Karel Husa was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1921. As a young man, his city was occupied by Nazi Germany, which forced Husa to reconsider his career path. Instead of going to work in a factory, he decided to pursue music. That choice led him to study in Paris, then eventually become a professor of music at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. In 1969, Husa won the Pulitzer Prize for his composition, “String Quartet No. 3,” which featured viola and cello in key parts usually reserved for the violin. Husa now makes his home in Apex, NC where he lives near family including his granddaughter, Maria Evola, who is a violinist with the North Carolina Symphony. Evola is preparing to perform a concert of her grandfather’s works to celebrate Husa’s 90th birthday. Both join host Frank Stasio, along with Andrew Lowy of the North Carolina Symphony, to talk about Husa’s life, legacy and musical inspirations.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.