Pavel Haas


Pavel Haas was a Czech composer who was murdered during the Holocaust. He was an exponent of Leoš Janáček's school of composition, and also utilized elements of folk music and jazz. Although his output was not large, he is notable particularly for his song cycles and string quartets.

Pre-war

Haas was born in Brno, into a Jewish family. His father, Zikmund, a shoemaker by trade, was from the Moravian region, while his mother, Olga, was born in Odessa. After studying piano privately, Haas began his more formal musical education at the age of 14 and studied composition at the Brno Conservatory from 1919 to 1921 under Jan Kunc and Vilém Petrželka. This was followed by two years of study in the master class of the noted Czech composer Leoš Janáček. Janáček was far and away Haas's most influential teacher, and Haas, in turn, proved to be Janáček's best student. In 1935 he married Soňa Jakobson, the former wife of Russian linguist Roman Jakobson.
Of the more than 50 works Haas wrote during the next two decades, only 18 were given opus numbers by the self-critical composer. While still working in his father's business, he wrote musical works of all kinds, including symphonic and choral works, lieder, chamber music, and scores for cinema and theatre. His opera, Šarlatán, was first performed in Brno to sincere acclaim in April 1938. He received the Smetana Foundation award for the opera.

The war

In 1941, Haas was deported to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. He was one of several Czech-Jewish composers there, including Viktor Ullmann, Gideon Klein and Hans Krása. Prior to his arrest, he had officially divorced his wife Soňa in order that she and their young daughter, Olga, would not suffer a similar fate. In 1938, in desperation, he wrote to relatives of his wife in New Jersey, and also to Frank Rybka in New York who was a former student of Janacek. An attempt was launched by these Americans to help Haas secure passage, but this came too late to help. On his arrival at Theresienstadt, he became very depressed and had to be coaxed into composition by Gideon Klein. Haas wrote at least eight compositions in the camp, only a few of which have survived. They include a set of Four Songs on Chinese Poetry for baritone and piano, a work for men's choir titled "Al s'fod", and the Study for String Orchestra which was premiered in Theresienstadt under the Czech conductor Karel Ančerl and is probably Haas's best-known work today. The orchestral parts were found by Ančerl after the liberation of Theresienstadt and the score was reconstructed.
In 1944 the Nazis remodeled Theresienstadt just before a visit from the Red Cross, and a propaganda film, Der Führer schenkt den Juden eine Stadt, was made by director Kurt Gerron, under the coercion of the camp commandant, Karl Rahm. In the film, Theresienstadt, children are seen singing Hans Krása's opera, Brundibár, and Haas can be seen taking a bow after a performance, conducted by Karel Ančerl, of his Study for Strings. When the propaganda project was over, the Nazis transferred 18,000 prisoners, including Haas and the children who had sung in Brundibár, to Auschwitz-Birkenau, where they were murdered in the gas chambers. According to the testimony of Karel Ančerl, Haas stood next to him after their arrival at Auschwitz. Doctor Mengele was about to send Ančerl to the gas chamber first, but the weakened Haas began to cough, so the death sentence was chosen for him instead. After the war Ančerl met with Haas's brother Hugo and told him the story.

Post-war

Haas's large-scale symphony, which he began prior to his deportation to Theresienstadt, remained unfinished, but the surviving torso was orchestrated by Zdeněk Zouhar in 1994. Haas's music, stemming from Bohemian and Moravian roots, is sometimes tinted by Hebrew melody.
Haas has been described as "a reserved but eloquent student of Janáček" by Alex Ross in his history of classical music in the 20th century, The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century.
His brother Hugo Haas was a popular actor in pre-war Czechoslovakia.

Works

Principal publishers: Boosey & Hawkes, Bote & Bock, Sádlo, Tempo
GenreOpusDate composedCzech titleEnglish titleScoringNotes
Vocal11918–1919Šest písní v lidovém tónu6 Songs in Folk Tonefor soprano and pianoorchestrated 1938
Vocal21919–1920Tři písně3 Songsfor soprano and pianowords by Josef Svatopluk Machar
Chamber music31920Smyčcový kvartet č. 1String Quartet No. 1 in C minorfor 2 violins, viola and cello
Vocal41919Čínské písněChinese Songsfor medium voice and pianowords by Kao Shi, Tsui Hao, Thu Fu
Orchestral51921Zesmutnělé scherzoScherzo tristefor orchestra
Vocal61923"Fata morgana" Klavírní kvintet
se sólovým zpěvákem tenorového hlasu		Fata morganafor tenor, 2 violins, viola, cello and pianowords by Rabindranath Tagore
Chamber music71925Smyčcový kvartet č. 2 "Z opičích hor"String Quartet No. 2 From the Monkey Mountainsfor 2 violins, viola, cello and percussion 'ad libitum'
Vocal81927Vyvolená'for tenor, flute, horn, violin and pianopoems by Jiří Wolker
Choral91928–1929KarnevalCarnivalfor male choruswords by Dalibor Chalupa
Chamber music101929Dechový kvintetWind Quintetfor flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon
Orchestral111931Předehra pro rozhlasOverture for Radiofor small orchestra and male voiceswords by Hugo Haas
Choral121932Žalm 29Psalm XXIXfor baritone, female chorus and chamber orchestra with organ
Film score–1933Život je pesLife Is a Dogfor orchestramusic for the film
Film score–1934Mazlíček'for orchestramusic for the film
Piano131935Suita pro klavírSuitefor piano
Opera141936Šarlatán'for soloists, chorus and orchestraopera in 3 acts; libretto by the composer
Film score–1937KvočnaMother-Henfor orchestramusic for the film
Piano–1937Allegro moderatoAllegro moderatofor piano
Chamber music151937–1938Smyčcový kvartet č. 3String Quartet No. 3for 2 violins, viola and cello
16
Chamber music171939Suita pro hoboj a klavírSuitefor oboe and piano
Vocal181940Sedm písní v lidovém tónu7 Songs in Folk Stylefor high voice and pianowords by František Čelakovský
Orchestral–1940–1941SymfonieSymphonyfor orchestraunfinished; orchestration completed by Zdeněk Zouhar
Choral–1942Al s'fodDo Not Lamentfor male choruswords by David Shimoni
Orchestral–1943Studie pro smyčcový orchestrStudyfor string orchestra
Vocal–1944Čtyři písně na slova čínské poezie 4 Songs on Chinese Poetry for bass and pianopoems by Wei Jing-wu, Wang-wei, Tchang Tiou-ling, Han I
Vocal–'for mezzo-soprano, tenor and quintet
–Fantasy on a Jewish Melody
Piano–Partita in Olden Stylefor pianolost
Vocal–Terezín Songs
Vocal–Tři skladby3 Piecesfor mezzo-soprano, tenor, flute, clarinet, 2 violins, viola and cellolost
Concertante–Variace pro klavír a smyčcový orchestrVariationsfor piano and string orchestra

Recordings

The whole music written in Concentration Camps are contained in the CD-Encyclopedia KZ MUSIK created by Francesco Lotoro, 2007
Haas is a central character in David Herter's First Republic trilogy, comprising the novels On the Overgrown Path, The Luminous Depths and One Who Disappeared.
Haas is mentioned in Simon Mawer's The Glass Room.