October 26th :Petr Eben dead at 78

[pjme]

From : http://jamilton.typepad.com/leonardturnevicius/2007/10/czech-composer-.html

Petr Eben, one of the foremost Czech composers in the second half of the twentieth century, died today at his home in Prague. He was 78. Growing up in the medieval South-Bohemian town of Cesky Krumlov, he studied piano, cello, and organ. After the war, he entered the Prague Academy of Music where he studied piano with F. Rauch and composition with P. Borkovec. In 1955, he began teaching in the History of Music Department at Prague's Charles University. In 1978-79, he was professor of composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. In 1990, he became professor of composition at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, and president of the Prague Spring Festival. Though he was a noted performer and improviser, his main activity was composing. Among his works are the oratorio Apologia Socratus, the ballet Curses and Blessings, the Concert Symphony Night Hours for Leipzig, and Prague Nocturne for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as Sunday Music for solo organ dating from 1957-58. In 1991, Eben received the Order Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from French Minister of Culture. Two years later, he received the Stamitz Prize of the German Künstlergilde, then in 1994, an honorary doctorate from Prague's Charles University.