Signs of Times - Svatopluk Havelka
Svatopluk Havelka's (1925 - 2009) compositional style, in spite of several discernible successive phases, always retained its unique character that was marked for its melodic vigour, typically "Havelkian" colourful instrumentation, and its transparent and yet original compositional structure.
Initially, he drew upon the music tradition of the 1st half of the 20th century, and already in the early works a clear influence of Moravian and Silesian modal melodics is palpable. As of the 1960s he started to absorb the then up-to-date impulses of the global music development, especially elements of aleatorics and timbre music. In contrast to other world-known innovators, however, Havelka never went as far as to abandon radically the existing compositional principles. This synthetic approach to composition constitutes another singular feature of Havelka's music. The best known Havelka's program symphonic works, e.g. the symphonic poem Pěna (Foam, 1965) or the orchestral fantasy Hommage a Hieronymus Bosch (1974) come from this period. From the 1990s on his attention remained focused almost exclusively on religious topics, he used gradually less and less exposed means of expressions in his works, and ever more evidently moved back towards tonal music. During this final phase of Havelka's career the author created some of the deepest of his works.
The symphonic piece Znamení časů (The Signs of Times, 1996) is Havelka's last major work for symphonic orchestra, and the only one from his many significant symphonic compositions that was written in the latest period of the author's life. Havelka was commissioned to compose it on the occasion of the centenary of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. The same orchestra also premiered the piece under the Japanese conductor Ken-Ičiro Kobajaši on 24th April, 1997. After the premiere the author made some slight alterations to the score; the changes were concerned with the instrumentation of several instruments the author wanted to intensify.
Other compositions by Svatopluk Havelka published in Czech Radio:
Agapé
Hymnos
Parénéze
Symphony No. 1
instrumentationfl picc, 3fl, 3ob, cor ingl, 3cl - III muta cl picc in Es, cl b, 3fg - III muta cfg, 4cor, 4trb, 3tbn, tb, timp, batt, cel, arp, archidescriptionscorepubl.NoR 174price205,- CZK
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