Bruno Bjelinski was a Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

.

Bjelinski was born into a Jewish family. He doctored in law at the University of Zagreb

University of Zagreb

The University of Zagreb is the biggest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of Southeastern Europe...

 and later studied music at the Zagreb Academy of Music under Blagoje Bersa

Blagoje Bersa

Blagoje Bersa was a Croatian musical composer of substantial influence....

 and Franjo Dugan. Bjelinski started composing in 30's with two sonatas for violin and piano (1933 and 1937). During the World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 he was sent to concentration camp, but in 1943 with the help of a friend he escaped and joined the Partisans

Partisan (military)

A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...

 on the island of Korčula

Korcula

Korčula is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. The island has an area of ; long and on average wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 16,182 inhabitants make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk...

. End of the war he greeted alternately on island Vis

Vis (island)

Vis is the most outerly lying larger Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, and is part of the Central Dalmatian group of islands, with an area of 90.26 km² and a population of 3,617 . Of all the inhabited Croatian islands, it is the farthest from the coast...

 and the Italian city of Bari

Bari

Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...

. He taught at the Academy from 1945 to 1977. Bjelinski's music is described as being direct and optimistic, his fresh style lending itself to both serious music and music for children. Bjelinski composed six opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

s, three ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

s, 15 symphonies

Symphony

A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...

, 2 cello concertos

Violoncello concerto

A cello concerto is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments....

, a cantata

Cantata

A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....

, piano music, songs, chamber music, and concertos for piano, violin, viola, bassoon, flute, and piano duo. He also composed music for Croatian football movie Plavi 9

Plavi 9

Plavi 9 is a 1950 Croatian football comedy film. The film was directed by Krešo Golik.That film is a bizarre mixture of the Soviet-style industrial epic, romantic comedy and football film. It is famous for superbly directed football sequences...

.

Works

• Concerto for flute and strings, 1955
• Ljetna simfonija (Summer Symphony), Symphony No. 1, 1955
• Serenade for trumpet, piano, strings and percussion, 1957
• Pčelica Maja (Maya the Bee), fairy tale opera after Waldemar Bonsels
  Waldemar Bonsels
  Waldemar Bonsels was a German writer of children's books.Waldemar Bonsels wrote only one children's book in the strict sense, Die Biene Maja . "People in the sky" is not a proper children's book but has a much deeper mystical layer showing the unity of all creation and its relationship to God...
  
  , 1963
• Sinfonia jubilans, Symphony No. 4, 1965
• Peter Pan, ballet for children, 1966
• Sinfonietta concertante, for piano and orchestra, 1967
• Musica Tonalis for oboe, bassoon and strings, 1968
• Heraklo (Herkules) comic opera, 1971
• Močvara (The Marsh), opera, 1972
• Zvona (The Bells), opera, 1975
• Orfej XX. stoljeca (Orpheus in the Twentieth Century), opera, 1981
• Slavuj (The Nightingale), opera after Hans Christian Andersen
  Hans Christian Andersen
  Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
  
  , 1984
• Concertino for Horn and Strings