Miroslav Miletic
Encyclopedia
Miroslav Miletić is a Croatia
n composer and viola
player.
, Croatia
, Miletić graduated violin from the Zagreb Academy of Music in 1953, in the class of Prof. Stjepan Šulek
and I. Pinkava, and chamber music in the class of Antonio Janigro
. He studied composition privately, and his understanding of music was further deepened through studies in different European centers such as Salzburg, Austria
and Hillversum, Holland, where he studied conducting with Lovro von Matačić
and Willem van Otterloo
, respectively. He continued mastering his studies in Prague; viola with Ladislav Cherny, and composition with Pavel Bořkovec
.
Miletić collaborated also with Karlheinz Stockhausen
on electronic music and continued his studies of contemporary chamber music in Darmstadt
in Germany.
In 1982 he retired from his teaching position. He currently resides and composes in Zagreb, Croatia.
The quartet has played a significant role in the Croatian music circles through well-thought-out repertoire choices pointing towards modern music, in particular Croatian music, as well as introducing this repertoire to the audiences around the world.
. From the experience of a reproductive artist he writes symphonic music, operas, concertos for different instruments, chamber music, piano works, as well as film and children music. His special interests and skills are devoted to viola, violin and guitar compositions.
His international success as a composer started in 1958 with the first performance of his "Concerto for Viola and Orchestra" in Hilversum, Nederlands. His compositions for the guitar, the violin, and the viola and chamber music have been published by many international publishers (Schott, Berben, Barenreiter, Meckverlag, Pizzicatto and Edition-Pax). One of his LPs was released in the USA.
" (Holland, 1959) for the Concerto For Viola and Orchestra, the "Golden Lion" in Venice
(1960) for music for the film Piko, two gold medals in the Viotti International Music Competition
, Vercelli (1967) - for Diptych for Cello and Piano, and Suite In Modo Antico for Flute and Piano. He is also the recipient of numerous domestic awards and prizes.
Every year, in his home town of Sisak, Croatia there is a two day concert celebration in his honor entitled "The Music Days of Miroslav Miletić". He has been exclusively featured at concerts throughout the world (Paris, Tokyo, Trieste, Vienna, Zagreb, Sisak).
Miletić is a member of the international juries at the guitar competitions in Switzerland and Italy, an active member of Croatian Composers' Society
, and one of the founders of the Croatian Section of the European Viola Society
.
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 and viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
player.
Education
Born in SisakSisak
Sisak is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county...
, 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 ...
, Miletić graduated violin from the Zagreb Academy of Music in 1953, in the class of Prof. Stjepan Šulek
Stjepan Šulek
Stjepan Šulek was a Croatian composer and conductor.- Biography :Born in Zagreb in 1914, Šulek began his music study very early by learning piano, violin, and composition. In 1936 he received his diploma from the Zagreb Academy of Music. Until 1952 Šulek was an active soloist who gave numerous...
and I. Pinkava, and chamber music in the class of Antonio Janigro
Antonio Janigro
Antonio Janigro was an Italian cellist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Milan, he began studying piano when he was six and cello when he was eight. Initially taught by Giovanni Berti, Janigro enrolled in the Verdi Conservatory of Milan, where he was instructed by Gilberto Crepax...
. He studied composition privately, and his understanding of music was further deepened through studies in different European centers such as Salzburg, Austria
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
and Hillversum, Holland, where he studied conducting with Lovro von Matačić
Lovro von Matacic
Lovro von Matačić was a Croatian conductor and composer.-Biography:Lovro von Matačić was born in Sušak to a family that was granted a noble title in the early 17th century. Growing up, he was always surrounded by music and art: his father had a career as an opera singer, and his mother as an actress...
and Willem van Otterloo
Willem van Otterloo
Jan Willem van Otterloo was a Dutch conductor, cellist and composer.-Biography:Van Otterloo was born in Winterswijk, Gelderland, in the Netherlands, the son of William Frederik van Otterloo, a railway inspector, and his wife Anna Catharina Enderlé...
, respectively. He continued mastering his studies in Prague; viola with Ladislav Cherny, and composition with Pavel Bořkovec
Pavel Borkovec
Pavel Bořkovec was a Czech composer and music teacher.Bořkovec studied at the Prague Conservatory under Josef Suk. From 1946 to 1967 he taught at the Academy of Musical Arts in Prague. His students there included Pavel Blatný, Jiří Pauer, Vladimír Sommer, Petr Eben, Jan Klusák and Jan Truhlář...
.
Miletić collaborated also with Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
on electronic music and continued his studies of contemporary chamber music in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
in Germany.
Viola player and a music teacher
As time went by, viola was more and more becoming his primary instrument. Miletić performed as a soloist with Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio Bratislava Symphonic Orchestra, and since 1946 he was an active violist of the Zagreb Radio Symphony and the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra. In the 1950s he accepted a full time position as a viola and violin teacher (as well as the String Department Chair for many years) at the "Pavao Markovac Music School" in Zagreb, Croatia. Even then, due to his excellent sight-reading abilities, he would jump in whenever the Symphony or Philharmonic needed support. However, as a violist, Miletić has found his full expression in chamber music.In 1982 he retired from his teaching position. He currently resides and composes in Zagreb, Croatia.
Founder, artistic director, and active member of "Pro Arte Zagreb" Quartet
He was not only the founder and an active member of the "Pro Arte Zagreb" String Quartet, but also the artistic director and manager. In the 1970s, the "Pro Arte Zagreb" String Quartet was among 10 best string quartets in the world. It performed at more than 2000 concerts, and edited records and CDs under his professional guidance. The majority of concerts were held outside of Croatia (then Yugoslavia), namely in Europe, Africa, former Soviet Union, and USA.The quartet has played a significant role in the Croatian music circles through well-thought-out repertoire choices pointing towards modern music, in particular Croatian music, as well as introducing this repertoire to the audiences around the world.
Croatian Composer
As composer, Miletić has a unique expression that reflects his respect and devotion for Croatian national folkloreFolklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
. From the experience of a reproductive artist he writes symphonic music, operas, concertos for different instruments, chamber music, piano works, as well as film and children music. His special interests and skills are devoted to viola, violin and guitar compositions.
His international success as a composer started in 1958 with the first performance of his "Concerto for Viola and Orchestra" in Hilversum, Nederlands. His compositions for the guitar, the violin, and the viola and chamber music have been published by many international publishers (Schott, Berben, Barenreiter, Meckverlag, Pizzicatto and Edition-Pax). One of his LPs was released in the USA.
Awards and acknowledgements
Miletić won many international awards and acknowledgments. Among them the "Gaudeamus Foundation AwardGaudeamus International Composers Award
The Gaudeamus International Composers Award is a European award issued by the Music Center the Netherlands...
" (Holland, 1959) for the Concerto For Viola and Orchestra, the "Golden Lion" in Venice
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
(1960) for music for the film Piko, two gold medals in the Viotti International Music Competition
Viotti International Music Competition
The Viotti International Music Competition , named after the Italian composer and violinist Gian Battista Viotti , is held every year in Vercelli, Piedmont, Italy...
, Vercelli (1967) - for Diptych for Cello and Piano, and Suite In Modo Antico for Flute and Piano. He is also the recipient of numerous domestic awards and prizes.
Every year, in his home town of Sisak, Croatia there is a two day concert celebration in his honor entitled "The Music Days of Miroslav Miletić". He has been exclusively featured at concerts throughout the world (Paris, Tokyo, Trieste, Vienna, Zagreb, Sisak).
Miletić is a member of the international juries at the guitar competitions in Switzerland and Italy, an active member of Croatian Composers' Society
Croatian Composers' Society
Croatian Composers' Society is a professional organization of composers in Croatia.HDS organizes the Music Biennale Zagreb, an international festival of contemporary music, and Zagrebfest, a festival of Croatian popular music....
, and one of the founders of the Croatian Section of the European Viola Society
International Viola Society
The International Viola Society, also called the "IVS" or "the Society," is an international organization dedicated to players of the viola. It is currently based in Auckland, New Zealand and sponsors annual International Viola Congresses...
.
Orchestral compositions
- Symphonic Suite with Children's Toys (1965)
- Folklore Cassations for Strings (1967)
- Symphony for Wind Instruments (1980)
Concertant works
- Concertos for:
- viola, strings and chamber orchestra (1958)
- flute and strings (1971)
- guitar and large symphony orchestra (1977)
- clarinet and large symphony orchestra (1978)
- horn and strings (1980)
- violin and chamber orchestra (Promenade Concerto, 1986)
- piano and strings or piano and wings (Style Exercises, 1987)
- harpsichord and strings (1992)
- two violas and symphony orchestra (1993)
- saxophone and symphony orchestra (1999)
- Concerto Grosso for viola and string orchestra (Cantus Publishing)
Chamber music
- String Quartets
- I (1951)
- II (The Dalmatian, 1954)
- III (1960)
- IV (Dance Scenes, 1962)
- V (1968)
- Proportions for Six Instruments (1962)
- Piano Trio (1966)
- The Pastoral Trio (flute, clarinet and guitar, 1969)
- Four Folklore Designs (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, 1969)
- 8 Minutes for Henry (flute, violin, trumpet and percussion, 1972)
- Hommage a Lackovic (oboe, clarinet and bassoon, 1979)
- The Istrian Diptych (clarinet and string quartet, 1987)
For viola
- À Naruhito & Masako: Uspavanka (Komoriuta / 子守唄 / Lullaby) for viola and piano (2001)
- Fantasia on Themes by B. Britten for viola and piano (1993)
- From the Music Manuscript of A. Dobronic for viola and piano (1997)
- Kroateska (Croatesque) for viola solo (2001)
- Lament for viola and electronic sounds (1963)
- Male skladbe (Miniatures) for viola and piano
- Monodia for viola solo (1990)
- Monolog for viola and piano
- Rhapsodie for viola and piano (1955)
- Sonata for viola and piano (1981)
For guitar
- Suite from Medjimurje (1974)
- Kroatiche Suite, Two Dodecaphonic Etudes (1976)
- Consort Trio (3 guitars, 1984)
- Burdon Suita (4 guitars, 1994)
For various ensembles
- Hvar Litany (organ, 1972)
- In the Istrian Mode (flute, clarinet and viola, 1983)
- Suita (viola d'amore and harpsichord, 1994)
- Sonatina (violin and guitar, 1981)
- Three Popular Songs from Dalmatia (voice and guitar, 1981)
- Centone (flute and guitar, 1998)
Music for stage
- The Wife of Hasan-Aga (music drama, 1964)
- A Court Case (one-act comic opera, 1985)
- The Turks at Sisak (a play with music, 1988)
- Karolina Suhodolska (opera, 1996)