Mihailo Živanović (17 February 1928 – 18 July 1989), known as Mika-Žuti (Yellow), was a prominent and one of the most inventive and best Serbian and Yugoslav

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

ist, saxophonist, a very prolific composer, conductor of RTB Light Music Orchestras and arranger.

Biography

Mihailo Mika Živanović - Žuti (Yellow) was born in Prota Mateja street in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in 1928. His first contact with music, dating back to the 1936, was when the father of an eight-year-old Mika enrolled him in primary music school ''Stanković'' where he was first taught to play the piano. The year 1942 was crucial in his life because, upon hearing the sound of the

through Radio London, he realized that this was what he wanted. And since then, fascinated by the beauty of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

, he had regularly visited Concert Hall in Belgrade and listened to jazz concerts of then our masters (Elija Genić, Mladen Guteša, Vojin Popović and others), as well as of the foreign performers (Kari Burnett, German singer). Mihailo attended the Third Male Grammar School and Secondary Music School "Stankovic", the piano department. He then enrolled at the Faculty of Sciences in Belgrade, department of chemistry, and left it for the music before graduation. After the war, in 1945, Mihailo continued to learn the piano in Secondary Music School "Stanković". The biggest turning point in his life happened in 1946 when he saw and bought his first clarinet in a consignment shop. Since he had possessed a good knowledge of music, he began to practice day and night, this time – clarinet. At the age of eighteen, inspired by the music of

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

and

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

Orchestra, he made a firm decision to devote his life to the clarinet and music and graduated the clarinet from Secondary Music School "Slavenski" in the class of professor Franjo Partlić.

Work with the orchestra Fis-dur

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

was very appealing to Mihailo Živanović. Accomplishing himself in this field, in 1946 he formed a

jazz orchestra A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

''Fis-dur'' which he named after his clarinet Fis-dur. The orchestra was led by Michael himself. Due to the quality, the orchestra had very soon become one of the most famous in Belgrade. The first members of the orchestra were: Milo Dimitrijević (guitar), Duško Radić (piano), Stanislav Sodermajer (drums) and Mihailo Živanović (

). Anxious to learn and progress further in music in 1946. he continued to study clarinet at the ''Allmusic Academy'' where he met Eduard Sađil, also a student of clarinet. Orchestra ''Fis-dur'' achieved success after success: performances, tours, great delight and standing ovations of the satisfied

audience An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...

. In the year 1947, there was a large change in the orchestra with the new top musicians: Predrag Ivanović (trumpet), dr Aleksandar Pejić (

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

), Milovan Vukajlović-Genije (piano and accordion), Predrag Stefanović-Grof (-Count)(

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

) and Branko Pejaković (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

). Only Sodermajer and Živanović remained of the old members. Significant, almost crucial meeting with Bora Roković (a trumpeter, composer, arranger, pianist and

accordionist Accordions (from 19th-century German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed in a frame). The es ...

) occurred while playing at a dance party in 1949. Bora heard him and was impressed by his talent. He wanted to help Mihajlo, introduce him more and better into the world of jazz and direct him to the true value. He offered him to join his orchestra. Živanović played there until the end of 1953. Soon he was invited by Aleksandar Nećak and played in all three orchestras at the same time. Orchestra ''Fis-dur'' existed until 1950.

Work in Radio Belgrade Revue Orchestra

Well-known trombonist Mladen Guteša founded Radio Belgrade Light Revue Orchestra on 18 January 1948. By the end of 1949. he invited Mihailo Živanović to become its member. Mihajlo was then a student of the ''Music Academy'' in the class of renowned professor

Bruno Brun Bruno Brun (1910–1978) was a Yugoslav clarinetist and professor at the Belgrade Music Academy. Education Brun was born in Hrastnik, Austro-Hungary, now Slovenia. He graduated from the Belgrade Music Academy in 1945 and continued his educatio ...

. For such a work and permanent employment, he had to get permission from his professor. Professor Bruno gave him consent. In the

Revue Orchestra A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own durin ...

Mihailo first played the

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

, and then the instrument which he had been studying – the clarinet. Radio Belgrade Revue Orchestra had many successful tours and concerts. One in

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 ...

in 1953, which proved that

was the center of Yugoslav

. Before the end of the study in 1954, persuaded by professors from the Academy, he left Radio Belgrade Revue Orchestra and got a job in the National Theatre Orchestra (

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

) where he worked four years (until 1958). As a student at the Academy he achieved a remarkable success in the ''Yugoslav competition of young artists'', clarinetist of classical music, in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

in 1954. There he won the second prize (the first was not awarded to anyone). In 1955 he graduated clarinet successfully.

Work in Mihailo Zivanovic's octet

In 1955 Zivanovic founded ''Mihailo Zivanovic's Octet'' in which he played the

. Alongside him, Predrag Ivanović played the trumpet, Nikola Dajzinger the alt saxophone, Eduard Sađil the

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

, Predrag Stefanović the

, Vojkan Đonovićić the guitar, Robert Hauber the piano and Rade Milivojević the drums. Octet had been performing for 10 years with great success on radio stations in the country and abroad. It soon became one of the leading Yugoslav ensembles for contemporary and experimental jazz music.

Further life

Since 1958 almost to the last days of his life, he had been employed by the ''Music Production branch of Radio Television of Serbia''. That same year he became a permanent member of the Light String Orchestra led by Ilija Genić and later a conductor of the Jazz Orchestra i Revue Orchestra of Radio Television Belgrade. In 1960 he became a member of ''Serbian Composers Association''. In 1975 he was appointed head of the ''Light Ensemble of RTB'', and since 1978 permanent conductor of the ''Light Orchestra of RTB'' until his death in Belgrade.

Importance of Mihailo Zivanovic

Mihailo Živanović was a very prolific composer. He wrote children's and stage music, popular

songs A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usuall ...

, pop songs, and concert music, as well as numerous compositions and arrangements for the Yugoslav radio and TV stations. He continuously followed the developments in the world of

and

light music Light music is a less-serious form of Western classical music, which originated in the 18th and 19th centuries and continues today. Its heyday was in the mid‑20th century. The style is through-composed, usually shorter orchestral pieces and ...

and was always in the contemporary musical trends of his time. Over forty years, he extensively composed different

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

s of music with a great success. He wrote over 300

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

, light, and vocal-instrumental compositions. Until then, only foreign jazz music was played by Belgrade jazz orchestras. Živanović was one of the first jazz musicians who began to compose modern domestic jazz, and which he engaged in with a great enthusiasm. Živanović enriched Yugoslav light and jazz music with his great knowledge and activity, working up to the last day. Živanović's many achievements have been permanently recorded in the history of Yugoslav jazz creativity. He wrote the music and scene songs for the then popular singers such as: Arsen Dedić, Nada Knežević, Lola Novaković, Bisera and Senka Veletanlić, Anica Zubović, Dragan Stojnić, Tihomir Petrović, “Lutajuća srca”, Đorđe Marjanović, Zafir Hadžimanov, Krunoslav Slabinac, Dragan Mijalkovski and many others. He was one of the most prolific creators of music for children. At a time when intensively engaged in the instrument, he was known as one of the most inventive and best soloist on the

and

. He performed in concerts at home and abroad with a great success (Germany,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, US). As a soloist, he represented his country at the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

concert in the series "Music knows no boundaries". At the Light Music Festivals Mihailo appeared as a conductor. He was the conductor of the RTB Light Music Orchestra and the first clarinetist of Belgrade RTV Symphonic Orchestra. Mihailo was proficient in making arrangements and in this field left his great contribution and indelible mark.

Work of Mihailo Zivanovic

Mihailo Mika Živanović began composing in 1950. His creative work is enormous:

Vocal-instrumental light melodies

These works include: * "Waiting" * "If We Were Someone Else’s" (Nada Knežević) * "Old Oak" and "Traces"(Krunoslav-Kićo Slabinac) * "Do Not Lie" (Dušan Jakšić) * "Meeting in the Baš-čaršija" * "Don’t you Know that I Love You" * "Give me a Smile" * "When will You Come to Me" * "I’m Calling You, my Love" * "One Afternoon" * "One Night" (Dragan Stojnić) * "Anxiety" * "When are You Going to Tell Me You Love Me" * "May" * "Our Last Evening" * "The Story of Seville" * "I Am Waiting" * "Not Now" (''Belgrade Spring'', Arsen Dedić) * "Spring Day" * "Come When the Winter’s Gone" (Bisera Veletanlić) * "It’s Not a Dream"

Instrumental chamber music

These works include: * "Cat Game" * "Orient" * "Five Giants" * "Midnight Sounds" * "Crossroads" * "The Merry Five" (music for an instrumental

octet Octet may refer to: Music * Octet (music), ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble ** String octet, a piece of music written for eight string instruments *** Octet (Mendelssohn), 1825 compo ...

)

Musical stagework

These works include: * Music for ballet of old American

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

"Frankie and Johnny" for ''Belgrade Contemporary Theatre'' in 1962 * Ballet Suite "Biljana" in 1963 * Ballet number for musical play "Betina" for ''Contemporary Theatre'' * Ballet music for Sava Mrmak's

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

"Whistle at Eight". For this first show in our film he composed two ballet numbers: :1. "Vespa" and 2. "Amusement Park" * Music for the play "Anti-aging Remedy"

Symphonic music with soloist

These works include: * "Fantasy for Clarinet and Orchestra" * "Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra" * "The part in F minor for Clarinet and Orchestra" * "Sketches for Clarinet" * "Nostalgy" * "You're Always Smiling" * "Blues for Clarinet". With his composition Živanović represented the country at the concert "Jazz in the Elysian Fields" in

* "Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and Symphony Orchestra" he wrote in 1965 for television. The same year, it was performed at the NORD SEE Festival in

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

(

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

). * "

Ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

for Alto Saxophone" * "

Invention An invention is a unique or novelty (patent), novel machine, device, Method_(patent), method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It m ...

for Alto Saxophone". * "Ballad for Harmonica".

Musical works for the standard jazz orchestra

These works include: * "Abandoned Garden" * "The Spring Landscape" * "Salome" * "Merry Rhythm" * "Song" * "Miniature" * "And so Every Day" * "Dreams" * "Sutivan Nights"

Children's songs

Mihajlo Živanović was a composer who had written the most songs for children on the theme of

friendship Friendship is a Interpersonal relationship, relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. Althoug ...

and camaraderie. * "Hand in Hand" and "Empire of the Fellowship" are certainly the best known of that cycle. These, and other songs were sung by RTB Children's Choir, Branko Milićević, Predrag Panić and Dragan Laković.

Music for television series

The last 10 years of life, he was a regular collaborator of the Children's Television. He had composed music for children's TV series like: * "Cube, Cube, Little Cube" * "Kolaric Panic" * "Around the World in Eight Notes" * "Cricket’s Album" * "Guess" ("Cricket’s Album" and "Guess" are children's compositions too, were recorded on

gramophone A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physic ...

records by PGP and on a dozen different records there are compositions interpreted by the popular singers of the time.) For the Belgrade television show * "Race", Živanović composed ballet suite "Biljana was Whitening the Linen" based on the motives of the eponymous

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

. This is one of the first attempts in our country to use popular melodies for writing music for ballet.

Recognition and awards

Mihailo Živanović won numerous awards in the field of art. Some of them were: * The first award of the Critics’ jury and the second award of the Jury for light melody "Clock’s Story" at the Festival of Light Melodies in Opatija in 1959. *The second award for light orchestral music of Yugoslav Radio Television for his work "Rhapsody for Clarinet and Orchestra" in 1961. *The second award of the jury at the Belgrade Spring Festival 1961 for "Rhapsody for Clarinet and Symphony Orchestra" (the first prize was not awarded). Plaketa grada Beograda

*The first award for the "Rhapsody for Clarinet" at the JRT competition for light orchestral music in 1974. *The first award in Radenci (

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

) for the "Sketch for Clarinet". *Numerous awards of jury and audience at various festivals: the Belgrade Spring 1968, 1972, 1973, and the award for the best arrangement of romance in 1974. *Numerous awards at the JNA festivals in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1982 (the first award for a song inspired by military life at the Army festival. The song "Old Oak" was sung by Krunoslav-Kićo Slabinac, and the first award for the song "Fly, Fly, Blue Bird" on 21 December 1984). *Award of Radio Belgrade and JRT for children's music. *Award in Japan for child's song "Raindrops". *He was awarded Order of Labour with silver wreath. *The second award (the first was not awarded) at the Yugoslav Young Artists Competition,

in 1954. *For his activity in the music field he was awarded Order of Labour with silver wreath. *Award of Serbian Composers Association. *The first award in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

as soloist on clarinet for performing

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

"Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra". He was accompanied by the jazz orchestra of KUD ''Branko Krsmanovic''. *The first award of Serbian Composers Association for "Fantasia" composed for

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

orchestra (composer's favorite award). *Radio Belgrade "News" was tuned with the new music that had been selected at the internal competition. Mihailo Živanović was the author of the music. Its rhythmic movement basically imitated operation of a

teleprinter A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point and point- ...

. *Recipient of the Memorial plaque "Belgrade 1944–1984" to mark the 40th Anniversary of the liberation of

. Belgrade City Council awarded him this recognition on 25 December 1984. as an eminent individual – artist important for the development of Belgrade. *Gold Medal of the Union of Yugoslav Composers in recognition of merit and work on promoting and affirming Yugoslav composers. * Plaque of Radio Belgrade regarding the Day of RTB for longtime contribution to programs of Radio Belgrade, 1 November 1986.

Literature

*''Twenty-five years of the Music Academy in Belgrade from 1937 to 1962'', Grafos, Belgrade, 1963, p 107. *''40 years of the Faculty of Music (Music Academy) from 1937 to 1977'', University of Arts in Belgrade, Belgrade, 1977, p 89. *''Fifty years of the Faculty of Music (Music Academy) from 1937 to 1987'', University of Arts in Belgrade, Belgrade, 1988, p 141. *Eberst, Anton: '' Clarinet and clarinetists'', Forum, Novi Sad, 1963. *''Lexicon of Yugoslav music'', Zagreb, 1984, vol. II, p 569. *Petar Luković ''Better Past'', Scenes from the musical life of Yugoslavia from 1940 to 1989, Youth, Belgrade, 1989, p. 9, 16, 18, 21, 22, 26, 35 and 36.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zivanovic, Mihailo 1928 births 1989 deaths Serbian classical musicians Serbian jazz musicians Serbian clarinetists Yugoslav musicians Serbian saxophonists Serbian songwriters Musicians from Belgrade 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century saxophonists