Kacinskas, Jerome

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Kačinskas, Jerome

Kačinskas, Jerome, Lithuanian-born American conductor and composer; b. Viduklé, April 17, 1907. He studied with his father, a church organist; then at the State Music School in Klaipeda and at the Prague Cons. with Jaroslav Kříčka and Alois Hâba. Returning to Lithuania, he was conductor of the Klaipeda Sym. Orch. (1932–38); in 1938, was appointed music director for the Lithuanian Radio in Kaunas; during World War II, conducted the Vilnius Phil. In 1944 he left Lithuania, and from 1945 to 1949 lived in a displaced-persons camp in Augsburg; in 1949 he settled in the U.S., and in 1954 became a naturalized American citizen. His music reflects the influences of Scriabin and French Impressionists. Among his works are a Trumpet Concerto, 2 string quartets, sacred choruses, and piano pieces.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire