14 Facts About Petr Eben

Petr Eben was a Czech composer of modern and contemporary classical music, and an organist and choirmaster.

In 1943, aged 14, Petr Eben was captured and imprisoned by the Nazis in Buchenwald, remaining there for the duration of the war.

Petr Eben refused to join the Czech Communist Party and continued openly attending church, thus forfeiting many career advancements before 1989.

Petr Eben's compositions are often performed in both Europe and overseas, especially in the United States, Canada, Japan and Australia.

In 1991, Petr Eben was awarded the title of Knight of the French Ministry of Culture, Arts and Letters.

Petr Eben's son David Eben is the founder and director of Schola Gregoriana Pragensis, an a cappella male voice choir.

Over more than half a century Petr Eben produced a good deal of music in diverse genres.

Petr Eben wrote numerous vocal, choral, symphonic, piano, and chamber works, but it was organ music which remained his greatest love and in which he was most prolific.

Petr Eben wrote children's songs such as Snih, a song about snow which won an award for Best Children's Choir Song in Illinois.

Petr Eben was considered a master at improvisation on the organ and piano, but composition remained his main area of interest.

Petr Eben improvised and developed a cycle of organ movements in the years from 1991 to 2003 based on excerpts from John Comenius' famous book, Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart that became a published work in response to positive reception.

Petr Eben's music has been widely performed and recorded since about 1980, with his popularity still apparently on the rise.

Petr Eben is often compared with Olivier Messiaen, but overall his style is less consistently experimental and voluptuous than Messiaen's.

The majority of Petr Eben's works has been published by Czech label Supraphon.