The diversity of Czech music for bassoon and piano during the Communist era (1947-1989)

Abstract

The subject of this investigation is music written for bassoon and piano by twentieth-century Czech composers. While there is substantial output in this category, my focus will be on the works of three Czech composers: Jindrich Feld, Sonatine (1969); Vaclav Felix, Sonata Giocosa, Op. 40 (1974); and Jiri Teml, Teatro Piccolo, (1982). For each composer, I will provide a brief biography as well as a performance analysis of one composition in order to highlight the main features of the work. I chose these three composers because they represent a wide variety of compositional styles under Communist rule (1947-1989). The specific region of focus is the Czech Republic established in 1993, formerly part of Czechoslovakia, a nation created in 1918. Before that time, the Czech lands were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Czech customs, culture and language were suppressed by the German-speaking Austrian rulers. In the 20th century, because Czechoslovakia was part of the Eastern Bloc from the late 1940s through the late 1980s, the wealth of literature from this region was not readily available to American performers. Thus, many of these works have not yet found their way into the standard repertoire of the United States.