Branislav Hronec (22 December 1940 – 25 October 2022) was a Slovak composer, pianist and conductor.

Life and career

Born in

Hronsek Hronsek () is a village and municipality of the Banská Bystrica District in the Banská Bystrica Region of Slovakia. History In historical records, the village was first mentioned in 1500, and it has changed its name many times during its Histor ...

, the son of an evangelical minister, Hronec started playing

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

at 13 years old. He later studied piano and conducting at the and conducting and composition at the Academy of Performing Arts under

Alexander Moyzes Alexander Moyzes (4 September 1906 – 20 November 1984) was a Slovak neoromantic composer. Biography Moyzes was born into a musical family in 1906 at Kláštor pod Znievom, Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father was the composer and educat ...

. After experiences with the ensembles West Coast Combo and Bratislava Jazz Studio, in 1963 he founded the Braň Hronec Group, which later was renamed Braň Hronec Orchestra; with this ensemble he toured extensively nationally and abroad, in Europe, Central Asia and Cuba. The orchestra disbanded in 1981, with Hronec focusing on composition for television and theatre, and becoming in the second half of the 1980s music director at

Slovak Radio Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks, a Western Slavic ethnic group * Slovak language, an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages * Slovak, Arkan ...

and conductor of the Dance Orchestra of the

Czechoslovak Television Czech Television ( ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting six channels. Established after breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1992, it is the successor to Czechoslovak Television founded in 1953. H ...

. Hronec composed over 300 songs and compositions, including the first big beat song, the first twist song and the first disco song produced in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. He often collaborated with lyricist

Milan Lasica Milan Lasica (; 3 February 1940 – 18 July 2021) was a popular Slovak comedian, actor, singer, writer, lyricist and satirist. Active from 1961 to his death, he was known from his double act with Július Satinský and their collaboration with ...

. Between 1990 and 1997 he was professor at the Academy of Performing Arts. He died on 25 October 2022 at the age of 81. He was married to the actress Judita Varga since 1980.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hronec, Branislav 1940 births 2022 deaths People from Banská Bystrica District Slovak classical composers Slovak conductors (music) Slovak classical pianists Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava alumni Academic staff of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava