Complete Piano Works of Miloslav Ištvan - CD

In the second half of the 1940s, when Miloslav Ištvan began studying composition at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts, the mood in Europe was still riding a wave of post-war optimism. Czechoslovakia emerged from the destructive chaos of World War II into political turmoil, from which the communists emerged victorious. Their vision of building better tomorrows and anti-fascist rhetoric inspired a large part of society at the time. Ištvan was strongly inspired by the folklore of his country, while the study of scores and listening to the works of Janáček, Bartók, and Prokofiev also had a strong influence on his creative growth. During the 1950s, Ištvan delved beneath the surface of youthful enthusiasm and began experimenting with his own musical language. Later, in the 1960s, the composer formulated these innovations into a unique theoretical system called 'The Method of Montage of Isolated Elements in Music,' deepening the contradiction between his own style and the official demands of 'socialist realism.' After the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Miloslav Ištvan experienced profound disillusionment, which was further deepened during the schizophrenic period of normalization. Paradoxically, the author's partial social isolation allowed him to maintain artistic and personal...