New compositions (by
Phill Niblock, Klaus Lang, Bernhard Lang, Milan Guštar, Judith Berkson, Idin Samimi Mofakham and Ian Mikyska) for the sixth-tone harmonium conceived by Czech composer and pioneer of microtonal music Alois Hába in the 1920s and '30s, performed by Miroslav Beinhauerr, currently the only player of this unique instrument in the world, who has single-handedly revived it after decades of slumber.
Until recently, the sixth-note harmonium was just one of the many exhibits in the Czech Museum of Music. After almost a century, however, it is enjoying a renaissance and attracting the interest of the professional public, musicians and composers.
The first model of the sixth-tone harmonium was created in the 1920s on the basis of a commission from the composer Alois Hába (1893-1973), whose visions for its construction convinced the company August Förster. The improved model of the harmonium dates from 1936 by the same company. The first Czechoslovak president Masaryk supported the purchase of the new instrument by contributing ten thousand crowns, and the same amount was added by the Ministry of Education and National Enlightenment at the time. The only example of a working sixth-tone harmonium in the world belongs to the collections of the National Museum and is permanently exhibited in the Czech Museum of Music in Prague.
Pianist Miroslav Beinhauer is recently the only musician in the world who can play this unique instrument. In 2018, he participated in the premiere of Hába's sixth-tone opera Come Thy Kingdom, followed by the staging and recording of Alois Hába's opus Sixth compositions for sixth-tone harmonium, op. 37, which was the only solo composition for this instrument for more than ninety years. In the last three years, new repertoire for sixth-tone harmonium has been written by renowned Czech and foreign composers.
New compositions were written by
Phill Niblock, Klaus Lang, Bernhard Lang, Milan Guštar, Judith Berkson, Idin Samimi Mofakham and Ian Mikyska. The premiere of these compositions took place in August 2023 as part of the Ostrava Days contemporary music festival.
Miroslav Beinhauer (born 1993) is a pianist and player of the sixth-tone harmonium player, an instrument conceived by the Czech pioneer of microtonal music Alois Hába in the 1930s.
Beinhauer focuses on contemporary music and the music of the 20th century. In the role of soloist, he collaborated with composers such as
Phill Niblock, Klaus Lang, Bernhard Lang, Georg Friedrich Haas, Marc Sabat or
Petr Bakla, with festivals in Europe and in the USA like musikprotokoll, Sound Plasma Festival, Strings of Autumn, Ostrava Days, Moravian Autumn, Janáček Brno, Music Forum Hradec Králové, MusicOlomouc, MicroFest, Konvergencie or Gentse Feesten, and orchestras and ensembles including the PKF – Prague Philharmonia, Brno Philharmonic, Janacek Philharmonic Ostrava, Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra, Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, Brno Contemporary Orchestra, Opava Chamber Orchestra, Kubin Quartet, S.E.M. Ensemble or String Noise. Sought-after chamber musician, Beinhauer is member of the international Ostravská Banda ensemble (collaboration with conductors such as Bruno Ferrandis, Johannes Kalitzke, Petr Kotík, JIří Rožeň or Owen Underhill). He has been involved in numerous studio productions, including album recordings of piano music by Petr Bakla or
Milan Knížák. Beinhauer also regularly records for the Czech Radio.
