Antun Nikolić Tuca (

Županja Županja (, hu, Zsupanya, german: Schaupanie) is a town in eastern Slavonia, Croatia, located 254 km east of Zagreb. It is administratively part of the Vukovar-Syrmia County. It is inhabited by 12,090 people (2011). Županja lies on the Sa ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, 10 June 1943) Croatian musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

tamburitza Tamburica ( or ) or tamboura ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", tamburica, тамбурица, little tamboura; hu, tambura; el, Ταμπουράς, Tampourás; sometimes written tamburrizza or tamburitza), refers to a family of long-necked lute ...

virtuoso

Biography

Antun Nikolić Tuca is a Croatian composer, arranger, music producer, music editor, ethnographer, tamburitza virtuoso, multi-instrumentalist. Along with

Pajo Kolarić Pajo Kolarić (1821–1876) was an early Croatian composer for tamburitza. Kolarić formed the first amateur tamburitza orchestra in Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest ...

Franjo Kuhač Franjo Ksaver Kuhač (November 20, 1834 – June 18, 1911) was a piano teacher, choral conductor, composer, and comparative musicologist who studied Croatian folk music. Kuhač did a great deal of field work in this area, collecting and publishing ...

, Julije Njikoš, Mijo Majer and

Branko Mihaljević Branko Mihaljević (Zagreb, 19 January 1931 – Osijek, 19 September 2005) was a composer, writer, journalist and radio editor. He spent his career, starting in 1952, in Osijek as editor of music and music-documentary programs of Radio-Osijek, and ...

, he is a living

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

and

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

. He was born in

, Croatia, on 10 June 1943. As a six-year-old boy, he played

in a school show. His family moved to

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

in 1956, where he attended Osijek's reputable music school, “

”, along with primary school. In 1958, before he was fully fifteen, he became a member of Radio

's Tamburitza Orchestra, led by the giant of tamburitza music, Julije Njikoš, until 1964. In this orchestra Nikolić played all of the tamburitza instruments. There his successful music work started, not only with folk significance, but also with a

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

and

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

dimension. At the beginning of the 1960s, along with tamburitza instruments (and other stringed instruments

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; el, μπουζούκι ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', from Greek ), also spelled buzuki or buzuci, is a musical instrument popular in Greece. It is a member of the long-necked lute family, with a round body with a flat top and ...

balalaika The balalaika (russian: link=no, балала́йка, ) is a Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the thir ...

, then

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

mouth organ A mouth organ is any free reed aerophone with one or more air chambers fitted with a free reed. Though it spans many traditions, it is played universally the same way by the musician placing their lips over a chamber or holes in the instrument, an ...

fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

kazoo The kazoo is an American musical instrument that adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (which itself is a membranophone), one of a class of instruments which modifi ...

ocarina The ocarina is a wind musical instrument; it is a type of vessel flute. Variations exist, but a typical ocarina is an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body. It is traditionally made from c ...

) Nikolić also played the

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

. Along with Krunoslav

Kićo Slabinac Krunoslav "Kićo" Slabinac (28 March 1944 – 13 November 2020) was a Croatian pop singer. His specialties were the songs nowadays inspired by folk music of Slavonia region of Croatia, and the uses of traditional instruments such as the tamburica ...

, he formed the band Tornado and then, in 1963, the legendary

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

Dinamiti, which was the most famous rock band in ex-

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in the 1960s, and which also performed around

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. In 1967 Antun Nikolić Tuca went into military service. After serving in the military he came back in 1969 to tamburitza music. The same year he re-formed and began leading The Big Tamburitza Orchestra of Radio Osijek, with which he works as conductor,

and

music editor A music sequencer (or audio sequencer or simply sequencer) is a device or application software that can record, edit, or play back music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically CV/Gate, MIDI, or Open Sound Cont ...

. He also collects, records and preserves the enormous

traditional A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

values of Northeast Croatia. In the year 1971 from The Big Tamburitza Orchestra of Radio Osijek, Antun Nikolić formed the tamburitza ensemble Slavonski bećari which remained active until 2011. Slavonski Bećari is the oldest and the most famous tamburitza ensemble in

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. Through their 40 years of work they have been performing countless number of times, traveled around the world (16 times in the United States and Canada, 2 times in Australia, in most of the European countries). Slavonski bećari published 4 single and 11

long play The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a ...

studio albums An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

, 7 compilations, 35 festival records, 532 in HUZIP recorded television performances. They have cooperated with many well-known homeland and overseas singers and earned many international and national rewards and prizes.

Significance of Tuca's work

Along with playing instruments, directing and arranging, Antun Nikolić Tuca was also collecting and recording the cultural music heritage of Northeast Croatia. What

started in the 19th century, was continued in the 20th century by

and Julije Njikoš, and in his own way in the 21st century by Antun Nikolić Tuca. Along with ethnographic work on collecting and preserving folk heritage, as the long-standing music editor on Radio Osijek (1969 -2005), Nikolić used his position to record a great number of folk motifs, and in his many television appearances and radio broadcasts he promoted folk songs and traditional dances from the area of

Slavonija Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja, ...

, Baranja and

Srijem Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...

. Among his many public performances, his solo at the concert of the 100 best Croatian tamburitza players under the name of “Šokačka Rapsodija”, which was included in the

Guinness book of records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for its number of players, stands out. 235 of Tuca's works are listed in the Croatian music authors database and in the Radio Osijek music library there is about 500 music numbers signed by the name of Antun Nikolić Tuca.

Discography

Video publications

* Krunoslav Kićo Slabinac and Slavonski bećari for

Croatian Fraternal Union The Croatian Fraternal Union ( hr, Hrvatska bratska zajednica) (CFU), the oldest and largest Croatian organization in North America, is a fraternal benefit society of the Croatian diaspora based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US. History and ...

* I. S. V. Rodna grudo moja – Slavonski bećari, Mirjana Primorac and

Miroslav Škoro Miroslav Škoro (; born 29 July 1962) is a Croatian musician, television host and politician. He is the founder and the first president of the conservative Homeland Movement party, which he established in February 2020 and led until July 2021. As ...

* I. S. V. Slavonski bećari, Mirjana Primorac and KUD Osijek 1862

Discography

* 1970. Blaženka and Pero Nikolin with Radio Osijek's Tamburitza Orchestra – Meni nana za mog diku brani – Otkrit ćemo, diko, tajnu – Dosta mi je momkovanja – Hajd' u kolo (A. Nikolić, Z. Batistuta, A. Nikolić), music producer A. Nikolić Discography – "Bećarac"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1970. Blaženka and Pero Nikolin – Daleko je domovina (Z. Čaćija, Z. Čaćija, A. Nikolić), music producer A. Nikolić Discography – "Daleko je domovina"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1970. Aca Đigunović – Lovačka pjesma (A. Nikolić, A. Đigunović, A. Nikolić), conductor A. Nikolić Discography – "Lovačka pjesma"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1971. Radio Osijek's Tamburitza Orchestra – Slavonijo, zemljo plemenita (Slavonian folk songs and kola, arranger A. Nikolić), conductors A. Nikolić and D. Repar Discography – "Slavonijo, zemljo plemenita"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1972. Zdenko Dobek – Moja seka (B. Mihaljević, B. Mihaljević, A. Nikolić), conductor of Radio Osijek's Tamburitza Orchestra A. Nikolić Discography – "Moja seka"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1973. Blaženka and Pero Nikolin – Daleko sam u tuđini (Z. Čačija, A. Nikolić, Z. Čačija) Discography – "Daleko sam u tuđini"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1973. Blaženka Nikolin – Plakat ću do posljednje suze (arranger A. Nikolić) Discography – "Plakat ću do posljednje suze"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1973. Pero Nikolin – Stare bekrije (lyrics and arrangement for some songs A. Nikolić) Discography – "Stare bekrije"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1975. Matija Pavlović and Radio Osijek's Tamburitza Orchestra under the leadership of Antun Nikolić Tuca – Ej, Baranjo (lyrics and arrangement for some songs A. Nikolić) Discography – "Ej, Baranjo"
Retrieved 12 October 2015.

Discography Slavonski Bećari

* 1973. Krunoslav Kićo Slabinac and Slavonski bećari – Bećarac (arranger A. Nikolić) Discography – "Bećarac"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1974. Krunoslav Kićo Slabinac and Slavonski bećari – Kad čujem tambure / Lijepa moja Slavonija (arranger A. Nikolić) Discography – "Kad čujem tambure"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1975. Krunoslav Kićo Slabinac, Slavonski bećari and Radio Osijek's Tamburitza Orchestra – Hej, bećari (conductor and arranger A. Nikolić) Discography – "Hej, bećari"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1979. Krunoslav Kićo Slabinac – Seoska sam lola (arranger A. Nikolić, K. Slabinac) Discography – "Seoska sam lola"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1984. Krunoslav Kićo Slabinac and tamburitza ensemble Slavonski bećari under leadership of Antun Nikolić Tuca – Svatovac / Svi se momci oženiše (arrangers P. Nikolin i A. Nikolić) Discography – "Svatovac"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1982. Ensemble Slavonski Bećari – Hrvatske Božićne pjesme (arranger A. Nikolić) Discography – "Hrvatske Božićne pjesme"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1983. Slavonski bećari and Mirjana Primorac – Ljubila sam crno oko (arranger and music producer A. Nikolić) Discography – "Ljubila sam crno oko"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1985. Fabijan Šovagović and Slavonski Bećari – Pokraj Karašice (music editor and arranger A. Nikolić) Discographya – "Pokraj Karašice"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * Šima Jovanovac and Slavonski Bećari – Stari Graničari / Pjevat će Slavonija (arranger A. Nikolić) Discography – "Stari Graničari"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1986. Slavonski bećari – Zaplešimo uz tambure (music producer and arranger A. Nikolić) Discography – "Zaplešimo uz tambure"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1988. Slavonski bećari, Mirjana Primorac, Miroslav Škoro and Zdenko Nikšić (arranger A. Nikolić) Discography – "Slavonski bećari"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1992. Ensemble Antuna Nikolića Tuce Slavonski Bećari – Neće snaša tamburaša (music producer and arranger A. Nikolić) Discography – "Neće snaša tamburaša"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1995. Ensemble Antuna Nikolića Tuce Slavonski Bećari (arranger and author of some songs A. Nikolić) Discography – "Ansambl Antuna Nikolića Tuce"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 1998. Slavonski bećari – Baš je bila luda godina (arranger and author of some songs A. Nikolić) Diskografija – "Baš je bila luda godina"
Retrieved 12 October 2015. * 2003. Slavonski bećari – Narodne Božićne pjesme (arranger A. Nikolić) Discography – "Narodne Božićne pjesme"
Retrieved 12 October 2015.

References

External links

"Vukovaru, srećo, dobar dan" Slavonski bećari and Marta Nikolin – official music video

"Sveta Kata bit će snig za vrata" Slavonski bećari – official music video

"Kućo moja na pol šora" Slavonski bećari – official music video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuca, Antun Nikolic Croatian musicians Croatian composers Croatian record producers Living people People from Osijek 1943 births