157 Articles
The struggle against totalitarian regimes
Despite being brought up in a seemingly Catholic family, Petr Eben suffered unexpectedly under the National Socialists, when he and his brother were expelled from Český Krumlov High School in 1943, due to their father’s hidden Jewish ancestry. He and his entire family were subsequently sent to Buchenwald concentration camp, which they fortunately all survived, and were able to return home after the war.
Despite his heritage, Petr Eben was allowed to teach music at Charles University in Prague under the communist regime. From 1977 to 1978, he was professor of composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. After the revolution in 1990, he became professor of composition at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts, and he received honorary doctorates from Prague and Manchester.
The master of organ improvisation
Since the 1960s, Eben was famous for his expressive, virtuosic organ improvisations. He would freely prelude texts from the Bible, and his improvisations were inspired by Gregorian Chant, and various texts in programmes composed of music and words. In his later years, he was a lecturer for many organ improvisation courses.
