Václav Trojan (April 24 1907 – July 5 1983) was a Czech composer of classical music best known for his film scores. Trojan studied composition at the Prague Conservatory under Jaroslav Křička and Otakar Ostrčil from 1923 to 1927. He continued his studies in the composition masterclasses of Alois Hába, Josef Suk and Vítězslav Novák until 1929. A composer and arranger of dance and jazz music in the 1930s, he was a music director for Radio Prague from 1937 to 1945. After the end of World War II, Trojan composed most frequently for film, stage and radio, and developed a close association with director Jiří Trnka, earning international fame for his music for Trnka's popular animated puppet films. Trojan's music is mostly written in a neo-classical style, and he often drew inspiration from the traditions of Czech folk music. In 1940 he was given the Czech National Prize for his remarkable children’s opera Kolotoč (‘The Merry-Go-Round’), and in 1960 the K. Gottwald State Prize for his music for Sen noci svatojanské (‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’).

Works

• Kolotoč (1939) - opera
• Zlý jelen
• Strakonický dudák
• Sen noci svatojánské
• Zlatá brána
• Sinfonietta armoniosa
• Rozmarné variace
• Concertino pro sólovou trubku
• Paní Marjánka
• Divertimento pro dechový kvintet
• Noneto favoloso
• Pozdrav Boženě Němcové
• Klavírní trio
• Román s basou
• Broučci

Film music

• Bajaja (1951)
• Staré pověsti české (1954)
• Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka (1954)
• Špalíček (1948)
• Zasadil dědek řepu (1945) - his first cooperation with Jiří Trnka
• Vodníkův mlýn
• Císařův slavík (1948)
• Žabák

Notes

References

• Jan Vičar: Václav Trojan's Film Music. - In: Acta Universitatis Palackianae Olomucensis, Philosophica - Aesthetica 12, Musicologica I, 1993, pages 65-77
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• Biography

Sources

• Milan Kuna. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, edited by Stanley Sadie (1992). ISBN 0-333-73432-7 and ISBN 1-56159-228-5