech correspondence in the Morawetz fonds in the Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. The correspondence contains letters Morawetz exchanged with both his family members ii and others in Czechoslovakia, mostly between the years 1939 and 1995. This is the first time that this material has been examined, translated, and incorporated into a research document. In addition to the correspondence this study deals with other primary sources such as: contemporary press clippings; interviews with people from Morawetz’s generation as well as with music experts in both Canada and the Czech Republic; a documentation of lecture-recitals carried out in the Czech Republic; and a performer’s analysis of the work Fantasy in D (1948). Set in the context of Czech-Canadian social, political, and cultural background, the information unearthed during this research project is sifted, examined, and perhaps most importantly revealed here for the first time. What emerges is a large tapestry of prisms that ultimately merge into an accurate image of a more complete identity of the composer of Czech and Canadian origin, Oskar Morawetz. iii Dedications and Acknowledgments This thesis is a largely collective work that is indebted to the many people who, directly or indirectly, inspired and contributed to either its content or to the logistic process behind it. First of all, I would like to thank most sincerely my thesis supervisor, Professor Robin Elliott, for his tireless devotion, expertise, and kind, heartfelt support I felt throughout the process. He provided a precious, carefully guided space that enabled me to find and develop my own creative way of shaping this project from the beginning to the end. I am grateful to my mentor and dear friend Joseph Macerollo for his encouragement, inspiration, contagious optimism, and endless belief in my work. His recommendations regarding my writing style contributed immensely to my ability to express my ideas in a more concise way in English, which is my second language. A sincere thanks go to the other committee members: my piano Professor James Parker for his artistic insights into the Fantasy in D in particular, and for his guidance and support during my years at the University of Toronto; to Professor Gillian MacKay and Professor Elaine Keillor for sharing with me their personal experiences of performing Oskar Morawetz’s music as well as for their thorough reading of my work. I am very much indebted to Claudia Morawetz, the daughter of Oskar Morawetz. She not only created a website that was one of the largest sources of information for my research, she also generously provided me with additional materials from her private collection, and above all, she read the paper thoroughly just before its final submission. Her reflections, on the biographical facts especially, contributed greatly to the validity of the work. Unique contributions and added value to this work have been brought by the personal accounts of the people whom I had the fortune and opportunity to interview on the topic. Among these people were personalities from Morawetz’s family: Sonja Sinclair (his sister) and Claudia Morawetz (his daughter); Morawetz’s friends from the Czech community in Toronto: Josef Čermák, Dagmar Rydlová, and Zdeněk Koníček; and music experts from both Canada and the Czech Republic: John Beckwith, Larysa Kuzmenko, Jan Kachlík, and Luboš Sluka. iv I would also like to express my gratitude to the conservatories of music in the Czech Republic, namely to the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory, Pardubice Conservatory, and Prague Conservatory, for enabling me to carry out the lecture-recitals for their students, whose impressions from the program I had prepared for them, enriched this work immensely. Finally, I would like to thank to my parents. Despite the fact that they were not professional musicians themselves, they endowed me with all the love and support I ever needed to have become one. I dedicate this thesis to the memory of my father, who passed away during this research and to my mother, who continues on her own providing a safe, unconditionally supportive and loving place that is called home. v Table of Contents Abstract… ....................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... vi List of Appendices ......................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1 Prelude ...........................................................................................................................1 Czech – European heritage; Family background; Canadian musical environment during Morawetz’s active career; Musical language of Oskar Morawetz; Reception of Morawetz’s music by his contemporary environment in Canada and North America ......................................1 1.1 Roots of national awareness: the Czech National Revival… ........................................... .2 1.1.1 Czech National Revival in music: creation of the national style ...........................3 1.2 The Morawetz family background .....................................................................................5 1.2.1 First musical experiences: Prague ..........................................................................9 1.3 Contemporary musical environment in Canada during Morawetz’s active career ............11 1.4 Musical language of Oskar Morawetz ...............................................................................16 1.4.1 Musical studies.......................................................................................................17 1.4.2 Musical style ..........................................................................................................21 1.4.3 Music as a drama and the theme of death. Memorial to Martin Luther King and From the Diary of Anne Frank ..............................................................................23 1.4.4 Spirituality and music ............................................................................................28 1.4.5 The role of the piano ..............................................................................................31 1.4.6 Orchestration ..........................................................................................................33 1.4.7 Musical form ..........................................................................................................34 1.5 Reception of Oskar Morawetz’s music by his contemporary environment in Canada and North America ...................................................................................................................36 1.5.1 The Gould connection ............................................................................................38 1.5.2 My teacher, Oskar Morawetz: an interview with Larysa Kuzmenko ....................39 vi 1.6 Chapter conclusion .............................................................................................................43 Chapter 2 Morawetz and the Czechoslovak Community in Toronto .............................................45 Immigration in Canada; Czechoslovak immigration to Canada; Czech music in Canada; The Morawetz family and the Czechoslovak community in Toronto; Oskar Morawetz and the Czechoslovak community in Toronto ............................................................................................45 2.1 The history of Czechoslovak immigration to Canada ........................................................47 2.1.1 Major Czechoslovak institutions in Canada and the governing philosophy of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.......................................................................................49 2.2 Czech music in Canada ......................................................................................................55 2.2.1 Visiting Czech musical ensembles, conductors, and interpreters