ITEA Journal Volume 49 Number 2 (Winter 2022)
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Looking Back
By Ken Drobnak
Biographical Profile: Václav Hoza
An early international contributor to TUBA (now ITEA) was Václav Hoza, a tubist from Czechoslovakia. Hoza was primarily active during the period of Soviet domination of Eastern and portions of Central Europe. The Communist control limited the free exchange of ideas and music at the border of West Germany and Czechoslovakia. Today, both the Czech Republic and Slovakia exist as separate free countries. The ITEA Archives contain letters of correspondence between Mr. Hoza and R. Winston Morris, the first elected President of TUBA. Hoza talks about repertoire and the need for published works in a socialist country in this 1977 letter:
Václav Hoza
Dear Winston,
During the last few months I received several letters from T.U.B.A. Since it saves my time and also because of being obliged to translate all my correspondence to English, please allow me to answer all these letters at once.
1.) Suggestion for improvement of activity of T.U.B.A.
a. I am coming back to my proposal already submitted before Montreux and present the following idea to consideration: could T.U.B.A. multigraph in a simple way compositions for tuba which have no chance of being edited and sell the copies for a cost price? I mean mainly the transcriptions from trombone, French horn or trumpet literature which, in addition, are protected by copyright. Were such material copied on xerox as research material or as a script, the demands of authors and publishers would not be certainly so urgent. It is understood that the arranger (naturally member of T.U.B.A) would give his arrangement at disposal free of charge. The composition should be so neatly written that the copy would remain legible even after having been multigraphed in a primitive way. The price of such copy would be low and fulfill the task of material being used for studying purpose only. I have a whole set of such convenient compositions in my private files.
b. My participation in the Congress in Montreux increased in an uncommon way my prestige as tubist not only in Czechoslovakia, but also in other socialist countries: USSR, Poland, GDR [East Germany], Hungary, Yugoslavia. In these countries it is rather difficult to obtain notes for tuba either from domestic or foreign (West) production. In all these countries a specialized note-shop with basic literature for tuba is missing. The only shops of this kind in whole Europe are probably Leduc in Paris and Ra-Ra in London. For this reason, Russian, Polish, German, Hungarian and Yugoslav tubists approach me with their requests for notes. The Conservatory in Prague becomes slowly a center of note-material for tubists of socialist countries.
Though, when touring with the Czech Philharmonic abroad and having enough occasion to buy notes nearly in the whole world, my archives still have certain gaps. In Japan, for example, where, by the way, I bought your outstanding Tuba Guide, I discovered a new school for tuba by [Alexei] Lebedev, but was unable to buy it, because the only copy was possessed by the Academy in Osaka. The first part of this school I bought in Warsaw, the copy of the second part made for my friend Dietrich Unkrodt from Berlin on xerox. I state this to acquaint you with the difficulties we have to face when trying to obtain interesting notes for tuba. I ask you therefore, please let T.U.B.A. send me basic note-material for tuba which I will specify in my letter. As reciprocation, I send you in their turn all Czechoslovak compositions in which tuba is engaged as solo-instrument or as member of a chamber ensemble (for example, quintets). I shall enclose copies of notes of Soviet production, so far I can obtain them. Were this exchange from the economic point of view in negative proportion for you, I undertake the obligation to pay you the balance from a foreign tour of our orchestra in convertible currency. I also promise to circulate these notes in such way that they could become avail to all tubists from socialist countries. I have in mind the general raising the art of playing tuba in the countries behind the Iron Curtain, which - without notes - would be impossible. Not even the Gypsies play without notes in our country.
Profile of the Prague Brass Soloists
By Vaclav Hoza
The Czech Brass. Left to Right: Václav Hoza (tuba), Stanislov
Sejpal (trumpet), Zdene˘k Pulec (trombone), Miroslav Kejmar (trumpet),
Stanislav Suchánek (horn)
In Prague, a new ensemble of mouthpiece-instruments called Prague Brass Soloists originated. The basis of this ensemble is created by a brass-quintet consisting of: first trumpet Miroslav Kejmar, member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra; second trumpet Stanislav Sejpal, member of the same orchestra; French horn Stanislav Suchánek, member of the same orchestra; trombone Zdene˘k Pulec, member of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra; and Václav Hoza, member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. In order to be able to perform baroc [Baroque] music as well, the ensemble will be completed by Ludvík Bortl, member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, who plays bass trombone.
With this ensemble, Prague finally gained a chamber ensemble with tuba. In October 1977, the Prague Brass Soloists appeared in two public concerts and realized two recordings for the radio. As christening-present, the ensemble got two new compositions. The audience as well as the concert promoters are very interested in repeated appearance of this ensemble.
Biography
by Michael Cwach
President of the Václav Hoza Association
Hoza Backstage
Václav Hoza (1929 - 2015) was a Czech tuba player and music teacher. Before becoming a tubist, Václav Hoza, studied violin and double bass. Due to a finger injury at the age of 19 he switched to tuba. He studied tuba at the Prague Conservatory with Antonín Pletánek, tubist of the Czech Philharmonic. His graduation concert included a performance with the Prague Symphony Orchestra - FOK.
He was a member of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra from 1956 to 1993 and a member of chamber music ensembles such as the Czech Philharmonic Winds and Prague Brass Soloists. He recorded ten albums with the Prague Brass Soloists, and played on all the tracks of the two albums, German Baroque Music (1986) and Old English Brass Music (Supraphon 1989).
He premiered the solo work Tubonett for Tuba and Piano by Jiří Pauer (Praha 1978, recording Panton). He played the tuba with the group Dechovka ve fraku. He played serpent, tromba marina, animal horn and shepherd's horns in Camerata Nova under the direction of Professor Vachulka. Later, he played animal horn and shepherd's horn with the Prague Trombones.
He worked as a teacher at the Prague Conservatory, where he educated a whole generation of tubists. In 1998, he was involved in the creation of tuba classes at The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. His successful students include Jaroslav Peterský, Pavel Trnka, Imre Jakal, Miroslav Husák, Karel Malimánek, Jan Spálený, Kensuke Yao and Kazuo Ohmori.
Hoza with bass trombonist
He served on juries of acclaimed tuba competitions. He is the author of the internationally recognized Školy hry na tubu and 100 vybraných etud pro tubu. He was at the genesis of many works for solo tuba. As an external consultant, he cooperated with the tuba maker V. F. Červený & synové as an external consultant.
In June 1976, at the First World Congress of Brass Instruments in Montreux, he performed and was appointed a lifelong honorary member of Tubists Universal Brotherhood Association (TUBA), now ITEA. On January 4, 1981, he was awarded the title of Meritorious Member of the Czech Philharmonic by the Ministry of Culture of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. On November 9, 2014, he received the SENIOR PRIX 2014 award from NADACE ŽIVOT UMĚLCE in recognition of his many years of artistic activity.
His promotional activities are significant - a number of articles about his instruments have published in international music periodicals. Some of his works are listed online at:
List of Hoza Works
Editor's Note: The Václav Hoza Association sponsors a tuba workshop in the Czech Republic. This article represents much of the information available on Mr. Hoza. If you are a graduate student looking for a paper topic or student's committee chair, here is a story that needs to be researched.
Hoza with tuba
Obituary
Václav Hoza, a lifetime member of the ITEA, former tuba player of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech musician and educator, died peacefully in Ostrov, Czech Republic, on April 16, 2015. From 1949 to 1954, Václav Hoza studied tuba at the Prague Conservatory in Antonín Pletánek`s class. Between 1954-56 he performed in the Army Ensemble of Art.
From 1956 Václav was a solo tuba player of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and until 1993 he was a member of the Chamber Association of Czech Philharmonic Players. He was also in an ensemble called Prague Brass Solo Players, famous for their tuba chamber records such as "German Baroque Music" and "Old English Brass Music."
From 1962 to 1999, Hoza taught tuba playing and methods at the Prague Conservatory. He initiated an independent tuba class at the Music Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where he worked as an external tutor from 1998.
Václav, the author of the worldwide known "School of Playing F and B Tuba" and a compilation "100 Selected Etudes for Tuba" was a lifelong honor member of the Advisory Board ITEA (International Tuba Euphonium Association). In 2014, he was awarded a "Senior Prix" prize as a thank you for lifelong contribution to arts.
Among his students we must mention solo tuba players of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Symphonic Orchestra, and the Czech Army Central Band, such as Karel Malimánek, Miroslav Husák, Jan Jaroš, and Japanese students Mr. Kensuke Yao and Mr. Kazuo Ohmori.
In the name of the Hoza family,
Tomas Hoza, son
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