Jorge Croner de Vasconcellos

Son of the violinist Alexandre Bettencourt and pianist and teacher Laura Croner, and grandson of clarinettist Rafael José Croner, composer Jorge Croner de Vasconcellos initially attended the Lisbon Faculty of Arts. A student of the National Conservatory since 1927, he eventually decided to exclusively follow a musical career. Alexandre Rey Colaço, António Eduardo da Costa Ferreira and Luís de Freitas Branco were some of his teachers. He also worked with conductor and composer Francisco de Lacerda. With a scholarship granted by the National Education Junta, he attended, in Paris the École Normale de Musique, courses directed by Paul Dukas, Nadia Boulanger, Igor Stravinsky and Alfred Cortot. When he returned to Portugal in 1938, he became responsible for the subject of Music History at the Music Amateurs Academy. A year later he performed at a concert with singer Arminda Correia and achieved recognition for his recitals in Paris, London and Brussels. After 1939, he became a teacher of Composition, Singing and Music History at Lisbon's National Conservatory. Already in the 1960s he also participated as a teacher in the Estoril Summer Courses. Although his work is not all that vast, the composer left a considerable number of singing pieces, many of which composed from texts of classic Portuguese poets. As far as chamber music is concerned, one should particularly mention the piano repertoire and the arrangements for pieces by Carlos Seixas. Croner de Vasconcellos also explored symphonic music, namely by composing pieces for the National Information Secretariat during the 1940s and the 1950s. He died in Lisboa in 1974. (adapted from text in PMIC)