Pongrácz, Zoltán

Pongrácz, Zoltán , Hungarian composer and teacher; b. Diószeg, Feb. 5, 1912. He studied with Kodaly at the Budapest Academy of Music (1930–35); then took lessons in conducting from Nilius in Vienna (1935–38) and Krauss in Salzburg (1941). He served as director of the music dept. of Hungarian Radio in Budapest (1943–14) and then conducted the Debrecen Phil. (1946–49). He taught composition at the Debrecen Cons. (1947–58) and electronic composition at the Budapest Academy of Music (from 1975).

Works

DRAMATIC: Opera: Odysseus and Nausikaa (1949–50; Debrecen, 1960); The Last Station (1983). Bal1et : The Devil’s Present (1936). ORCH .: Sym. (1943); Ballo ongaro for Youth Orch. (1955); 3 Orchestral Etudes (1963); Hangokés zörejek (Tones and Noises; 1966); Színek és vonalak (Colors and Lines) for Youth Orch. (1971). CHAMBER : Pastorale for Clarinet, Organ, 6 Winds, and Percussion (1941); Javanese Music, on a South Asiatic motif, for Chamber Ensemble (1942); Music for 5 Cellos (1954); Wind Quintet (1956); Toccata for Piano (1957); 3 Small Pieces for Orff Ensemble (1966); Phonothèse for Tape (1966); Sets and Pairs, electronic variations for Piano and Celesta (1968); 3 Improvisations for Piano, Percussion, and 3 Tape Recorders (1971); 3 Bagatelles for Percussion (1972); Zoophonia, concrete music synthesized from animal sounds (1973); Concertino for Soprano Saxophone and Tape (1982); Concertino for Cimbalon and Electronics (1988). VOCAL : Christmas Cantata (1935); St. Stephen Oratorio (1938); Apollo musagètes, cantata (1958); Negritude for Speaking Chorus, Chorus, and Percussion (1962); Ispirazioni for Chorus, Orch., and Tape (1965); Music from Nyírség for Soloists, Chorus, and Folk Orch. (1965). ELECTRONIC : Polar and Successive Contrasts (1986).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire