Born in Cicero, IL, Dec 22, 1921
Died in New York, Dec 12, 19571
- Robert Kurka was an American composer best known for his orchestral suite, The Good Soldier Schweik. This suite was later expanded into a two-act opera.
- Kurka briefly studied under Otto Leuning and Darius Milhaud, though he was largely self-taught.2
- Kurka taught at City University of New York and Queens College. He also briefly served as composer-in-residence at Dartmouth College.3
- The composer died of Leukemia at just 35 years old. In a tragic moment of irony, just months before his death, Kurka received a Creative Arts Award from Brandeis University with the following declaration: “To Robert Kurka, a composer at the threshold of a career of real distinction.”4
Sources
- James Wierzbicki, “Kurka, Robert,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed August 16, 2022, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000015691.
- Ibid.
- Richard E. Rodda, Essay in accompanying booklet, Robert Kurka: Symphonic Works performed by the Grant Park Orchestra conducted by Carlos Kalmar, Cedille 77, 2004, compact disc.
- Ibid.