Gregor, Čestmir

Gregor, Čestmir, Czech composer; b. Brno, May 14, 1926. He began his training with his father, Josef Gregor, who had been a student of Novak; later he studied with Kvapil (1950-54) and Kapr (1965-70) at the Janacek Academy of Music in Brno. From 1959 to 1972 he was director of music for the Czech Radio in Ostrava. In his works, he pursued an atonal style of composition.

Works

DRAMATIC Opera : Profesionálni žena (A Professional Woman; 1983). Ballet : Závrat (Vertigo; 1963; ballet version of the Choreographic Symphony); Horko (Heat; 1978). ORCH .: Joyous Overture (1951); If All Girls of the World, symphonic poem (1953); 3 syms. (Country and People, 1953; Choreographic, 1963; Symphony of My City, 1971; rev. 1973); Once in Spring Evening, suite for Chamber Orch. (1954); No One is Alone, piano concerto (1955); May I Speak?, overture (1956); Tragic Suite for Small Orch. (1957); Concerto semplice for Piano and Orch. (1958); Suite for Strings (1959); Polyfonietta (1961); Daedalus’s Children, symphonic poem (1961); If All Men of the World, overture (1963); Violin Concerto (1965; rev. 1968); Cello Concerto, Complimento à la musica di orgni giorno (1974); Sinfonietta (1976); Concerto da camera for Clarinet and Strings (1977); l’ve Joined the Army, variations (1978); Piano Concerto (1979); Symphonic Metamorphoses on a Blues Theme (1986; rev. 1990). CHAMBER : Trio for Flute, Viola, and Bass Clarinet (1959); String Quartet (1965); Amenities for Violin and Piano (1987); 2 violin sonatas (1989); Dolce Vita for Violin and Piano (1990); 3 Generations for String Quartet (1991); Auspicious Word, bass clarinet sonata (1993). Piano : Experiment (1946); Sonata brevis (1946); Ash Wednesday (1962); 3 Movements (1966); Sonata in 3 Tempi (1966). VOCAL : 2 Capricious Ballads for Soprano and Piano (1975); The Sea’s Children, choral cantata (1975).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire