Pavle Dešpalj

Pavle Dešpalj (18 June 1934, Blato, Korčula), Croatian composer and conductor.

Pavle Dešpalj graduated from Music Academy in Zagreb where he studied composition with Prof. Stjepan Šulek. In 1961 he founded Zadar'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 principle conductor of the Zagreb Philharmonic. From 1981 to 1983, he was the music program director of Dubrovnik Summer Festival, 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 has been 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 is a guest conductor of many prestigious foreign symphonic orchestras in Luxembourg, Toulouse, Milan, Frankfurt, Bratislava, Salzburg, Budapest, Bucharest and Tallinn. He had also conducted the Royal London Philharmonic Orchestra, Moscow's Russian National Symphony Orchestra, Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Festival Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonics, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and Tokyo and Yokohama Operas.

He has recorded for Croatia Records, Cantus and Opus (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 Alt Saxophon and Strings, Concerto for Cello and Strings and Two Fiddler's Whims.

Pavle Dešpalj has been a member of international juries for conducting competitions in Zagreb, Budapest, and Tokyo. He is the honorary guest conductor of Zagreb Radio Television Symphony Orchestra, lifetime honorary principle conductor of the Croatian Chamber Orchestra, honorary conductor of the Zadar Chamber Orchestra and the Varaždin Chamber Orchestra, a honorary citizen of Dayton Beach, professor emeritus at the Tokyo National University, regular member of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and its vice president (since 1 January 2004).

Pavle Dešpalj won numerous awards: The City of Zagreb Award (1965), Central Florida Council's award for achievement in science and art (1978), Milka Trnina Award (1980), Josip Štolcer Slavenski Award (1990), Vladimir Nazor Award (1992), Orlando Award (1993), Special recognition by the Croatian Ministry of Culture (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 with the effigy of Marko Marulić.

• 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)