The Czech double bassist was a prolific performer, teacher and composer
The Czech double bassist Miloslav Gajdoš died on 25 August 2026, aged 78.
Gajdoš was born in Město Albrechtice on 13 April 1948. He initially started his musical studies on the violin, before taking up bass lessons in Kroměříž with Alois Kříž, with Jiří Bortlíček in Brno, and with Ludwig Streicher. Between 1968 and 1972, he also studied composition with Zdeněk Zouhar.
He was a prizewinner at the International Double Bass Competition in Markneukirchen.
During his studies, Gajdoš played bass in the orchestra of the Janáček Theater in Brno, where later he performed as a soloist. He gave the Czech premiere of Bottesini’s Concerto for Double Bass no.1 with the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc, touring the US in the 1990s.
As an educator, Gajdoš was the professor at the Conservatory of Kroměříž since 1971. He also taught in Moscow, Debrecen, Miskolc, Munich, Dresden and Berlin, and gave masterclasses at The Juilliard School in 1997.
He was director of the Gregora International Double Bass Competition, founded in 1979 and held every two years in Kroměříž, and was a juror at many competitions in Hungary, Germany and the Czech Republic
He is widely renowned as a composer and arranger, his output including original works and transcriptions for double bass spanning over 40 years, and edited more than 70 works for double bass.
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