Four Orchestral Songs (Krása)
The Four Orchestral Songs (Ger: 4 Orchesterlieder), Op. 1, is a musical work for voice and orchestra by Czech composer Hans Krása.
Composition and performance
The work was composed in 1920, setting nonsense verses from the collection Galgenlieder (Eng: Gallows Songs) by Christian Morgenstern.{{Cite web|url=https://www.musicanongrata.cz/en/events-artists/detail/hans-krasa/|title=Hans Krása | Musica non grata|website=www.musicanongrata.cz}} The first performance took place at the Neues Deutsches Theater in Prague in May 1921 with the Czech Philharmonic under the direction of Krása's composition teacher Alexander Zemlinsky.{{Cite book|last=Beaumont|first=Antony|author-link=Antony Beaumont|title=Zemlinsky|date=2000|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0571169832|location=London}} The soloist was baritone Max Klein. The performance caught the attention of the writer and critic Max Brod who from then on took a close interest in Krása's career.Paula Kennedy: booklet notes to recording of Verlobung im Traum, Decca 'Entartete Musik' series, 1996. The work was subsequently taken into the publishing house of Universal Edition.{{Cite web|url=https://www.universaledition.com/en/Works/4-Orchesterlieder/P0003326|title=Krása - 4 Orchesterlieder for voice and orchestra|website=Universal Edition}}