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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Petr Eben (22 January 1929 – 24 October 2007) was a Czech composer of modern and contemporary classical music, organist and choirmaster.
Born in Žamberk in northeastern Bohemia, Eben spent his youth in Peský Krumlov in southern Bohemia. There he studied piano, and later cello and organ. The years of German occupation and World War II were especially difficult for him. Although Eben was raised as a Catholic, his father was a Jew and in 1943 Eben was expelled from school and interned by the Nazis in Buchenwald for the duration of the war.
After the war he was admitted to the Prague Academy for Music where he studied piano with František Rauch and composition with Pavel Bokovec. He graduated in 1954. Beginning in 1955 Eben taught for many years in the music history department at Charles University in Prague. In 1955 he was appointed to the staff of the Music Department of the University of Prague. From 1978 - 1979 he was professor of composition at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. In 1990 he became professor of composition at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and President of the Prague Spring Festival.
Throughout his life Eben refused to join the Czech Communist Party and continued openly attending church, thus forfeiting many career advancements. After the Communist government crumbled, however, he was given several important appointments and awards, among them presidency of the Prague Spring Festival (1989) and the Medal of Merit (2002). Among Eben\'s most important late works is his 1992-1993 oratorio \"Posvátná znamení\" (Sacred Symbols). Despite declining health from a stroke in his final years, Eben remained busy, composing mostly organ and choral works. He died in Prague on October 25, 2007.
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