Pavle Dešpalj (18 June 1934 – 16 December 2021) was a Croatian composer and conductor.

Biography

Pavle Dešpalj graduated from Music Academy in Zagreb where he studied composition with Prof.

Stjepan Šulek Stjepan Šulek (5 August 1914 in Zagreb, Austria-Hungary – 16 January 1986 in Zagreb, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) was a Croatian composer, conductor, violinist and music teacher. Biography Born in Zagreb in 1914, Šulek began his music stu ...

. In 1961 he founded

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

's festival, Music Evenings in St. Donat's, also the Zadar Chamber Orchestra. Between 1962 and 1967 he was the chief conductor of Zagreb Radio Television Symphony Orchestra. In 1968 he began conducting the Florida Symphony Orchestra and the Orlando Opera, and between 1970 and 1981 he was their music director. From 1981 to 1986 he was the principal conductor of the Zagreb Philharmonic. From 1981 to 1983, he was the music program director of

Dubrovnik Summer Festival The Dubrovnik Summer Festival ( hr, Dubrovačke ljetne igre; is an annually-held summer festival instituted in 1950 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is held every year between 10 July and 25 August. On more than 70 open-air venues of Renaissance-Baroq ...

, between 1987 and 1995 conducting professor at the Zagreb Academy of Music and between 1995 and 1998, conductor of the Tokyo Geidai Philharmonic Orchestra and professor at the Tokyo National University. Since 1998 he was the chief conductor of the Croatian Chamber Orchestra, since 2000 of the Split Chamber Orchestra and guest conductor of renowned Croatian orchestras as well as Croatian National Theatre's Opera and Ballet. Pavle Dešpalj led Zagreb's orchestras on numerous tours around Europe, America and the Far East. He was a guest conductor of many prestigious foreign symphonic orchestras in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, Milan,

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, Salzburg,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

and

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. He also conducted the Royal London Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow's Russian National Symphony Orchestra, Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra,

Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra The ''Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra'' (''PSO'') is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra's home is Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District, Pittsburgh, Cultural District. History The Pittsburgh Sy ...

, Chicago Festival Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonics,

Tokyo Symphony Orchestra The or TSO, was established in 1946 as the Toho Symphony Orchestra (東宝交響楽団). It assumed its present name in 1951. Based in Kawasaki, the TSO performs in numerous concert halls and serves as pit orchestra for some productions at Ne ...

, and Tokyo and Yokohama Operas. He recorded for

Croatia Records Croatia Records is the largest major record label in Croatia, based in Zagreb ( Dubrava). Summary Croatia Records d.d. is a joint-stock company currently led by the chief executive officer Želimir Babogredac, a notable sound engineer. It releases ...

, Cantus and

Opus ''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.). Opus or OPUS may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...

(Bratislava), as well as for Croatian, Slovenian and Hessischer Runfunkt (Frankfurt) radio stations. Dešpalj's most often played and recorded works are ''Passacaglia and Fugue'' for piano and strings, ''Three Choral Preludes'' for Chamber Orchestra, ''Variations for Orchestra'', ''Concerto for Violin and Orchestra'', ''Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Strings'', ''Concerto for Cello and Strings'' and ''Two Fiddlers' Whims''. Pavle Dešpalj was a member of international juries for conducting competitions in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, and Tokyo. He was the honorary guest conductor of Zagreb Radio Television Symphony Orchestra, lifetime honorary principal conductor of the Croatian Chamber Orchestra, honorary conductor of the Zadar Chamber Orchestra and the Varaždin Chamber Orchestra, an

honorary citizen Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of Dayton Beach, professor emeritus at the Tokyo National University, regular member of

Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Croatica, hr, Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti, abbrev. HAZU) is the national academy of Croatia. HAZU was founded under patronage of the Croatian bishop Jo ...

and its vice president (since 1 January 2004). He died in Zagreb on 16 December 2021, at the age of 87.

Awards

Pavle Dešpalj won numerous awards: The City of Zagreb Award (1965),

Central Florida Council The Central Florida Council serves Boy Scouts in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Brevard, Volusia and Flagler Counties in Florida. Its headquarters was previously located in Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Flo ...

's award for achievement in science and art (1978), Milka Trnina Award (1980), Josip Štolcer Slavenski Award (1990),

Vladimir Nazor Award The Vladimir Nazor Award ( hr, Nagrada Vladimir Nazor) is a Croatian prize for arts and culture established in 1959 and awarded every year by the Ministry of Culture. Named after the writer Vladimir Nazor (1876–1949), the prize is awarded to Cr ...

(1992), Orlando Award (1993), Special recognition by the

Croatian Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture and Media ( hr, Ministarstvo kulture i medija) is a ministry of the Croatian government in charge of preserving the country's natural and cultural heritage and overseeing its development. The ministry in its present form w ...

(1994), Porin Award (1997, 2002, 2005), Ivan Lukačić Award (1999), Croatian Ministry of Culture Award (2002), The Vladimir Nazor Lifetime Achievement Award (2005), Judita Award (2005) and The City of Zadar Lifetime Achievement Award (2006). In 1996 Croatian President presented him with the

Order of Danica Hrvatska The Order of Danica Hrvatska ( hr, Red Danice hrvatske; lit. "Order of the Croatian Morning Star") is the fourteenth most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on 1 April 1995. The medal is awarded for different p ...

with the effigy of

Marko Marulić Marko Marulić Splićanin (), in Latin Marcus Marulus Spalatensis (18 August 1450 – 5 January 1524), was a Croatian poet, lawyer, judge, and Renaissance humanist who coined the term "psychology". He is the national poet of Croatia. According to ...

Selected works

* ''Concerto for alto-saxophone and string orchestra'' (1963) * ''Concerto for violin and orchestra'' (1960) * ''Concerto for cello and strings'' (2000) * ''Passacaglia and Fugue'' for piano and strings (1956) * ''The Ceremonial Parade'' for French horn ensemble and symphony orchestra (2001) * ''Three Chorale Preludes'' for chamber orchestra (1957) * ''Variations'' for orchestra (1957)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Despalj, Pavle 1934 births 2021 deaths 21st-century conductors (music) 21st-century male musicians Academy of Music, University of Zagreb alumni Arbanasi people Croatian classical composers Croatian conductors (music) Male conductors (music) Members of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts People from Blato, Korčula 21st-century classical composers 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century classical composers Male classical composers Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery