The composer and violinist Pavel Hrabanek started taking his violin lessons from the violinist Mrs. A. Skampova at the age of eight. Having finished the secondary school, he went to study music at the Prague Conservatoire under the leadership of Mr. Sneberger, and, later, Mr. Hlavacek. At that time he was seriously engaged in composing music. He graduated in 1969 and was interested in further studies in the U.S.A. After his application had been rejected by the Ministry of Education, he did military service and between the years 1970 - 72 played the violin in the Army Orchestra. The following 5 years he played first violin in the East-Bohemian State Chamber Orchestra. Though interested in playing the violin and taking private lessons with Ivan Straus, he still preferred composing music.
In 1977 he came to play in the National Theatre Orchestra. He played there for three years, at the same time preparing under the leadership of Mr. Kurz for the entrance examination for study at the Academy of Music in Prague. At that time he married his second wife Olga Maskova. He has a son from the first marriage.
In 1979 he started his studies at the Academy of Performing Arts and Music, in the composition class of Jiri Dvoracek. At the same time he took up a post in the Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK), where he is employed currently. He graduated from the Academy in 1985 with the symphony Dove. A year later, he became member of the Union of Czechoslovak Composers (after 1989 transformed into The Association of Musicians and Musicologists, the Society of Composers).
Currently, he has composed more than 50 compositions. Some of them were awarded with prizes in Czechoslovak competitions Children's choirs "Milk wins", Children's opera "Landscape of Childhood", the Chamber Cantata, Fantasy "Si tu marches splendeur" was nominated for the festival ISCM in 1999.
Although he was initially attracted by the avant-garde, for a long time when composing he tried to follow up the classics of the 20th century. However, now he is leaving this orientation, not towards the minimal music, but rather towards the manifestation of independent, acceptable complexity, by using his experience from playing in chamber, opera, and symphony orchestras.
