Jana Obrovská facts for kids

Jana Obrovská (born September 13, 1930 – died 1987) was a talented Czech composer. A composer is someone who writes music.

Her Life and Music

Jana Obrovská was born in Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic. Her father, Jakub Obrovský, was a well-known painter and sculptor. From a young age, Jana showed a passion for music. She started learning piano with B. Kabeláčová-Rixová and studied music theory with Jaroslav Řídký.

Later, she attended the Prague Conservatory, a famous music school. There, she continued her studies with M. Krejčí and Emil Hlobil from 1949 to 1955.

Jana Obrovská became known for her amazing musical pieces. In 1972, she won a prize at an international guitar competition in Paris for her work called Passocaglia und Toccata. This was a big achievement! A few years later, in 1975, another one of her pieces, Hommage a Béla Bartók, was chosen as a required piece for the same competition. This means everyone competing had to play it.

She wrote many different kinds of music. Her compositions included pieces for a full symphony orchestra (a large group of musicians playing many instruments) and for chamber ensembles (smaller groups of musicians).

Jana Obrovská married Milan Zelenka, who was a very skilled guitar player, also known as a guitar virtuoso. They had a son named Vilém Zelenka, who was born in 1987. Vilém also became a guitarist and often performs music with his father.

Jana Obrovská's music has been recorded and released on CDs, so people can still listen to her wonderful compositions today.