Jovan Šajnović (1924–2004) was a renowned Yugoslavian conductor and

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Education

Šajnović started to study music with eminent Yugoslav musicians - Emil Hajek (piano),

Ljubica Marić Ljubica Marić (Љубица Марић , 18 March 1909 – 17 September 2003) was a composer from Yugoslavia. She was a pupil of Josip Štolcer-Slavenski. She was known for being inspired by Byzantine Empire, Byzantine Eastern Orthodox Church, O ...

( composing) and Mihajlo Vukdragović ( conducting). In 1946, he went to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

, in order to continue his musical training with famous conductor from

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

- Fritz Zaun. He graduated from the Zagreb Academy of Music, Croatia,

SFRY The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II in Yugoslavia, World War II, and ...

, where he studied conducting,

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

, and piano. While there, he studied with professors Fritz Zaun, S. Šulek and I. Maček.

Conducting career

Šajnović started his career in

Zagreb Opera The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb ( hr, Hrvatsko narodno kazalište u Zagrebu), commonly referred to as HNK Zagreb, is a theatre, opera and ballet house located in Zagreb. Overview The theatre evolved out of the first city theatre opened ...

, as an accompanist. Later, he continued his engagement as an opera conductor and was finally appointed the director of Opera (1974–1979). After 37 years spent in Zagreb Opera, he went back to Belgrade, where was conductor and director of the

Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra ( sr, Београдска филхармонија, Beogradska filharmonija) is an orchestra located in Belgrade, Serbia. It is regularly considered one of the finest in the country. History Unlike most Eur ...

(1984–1989) and

Belgrade Opera The National Theatre ( sr-cyr, Народно позориште, Narodno pozorište) is a theatre located in Belgrade, Serbia. Founded in the later half of the 19th century, it is located on the Republic Square, at the corner of Vasina and Fra ...

(1993–1997). Additionally, he performed and recorded as a guest conductor with many orchestras in Yugoslavia and abroad (Vienna, Dublin, Mexico City, etc.) He was esteemed especially as the interpreter of the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s of Mozart,

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, '' Carmen'', which has become o ...

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

, R. Strauss, Smetana and Devčić. He also frequently performed compositions by

Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germa ...

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

, Max Reger and

Shostakovitch Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

Teaching career

Šajnović was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

Studio at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

, Professor of Conducting and Chief of the Department of Conducting at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, and Professor of Conducting, Orchestration and

Aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

at the University of Priština Faculty of Arts. On

Vidovdan Vidovdan ( sr-cyr, Видовдан, lit. "Saint Vitus Day") is a Serbian national and religious holiday, a ''slava'' (feast day) celebrated on 28 June (Gregorian calendar), or 15 June according to the Julian calendar. The Serbian Church desi ...

2004, he was rewarded the Distinguished Professor Award by the Chancellor of the University of Priština.

References

''Danas'', November 24, 2004

''Glas javnosti'', June 3, 2004
* ''Jedinstvo'', July 5, 2004, p. 4 * ''Muzička enciklopedija'', III (1977), Jugoslovenski leksikografski zavod, Zagreb * ''Pedeset godina Fakulteta muzičke umetnosti (Muzičke akademije) 1937-1987'' (1988), Univerzitet umetnosti u Beogradu, Beograd 1924 births 2004 deaths Musicians from Belgrade Yugoslav conductors (music) University of Pristina faculty University of Arts in Belgrade faculty 20th-century conductors (music) {{Serbia-conductor-stub