Brno Contemporary Orchestra

Emil František Burian: War (a folk play with songs and dances, based on folk poetry collected by K. J. Erben)

Emil František Burian (1904–1957) ranks among the most remarkable Czech artists of his generation. A representative of avant-garde tendencies in the interwar period, he was a member of the Devětsil group, collaborated with the Liberated Theatre, and founded the theatres DADA and D34. He gained renown as an original playwright, director, and composer. Among his music-dramatic works we may mention the experimental jazz opera Bubu from Montparnasse and the opera Maryša, inspired by Janáček’s Jenůfa.

The folk play with songs War, composed in 1935, is yet another testimony to Burian’s ability to seek new forms of the music-dramatic genre. In his pursuit of so-called “synthetic theatre,” he drew on his experience with the voiceband, dance, chamber ensemble, folk music, and jazz. The work was premiered in 1935 at Theatre D35 under Burian’s direction, but was banned during the Protectorate. In the 1950s Burian returned to it, revised the instrumentation, and staged it again in 1955. War is one of the most distinctive Czech music projects rooted in folk poetry, placing Burian alongside composers such as Bohuslav Martinů, who explored similar themes in the same period.

This interpretatively demanding work will be performed in its 1935 version, and it should be noted that with its strong anti-war message, it resonates with particular urgency today.

Text: Jiří Zahrádka