Topic: Ladislav Kubik [b.1946]

[Scion7]

A Czech composer, he was a student of Karel Janeček and Pauer.
Editor of the music department of Czechoslovak Radio in Prague.
General secretary of the Union of Czech composers.
He has taught composition and orchestration at the Prague Conservatory.
In 1990–91 he was visiting scholar at the University of South Florida and the Florida State University, becoming a full professor of composition at the latter in 1992.
Appointed president of the Czech-American Summer Music Institute.
Founded and sponsored the biannual Ladislav Kubík International Prize in composition.
Won two UNESCO prizes (1974, 1978) and first prize of the International Franz Kafka Competition.

The New Grove: "His works successfully combine new techniques such as aleatoricism and timbre music with traditional tectonic principles and motivic development with the aim of building communicative structures."   

Uhm-Hmmmm.  Well, anyway, the chamber music has its moments.

Chamber
====================
3 skladby [3 Pieces], piano, 1969
Flute Sonata, 1971
2 Episodes for Bass Clarinet & Piano, 1972
String Quartet No.1, 1981
2 episody [2 episodes], bass clarinet, percussion, piano, 1972
Communication, for solo bassoon, 1973
Lament of a Warrior's Wife, for soprano, viola, bass clarinet, piano, percussion, tape, 1973
Inventions for Piano, 1975
2 Inventions for Flute and Guitar, 1977
Sonata for solo Viola, 1978
Duo Concertante for Violin & Piano, 1979
String Trio, 1984
String Quartet No.2, 1986
Piano Trio, 1987
Divertimento for Eight Winds, 1988
The Late Afternoon of a Faun, Flute & Percussion, 1992
Der Weg (The Way), for counter-tenor, clarinet, viola, contrabass & percussion, 1992
Angels and Airplanes for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, piano, after paintings by Kandinsky, Lissitzky and Goncharova,  1994
Divertimento II for Nine Wind Instruments, 1995
Elegy in 2 Movements for solo Cello, 1995
In Night, for baritone, clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, viola, piano & percussion, 1997
Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano, “Metamorphoses”, 2003
Sonata for Trombone and Piano, 2004
Portrait for piano and percussion, 2005
Dawn for mezzo-soprano, violin, cello, & piano, 2006
Sonata-Portrait, piano, 2009

Orchestral Pieces
========================
Symphony No.1, 1970
Piano Concerto No.1, 1974
Violin Concerto, 1980
Symphonic Overture, 1986
Concerto for Winds and Percussion, 1987
Concerto grosso, violin, piano, percussion, strings, 1987
Symphony No.2 after S. Dalí: Discovery of America, wind, percussion, 1993
Concerto for harpsichord & chamber orchestra, 1995
Ad vitae fontes aquarum, for Wind Orchestra, 1997
Piano Concerto No.2 'Concerto Breve', 1999
Sinfonietta No. 1 for 19 instruments, 1999
Sinfonietta No. 2 for Orchestra, “Jacob’s Well” ,1999
Sinfonietta No. 3, “Gong” for mezzo-soprano, mixed choir, orchestra, & electronics, 2008
Concerto No.3 for Piano, Orchestra and Electronics (to the memory of Bohuslav Martinu), 2010

Stage works
=======================
Solaris (radio op, S. Lem), 1976
Zpěv člověka [Song of Man] (ballet fantasy), 1984

[Scion7]

Piano trio

[nathanb]

I have a few Kubik albums. Not a favorite by a longshot, but he has some very charming concerti.

[david johnson]

Janacek died in '28, Kubik was born in '46.  Student must surely not mean physically

[Scion7]

Janacek died in '28, Kubik was born in '46.  Student must surely not mean physically

Janeček - not the composer.
Musical theorist Karel Janeček.

[Artem]

I have one CD of Kubik's chamber music on Col Legno label. Like nathanb, can't say that I like his music all that much. There's also a vocal/piano piece called Songs of Zhivago that liner notes call his "important" piece. It sounded a little like Britten to me.

[Mirror Image]

Janeček - not the composer.
Musical theorist Karel Janeček.

I was about to say that good ol' Leos must have risen from the dead just to teach Kubik.

[Scion7]

Leoš Janáček

Karel Janeček

[Scion7]

The violin concerto has some exciting parts.

Divertimento for Wind Octet - thumbs up.

Words - Three songs for mezzo-soprano & Chamber orchestra, is pretty good - Kubik favors percussive pieces.

String Quartet No.1 is right up snyprrr's territory.   

I like all three of the Sinfoniettas.

Parts of the first piano concerto are pretty decent, but the third is the one to listen to for a completely satisfactory work.

[Mirror Image]

Leoš Janáček

Karel Janeček

I know, I know....different spellings. Still, if one were to do a quick look, in which I did initially, it would look like Janáček.

[nathanb]

I have one CD of Kubik's chamber music on Col Legno label. Like nathanb, can't say that I like his music all that much. There's also a vocal/piano piece called Songs of Zhivago that liner notes call his "important" piece. It sounded a little like Britten to me.

All in all, I will say that I think you might find his two albums on NEOS, all in all containing Songs Of Zhivago, three sinfoniettas, and two piano concerti, more fulfilling than the Col Legno chamber disc. I quite enjoy them for some light contemporary music.