NEWS

INSTINCTS FOR HORN,

CELLO AND PIANO

On 14 February 2023, the world premiere of Orson's trio Instincts for horn, cello and piano was performed in the Suk Hall of the Rudolfinum at a concert by the Czech Chamber Music Society of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Performed by Daniel Wiesner, Ondřej Vrabec and Ivan Vokáč.

BIMETAL

The world premiere of Orson's concerto for two trombones and orchestra BIMETAL was premiered with great success on 19, 20 and 21 January 2023 at the Rudolfinum in concerts of the Czech Philharmonic under the baton of Tomáš Netopil. The phenomenal trombonists Robert Kozánek and Lukáš Moťka performed as soloists.

THEATRE MUSIC

The play Český román (Czech Novel), based on Olga Scheinpflugová´s book about her life with the writer Karel Čapek, is performed at the Vinohrady Theatre with Orson's live music. Directed by R. Lipus.

KOUZLA FOR MIXED CHOIR

Orson dedicated the composition Kouzla (Spells) for a cappella mixed choir to the Kühn Choir of Prague, which recorded and released the piece in December 2019 on its profile CD “Celebration 60 years” on the occasion of its 60th anniversary. You can buy or listen to it here.

BE FIT!

FOR CHILDREN'S CHOIR

New composition for children´s choir and piano Be fit! from 2023 has been performed several times by the Kosáci Children´s Choir from the School of Music ZUŠ Bajkalská. The children are enjoying the composition very much!

PIECES FOR PIANO

Three easy pieces for the youngest pianists have been written by Orson for the new piano school Můj klavír (My Piano), published in June 2023.

ABOUT ME

Miloš Orson Štědroň is among the most prominent Czech composers, especially in the field of musical theatre, often writing both the music and the libretto for his works. He is the recipient of many awards. His compositions have been commissioned by the Czech Philharmonic, PKF – Prague Philharmonia, Berg Orchestra, Kühn Mixed Choir, the National Theatre and Czech Radio. His unique poetics rely on sudden changes and contrasts, which he wields with great dramatic instinct. Orson lives and works in Prague. He teaches composition at the Prague Conservatory.

Composer Miloš Orson Štědroň was born in 1973 in Brno. He graduated from the Brno Conservatory, specializing in piano and composition, and obtained degrees in composition from the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts and musicology from Masaryk University’s Faculty of Arts. He earned a doctorate in composition from the Prague Academy of Musical Arts. He lives and works in Prague and teaches composition at the Prague Conservatory. He composes chamber and orchestral music, musical theatre works, incidental music, operas, musicals and radio series. Orson's compositional style (in music and libretti) is characterized by irony, exaggeration, humor, and fragmentation, while honoring large-scale theatrical or concert forms. He particularly enjoys working with vocals and various types of percussion, which he uses extensively in his compositions. In his original musical theatre productions, he usually plays the piano himself.

MUSICAL THEATRE WORKS
Orson is one of the most prominent Czech composers in the field of musical theatre, often writing music and lyrics for his opuses. He has written two operas, two musicals, a number of original music-theatre pieces, radio plays and a number of incidental music.

CONCERT MUSIC
Orson has created dozens of works for a variety of instrumentation. He has collaborated with a number of Czech performers and ensembles that premiere and perform his works: Czech Philharmonic, PKF - Prague Philharmonia, Berg Orchestra, Kühn Mixed Choir, Czech Radio, Bohemia Saxophone Quartet, conductor Tomáš Netopil, singers Roman Janál, Iva Bittová, etc.

AWARDS
Orson has received numerous awards for his works, such as the Alred Radok Prize, the Theatre Newspaper Prize, and radio and composer awards, but the greatest reward for him is the viewer or listener who is "entertained" while listening to or watching his works.

WORKS

Musical theatre works

Work for the theatre is the domain of his artistic activity. Orson is a recognized "multidisciplinary" personality, as he often writes both the text and the music for his works. In his musical-dramatic opuses, he has developed a number of original portraits of important Czech personalities (e.g. Ivan Blatný, Jaroslav Hašek, Antonín Dvořák, Josef Gočár, Václav Havel, Bohumil Hrabal). In 2012, the Next Wave festival honored Orson as the Personality of the Year for his musical output for the theater and especially his original projects.

Orson’s opera The Human Tragicomedy to his own libretto, inspired by Ladislav Klíma, was performed at the Estates Theatre in Prague in March 2003. His successful Cabaret Ivan Blatný (nominated for the 2007 Alfréd Radok Award for Music 2007) ran at the Comedy Theatre in Prague from 2007–2009. In 2008, he created a musical based on Emil Zola's The Ladies’ Paradise (DISK Theatre 2008, in Hungarian A nö Vágya, Pesti Színház/Budapest 2009). From 2010 to 2014, his work straddling the boundary between play and opera Lamento/From dancing into dust and into dance again (The Day and Night of Mother Teresa) was performed at the Roxy/NoD in Prague. The work, which sees the main role of Mother Teresa cast for countertenor, was nominated for the 2010 Alfréd Radok Award. Orson’s successful musical theatre production about architects, The Gočár Theatre, was performed in Prague (Comedy Theatre, Theatre on the Balustrade) from 2012 to 2015, and won its creator the 2012 Alfréd Radok Award for Best Music and the 2012/13 Theatre News Award for achievement in the category of musical theatre. Orson’s subsequent musical theatre piece Velvet Havel (Theatre on the Balustrade 2014–2021) totally dominated the 2014 Theatre Critics Awards, winning in five categories (Best Czech Play, Best Music, Best Production, Best Male Actor, and Best Female Actor). In December 2017, Orson’s opera Don Hrabal, based on his own libretto, was staged at the National Theatre in Prague on the New Stage with Roman Janál in the lead role. In 2022, Czech Radio staged Orson's original tribute to Jaroslav Ježek – a radio play with the music entitled Ježek in the Cage.

Incidental music

Since 1994, Orson has regularly composed music for theatre commissions – he has written incidental music for the National Theatre in Prague, Goose on a String Theatre in Brno, Studio Dialog, A Studio Rubín, Mladá Boleslav Municipal Theatre, Comedy Theatre, DISK Theatre, Municipal Theatre in Zlín, Roxy/NoD, Theatre on the Balustrade, Klicpera’s Theatre in Hradec Králové, Municipal Theatre Pardubice, etc. In most "incidental" music, Orson tries to give music a fundamental role that goes beyond the traditional definition and understanding of music in the context of theatrical productions, e.g. by setting complete dialogues or stage notes to music (e.g. What Happened When Nora Left Her Husband by Elfriede Jelinek on the New Stage of the National Theatre). He often requires live music on stage and "compels" the actors to sing. In some performances, music and musicians have become part of the scene and the plot (e.g. Mikve at the National Theatre or Czech Novel at the Vinohrady Theatre).

Concert music

Orson has been composing concert music continuously, creating dozens of works for a wide variety of forces. He has collaborated with a plethora of Czech performers and ensembles that have premiered and performed his works: the Czech Philharmonic, PKF - Prague Philharmonia, Berg Orchestra, Kühn Mixed Choir, Czech Radio, Bohemia Saxophone Quartet, Tomáš Netopil, etc. His works have been performed at festivals, orchestra subscription concerts, chamber concerts and recitals. A recording of his composition PASEJAMÁ for male vocal quartet won an award in the international radio recording competition Rostrum Tribune Paris 2006. His composition Spells was recorded in 2019 by the Kühn Mixed Choir for their anniversary CD. In 2019, the PKF – Prague Philharmonia performed a concert devoted to Orson's compositions. In 2023, the Czech Philharmonic performed Bimetal, Orson's concerto for two trombones and orchestra.

LIST OF WORKS

Selection
• Opilcovo dítě aneb malý mstitel/The Drunkard's Child or the Little Avenger (2020), 10:00, mini-opera for 3 characters and piano on the text by P. H. Cami, performed at the launch of Cami's book
• Teapot Publishing House 2020, Festival Malá inventura in Prague 2022
• Český roman/Czech novel, music for the play by Olga Scheinpflugová (2020), Vinohrady Theatre 2020 (directed by R. Lipus)
• Don Hrabal, opera on own libretto (2017), 75:00, National Theatre in Prague
• New Stage 2017 (directed by L. Keprtová).
• Krásné psací stroje!/ Beautiful Typewriters!, musical theatre work on own text (2015), 75:00, Divadlo Na zábradlí 2016 (directed by J. Havelka)
• Velvet Havel, musical theatre work on own text (2014), 75:00, Divadlo Na zábradlí 2014 (directed by J. Frič), Theatre Critics Award 2014 for Best Music, Theatre Critics Award 2014 for Best Czech Play, Theatre Critics Award 2014 for Best Production, Theatre Critics Award 2014 for Best Male Actor, Theatre Critics Award 2014 for Best Female Actor.
• Mendel, musical melodrama about the founder of genetics on his own text (2015), 60:00
• Divadlo Gočár/ Gočár Theatre, musical theatre works about architects on own text (2012), Divadlo Komedie 2012, Divadlo Na zábradlí 2013, 60:00 (directed by J. Nebeský). Alfréd Radok Award for Best Music, Divadelní noviny Award for Music and Libretto 2012/13 in the category of musical theatre.
• Tony D., musical western about Antonín Dvořák on own text (2011), A studio Rubín 2011, 70:00 (directed by J. Frič)
• Cabaret Hašek, musical theatre work on own text (2010), A studio Rubín 2010, 70:00 (directed by J. Frič)
• What Happened When Nora Left Her Husband, music to the play by Elfride Jelinek (2010), National Theatre/New Stage 2010–2014 (directed by M. Dočekal)
• Lamento/Dance into dust and into dance again (The Day and Night of Mother Teresa), musical theatre work on the text by Lucie Trmíková, Roxy/NoD 2010–2013, Vršovice Mana Theatre 2014, 60:00 (directed by J. Nebeský). Nominated for the Alfréd Radok Award for Best Music 2010.
• Mikve, music for the play by Hadar Galron (2008), Estates Theatre in Prague 2008-2018 (directed by M. Dočekal), Pesti Színház/Budapest 2010 (directed by M. Dočekal) Trailer
• Štěstí dam/The Luck of the Ladies, musical based on Emil Zola (libretto by J. Tošovský, L. Málková) (2008–2009), DISK Theatre in Prague 2008, under the title A nö vágya Pesti Színház/Budapest 2009, 100:00
• Don Juan, music to Moliere's play (2008), National Thetatre-Estates Theatre 2008 (directed by J. Nebeský, starring M. Donutil)
• Cabaret Ivan Blatný, musical theatre performance on own text and poems by Ivan Blatný (2007), Comedy Theatre in Prague 2007–2009, Malostranská beseda 2010, 70:00 (directed by J. Nebeský). Nominated for the Alfréd Radok Award for Best Music 2007.

Selection
• Bimetal, concerto for two trombones and orchestra (2020–2022), 19:00, performed by Czech Philharmonic January 2023
• Rock for 22 Strings for strings and electroacoustic guitar (2014), 12:00, premiered by the Berg Orchestra 2014 (for the 2012 version for string quartet and guitar see Chamber Compositions)
• s_polu s_ami for chamber orchestra and percussion (version 2009), 16:00, performed by the Prague Chamber Philharmonic at the International Music Festival Prague Premieres 2009 at the Rudolfinum (for the 2008 version see Chamber Compositions)
• Roxymoron for strings, trombone, double bass, marimba and percussion (2007), 8:00
• Re: for symphony orchestra (2007), 9:00, performed at the International Music Festival Prague Premieres 2007 at the Rudolfinum
• ValseMeOhValseMe for strings, harp, percussion and celesta (2006), 10:50
• Waiting for You (hommage to Leoš Janáček) for symphony orchestra (2003), 12:30 (awarded in the Leoš Janáček International Composition Competition)
• Concerto grosso for symphony orchestra (1998), 13:00

Selection
• Instincts, trio for horn, cello and piano (2022), 16:00
• Somewhere, music for animated film, for piano, cello and guitar (2017)
• Mystery of Symmetry, piano trio (2015), 14:00
• Mistero respiro for soprano saxophone and accordion (2014), 10:00
• Stringendo
• Trio for Strings, string trio for two violins and viola (2014), 11:00
• Rock for 22 Strings, piece for solo guitar and string quartet (2012), 12:00 (version for chamber orchestra, Rock for strings and guitar 2014 see Compositions for orchestra)
• Fuanri, for recorder quartet (2013), 12:00
• CaSaTar (canon, sarabande, tarantella), for 3 cellos and 3 trumpets (2011), 10:00
• Octo, for 4 saxophones and 4 male voices (dedicated to the Bohemia Saxophone Quartet and the vocal experimental ensemble Affetto), (2010), 12:00
• s_polu s_ami for 15 instruments and percussion (2008), 7:00 (for the 2009 orchestral version see Compositions for Orchestra)
• Albaribarisopten for Bohemia Saxophone Quartet (2007), 9:30, recorded for Czech Radio
• Tom Bellophone for tom-toms, bells and vibraphone (2004), 8:00
• Prosper and Gamble for cello, drums and bass clarinet (2004), 12:00, recorded for Czech Radio
• Batteria aeterna for marimba, drum set, congo and bells (2003), 7:00Selection

Selection
• Buď fit/Be fit! for children's choir and piano on own text (2023), 3:00
• Mitelei for mixed choir, piano and percussion ad libitum own text inspired by children's words (2020–2021), 7:00, premiere 2020 Kühn Mixed Choir
• Kouzla/Spells for mixed choir to poems by Ivan Blatný (2015), 10:00, premiere 2015 Kühn Mixed Choir
• Papli Songs for soprano, flute and piano (2014), 11:00, dedicated to Isha Trio
• Octo for four male voices and saxophone quartet (2010), 12:00
• PASEJAMA for countertenor, 2 tenors and bass, on texts by P. P. Pasolini, E. Jandl and K.H. Mácha (2005), 13:00 (recorded by the vocal experimental ensemble Affetto for Czech Radio, awarded in the international competition Rostrum tribune Paris 2006)
• Hold Your Fingers!, melodrama for reciter, female voice, piano and two percussionists (2005), 10:30
• Adieu Musen, 7 songs for soprano, tenor, cello and piano on the poetry of Czech poets in German translation (2005), 28:00
• Tenth for soprano solo on poems by Ivan Blatny (2005), 2:45
• Die Musik ist fein und fern, 10 songs for 2 sopranos and cello on poems by Ivan Blatný and J.H. Krchovský (2004), 35:00
• Requiem for Iva Bittová and small ensemble (2000), (CD Echoes, Supraphon 2001), 8:30

Miloš Orson Štědroň / Composer