Petr Skoumal
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Petr Skoumal | |
|---|---|
 Petr Skoumal in 2013 | |
| Born | 7 March 1938 |
| Died | 28 September 2014 (aged 76) Prague, Czech Republic |
| Alma mater | Janáček Academy of Performing Arts |
Petr Skoumal (7 March 1938 – 28 September 2014) was a Czech musician and composer. He is best known as a composer of music for films and theatre performances.
Petr Skoumal was born on 7 March 1938 in Prague to Aloys Skoumal and Hana Skoumalová, both notable translators from English. He learned to play the piano from childhood and also received lessons in London when his father worked there as a cultural attaché after World War II. Because he had a small finger span, he was not accepted to study piano at university. He studied conducting at the Prague Conservatory and then choir management at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno.[1][2][3]
After his studies, he worked on stage music, especially at The Drama Club in Prague, where he was a director and musical dramaturg. In the 1960s, he began collaborating with the writer Jan Vodňanský there. Their parody performances were a great success.[2] After Vodňanský signed Charter 77 and became an enemy of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, the duo had to stop working and they were forbidden from appearing on TV and radio.[4]
He died in the Military Hospital in Prague on 28 September 2014, aged 76. His funeral was held at the Strašnice Crematorium in Prague.[2][5]
