Jan Klusák

Jan Klusák studied at Academy of Performing Arts and Prague Conservatory. Training under Jaroslav Řídký and Pavel Bořkovec is recorded. The recorded working language is Czech. The field of work recorded is film score. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are classical and incidental. Distinctions recorded are Czech Medal of Merit.

• Name — Jan Klusák • Birth Name — Jan Porges • Born — 18 April 1934 • Birthplace — Prague, Czechoslovakia • Occupation — Composer, Actor • Spouse — Jana Klusáková • Children — Pavel Klusák Vít Klusák

Klusák was born to a Czech Jewish family, who owned a farm in Prosek, Prague. After he graduated from the gymnasium, he pursued his studies at the Prague Music Academy as a pupil of Jaroslav Řídký and Pavel Bořkovec (in 1953-57). Later he concentrated solely on composing. He has never worked directly with music groups or schools, although his style was temporarily influenced by the music of Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky, and later by the Second Viennese School, especially by Alban Berg and Serialism. Since 1959 he cooperated closely with Czech conductor Libor Pešek and with Chamber Philharmony. However, after the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, Klusák was condemned as a "politically undesirable" person (he composed music for prohibited films). During the normalization Klusák was engaged in the Jára Cimrman Theatre, but he was forced to leave in 1975. In the 1980s Klusák focused more on vocal compositions. He began to compose song cycles, cantatas, and wrote an opera. Following the Velvet Revolution in 1989, he began to participate in public life again, and worked as a member and director of various cultural institutions in the Czech Republic. He was awarded a "Classic 1995" Award for his compositions and for his String Quartet No. 5 in particular. Since the 1960s he occasionally acted in films, such as A Report on the Party and the Guests (1966) or Valerie and Her Week of Wonder (1970).