- Robert Kurka
Robert Frank Kurka (
December 22 ,1921 –December 12 ,1957 ) was an American composer.Kurka was born in
Cicero, Illinois . He was mostly self-taught, though he studied for short periods underDarius Milhaud andOtto Luening . He held teaching positions atQueens College andDartmouth College . He is probably best known for the instrumental suite "The Good Soldier Schweik", published in 1956, and the subsequent opera of the same name, written just before his death and first performed at theNew York City Opera onApril 23 ,1958 . The opera'sorchestration was completed byHershey Kay . The work, based on anantiwar novel byJaroslav Hasek , drew comparisons to the compositions ofKurt Weill , especially for its satirical, ironic bent and incorporation of popular styles. Kurka also wrote 2 symphonies, 5 string quartets, 6 violin sonatas, and other works for piano, voice, and chorus. He died ofleukemia onDecember 12 ,1957 , inNew York .References
*
Don Randel . "The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music". Harvard, 1996, p. 473.
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