Romanian-born, Paris-based avant-garde composer and conductor, a
student of Nadia Boulanger and
Olivier Messiaen. His "Étrange No. 3"
and "Milieu No. 2" (for electric guitar, bongo, saxophone and French
horns) were famously spliced together to create the iconic theme for
Rod Serling's
Unwahrscheinliche Geschichten (1959).
The pieces were originally commissioned by CBS orchestrator
Lud Gluskin in the late
1950's. They remained unused until the second season of the "Twilight Zone" when they were employed as a replacement for Bernard Herrmann's
rather more subtle original theme, a combination of strings, harp,
flute and brass (which CBS considered as 'too downbeat').
Since the company had acquired all rights to Constant's work, he
received neither screen credit nor royalties. It was not until much
later that he came to realize the amazing popular success of the
pieces he had sold 'for a few hundred dollars' to the CBS Music
Library.
Constant's other compositions include "24 Preludes for Orchestra"
(1959), a Piano Concerto (1957), a "Symphony for Winds" (1978),
ballets, jazz, and improvisational music. Also a noted conductor, he
served as musical director for
Roland Petit's Paris Ballet (1956-66) and
the Paris Opera Ballet (1973-78). He was awarded the title of
Commandeur Légion d'honneur and inducted into the Académie des
beaux-arts in December 1992.
