Ladislav Kubík

Czech-born American composer Ladislav Kubík was born in Prague on 26 August 1946. Whilst still a teenager, his first orchestral works were performed at Dvořák Hall at the Rudolphinum in Prague. He studied at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, then taught at the Prague Conservatory and at Charles University before moving to the USA and teaching at the University of South Florida in Tampa. From 1990 he was Professor of Composition at Florida State University College of Music in Tallahassee.

His music is in a similar style to other post-World War II Eastern European composers such as Lutosławski and Penderecki. He received a series of commissions, including from Radio France, the Salzburg Festival, the Czech Music Fund, Florida State University and the Florida Music Teachers Association. Concerts, broadcasts and recordings of his works took place in over twenty countries in Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America.

He was also the recipient of various awards and grants, including first prize in the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers Competition, first prize in the International Franz Kafka Composition Competition and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

He founded his own international prize in composition, supported by Florida State University.

Ladislav Kubík died in Florida on 27 October 2017, aged seventy-one.