Branko Mihaljević (

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, 19 January 1931 –

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 ...

, 19 September 2005) was a Croatian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

, 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 as head of the Center of Culture University, which provided adult education. One of the songs which he helped become popular is a children's song ''"Zeko i potočić"''. He also wrote a song ''"Moj Osijek"'' which many people accepted as a town anthem. He wrote more than twenty children's

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s for the Osijek children theatre, now named "Children theatre Branko Mihaljević"), most based on

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

s of Ratko Zvrko. He wrote the first Slavonian

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

''"Slavonska rapsodija"'', which is based on authentic folklore. One of the things for which he will be best remembered is a children's song he wrote in 1954, about a rabbit and a frozen stream, for one of his events which was short of children's songs. The album which includes this song is the bestselling children's album in Croatia, for which he received

Croatia Records Croatia Records is a record label in Croatia owned by AUTOR d.o.o., based in Zagreb. Summary Croatia Records d.d. is a joint-stock company currently led by the chief executive officer Želimir Babogredac, a sound engineer. It releases mostly (but ...

platinum record. As a journalist, he documented the autochthon culture and art of

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

and Baranja, for which he received the "Golden pen of the year" from the

Croatian Journalists' Association The Croatian Journalists' Association ( or HND) is a Croatian association based in Zagreb aimed at promoting freedom of the press and free speech in journalism. The association was founded in December 1910 and has over 3,000 members. It arranges ...

. He also received the Order of Danica Hrvatska with the face of Marko Marulić medal and the Osječko-baranjska županija prize for a life opus in the area of culture. He received "Reward city of Osijek" twice (1962, 1979.) He was buried 21 September 2005. One of his last works was the book, ''"Tragovima osječke glazbe"'', published in 2002, in which, in a nostalgic and warm style, he explores the origins of Osijek musicology. His son, Mario Mihaljević, is a composer of pop-music and a writer, and his grandson Branimir Mihaljević is a singer and composer too.

Works

Main musicals

* ''"Zeko, Zriko i Janje"'', 1958. (one of the most viewed hits from former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

) * ''"Mišić Gricko"'', 1960. * ''"Veliki šumski događaj"'', 1963. * ''"Slavonska rapsodija"'', 1978. * ''"Osječki karusel"''

Songs

* ''"Bijeli sombrero"'' * ''"Davor i harmonika"'' * "''Dok si pored mene"'' * ''"Golubovi"'' * ''"Kada je maca sama"'' * ''"Kauboj i Indijanci"'' * ''"Moj Zagreb"'' * ''"Pjevat će Slavonija"'' * ''"Ti si moj san"'' * ''"Uspavanka Opatiji"'' * ''"Zeko i potočić"''

Sources

Mihaljević, Branko
at hds.hr
Mihaljević, Branko
at hrt.hr {{DEFAULTSORT:Mihaljevic, Branko 1931 births 2005 deaths Croatian composers 20th-century Croatian journalists Burials at Saint Anne Cemetery