Hyperion Records

Hans Krása was born into a prosperous family in Prague. He studied with Alexander Zemlinsky and was a vocal coach at the New German Theatre (now the State Opera), where Zemlinsky was conductor. He travelled to Paris, heard the music of Stravinsky and studied with Albert Roussel. Krása’s Symphony No 1 was played by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Koussevitzky in 1926 and his opera Verlobung im Traum (‘Betrothal in a Dream’) was awarded a Czech State Prize in 1933. In Theresienstadt he composed a number of chamber works, including the furious Tanz for string trio and an Overture for small orchestra.

from notes by Simon Broughton © 2013