GERARD Victory, one of Ireland's premier composers, died recently at the age of 73. An extremely prolific composer, he wrote over two hundred works in many different genres and styles, ranging from serialism and aleatoricism to modality and both functional and extended tonality; indeed, one of his last compositions was an electro-acoustic work. He employed these diverse languages to strive for a repeatedly-stated prime aim, namely his desire to communicate with his listeners; communication always remained at the very heart of his compositional activity.

Born in Dublin, Gerard Victory read Celtic Studies at University College Dublin and Music at the University of Dublin, Trinity College, where he also earned his doctorate in 1972. Although essentially an audodidact, he received some formal training in composition from John Larchet, Alan Rawsthorne and Walter Beckett and he attended the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt. He followed a career in administration, serving as Director of Music at the national broadcasting station, RTÉ, from 1967 until 1982. A former president of UNESCO's International Rostrum of Composers, he was also a Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy of Music and received the French Order of Arts and Letters and the German Order of Merit.