Starek, Jirí
Starek, Jiří
Starek, Jiří, Czech conductor; b. Mocovice, March 25, 1928. He was educated at the Prague Academy of Music (graduated, 1950). In 1953 he became a conductor with the Czech Radio in Prague, and was concurrently chief conductor of the Collegium Musicum Pragense chamber orch. (1963–68). From 1975 to 1997 he was a prof. and head of the conducting class at the Frankfurt am Main Hochschule für Musik. He was artistic director of the RIAS Sinfonietta in Berlin (1976–80), chief conductor of the Trondheim Sym. Orch. in Norway (1981–84), and principal guest conductor of the West Australian Sym. Orch. in Perth (1988–90). In 1996 he became chief conductor of the Prague State Opera. His guest conducting engagements took him to many opera companies and orchs.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire