Jan Rubeš, baritone

Morawetz and Jan Rubeš, 1990

“OSKAREK”

I met Oskar at very early after arriving in Canada. Meaning in the early fifties. As I had no knowledge of English language, a conversation in Czech with Oskar was like a thirsty traveler finding an oasis with a cool water sprite in the middle of hot Sahara.

I found an understanding friend in an unfriendly huge country so unlike “our” small Czechoslovakian home.  And a MUSICIAN! And a PIANIST!

The next two years we live like a married couple!?  Oskar became my accompanist on the long, exhausting concerts across Canada for the American Columbia Agency. Daily long car rides between Canadian cities, two hour concerts and “hours” after-concert receptions, when Oskar again worked for me as a translator. A gently, soft spoken composer, never losing temper, never pushing his huge talent, just a real:

“OSKAREK”, meaning in Czech language “A lovable, small Oskar”. I had a break in my career getting a role in a first Canadian film and the producers listened to me (they did much during the film) and got Oskar to write the score! I thought the music was the best part of the film. Unfortunately there was no money for to release the music on a record, which would help earlier establish Oskar as the star of the Canadian composers (… which I think he is)!

I have a chapter in my upcoming bio given to Oskar, so let me here to tell one small story of my “life” with Oskar.

One afternoon I was waiting for Oskar at the conservatory in Toronto to rehearse a new piece for our concert. I was quite worried as normally Oskar was always on time, and he was at last half hour late. Finally he bursts in mumbling about the streetcars being so slow! I said that I thought that he was going to use his car, as we had to go later to some other place! When I mentioned the CAR, Oskar went dead pale! And “crazy”, shaking fiercely, crying out loud, grabbing my arm, pushing me to the door asking me, where my car was!?

We drove to St.Clair and Oskar calming down to explained what happened.  He was driving to our rehearsal and had to stop at the St.Clair and Avenue Rd. street car as some old lady is trying to climb the steps of a street car. She had very hard time to first make the steep first tall step. Our lovable-small Oskarek stepped our of his car an gently helped her up the steps, bought a ticket and came to rehearsal by street car!

Forgetting his car! He explained, that just when he was helping the lady, he got a terrific idea of harmonic transition for his composition … and forgotten “where he was, where he was going, and since he was at the street car, he presumed he was going somewhere and suddenly he realized, he was going to our rehearsal!

Luckily the car was still there and I gladly paid the ticket!

Now you know how the mind of a gently composer works.

Jan Rubeš, September 2004