Stjepan Šulek (5 August 1914 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 ...

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– 16 January 1986 in Zagreb,

SR Croatia The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), commonly abbreviated as SR Croatia and referred to as simply Croatia, was a ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

) 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 ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, violinist and music teacher.

Biography

Born in

in 1914, Šulek began his music study very early by learning

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, and

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 ...

. In 1936 he received his diploma from the

Zagreb Academy of Music The Academy of Music ( or MUZA) is a Croatian music school based in Zagreb. It is one of the three art academies affiliated with the University of Zagreb, along with the Academy of Dramatic Art and the Academy of Fine Arts. It is the oldest an ...

, where he studied violin with Vaclav Huml (1880–1953) and composition with Blagoje Bersa (1873–1934), the founder of Croatian modern music movements. Until 1952 Šulek was an active soloist who gave numerous recitals. He was also an active

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

performer of the highest level, as he was the first violin of the Zagreb String Quartet from 1936 to 1938 and was a member of the Maček-Šulek- Janigro Trio from 1939 to 1945. At the Zagreb Conservatorium, Šulek began teaching violin in 1939, composition in 1948, and

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

in 1953. His works were played on a national and international level beginning in 1945 in

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South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Šulek became a corresponding member of the Croatian Academy of the Arts and Sciences in 1948 and an official member and secretary of the Department of Music for the academy in 1954. He launched a successful conducting career in building up an international reputation for the Chamber Orchestra of the Zagreb (now Croatian) Radio and Television. From 1958 to 1964 he was the principal conductor of both the chamber and symphony orchestras of Zagreb and undertook numerous European tours with these orchestras. He was frequently invited to be a guest conductor for the symphony orchestras of Zagreb,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. In his teaching career, Šulek was a distinguished professor of musical composition and mentor of many leading Croatian composers. his students including

Milko Kelemen Milko Kelemen (30 March 1924 – 8 March 2018) was a Croatian composer. Life Milko Kelemen was born in Slatina, Croatia (then Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). He studied under Stjepan Šulek in Zagreb, under Olivier Messiaen in Paris ...

, Stanko Horvat, Krešimir Šipuš, Sandro Zaninović, Pavle Dešpalj, Dubravko Detoni,

Igor Kuljerić Igor Kuljerić (February 1, 1938 – April 20, 2006) was an important Croatian composer and conductor. His large opus followed the stylistic changes and evolutions of 20th and 21st century music. Biography Born in the coastal city of Šibenik ...

etc. Šulek died in Zagreb in 1986.

Compositions

Symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

* First Symphony (1944) * Second Symphony, "Eroica" (1946) * Third Symphony (1948) * Fourth Symphony (1954) * Fifth Symphony (1964) * Sixth Symphony (1966) * Seventh Symphony (1979) * Eighth Symphony (1981) * Epitaf (1971) * Runke (1972)

Concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...
s

* First Piano Concerto (1949) * Second Piano Concerto (1952) * Third Piano Concerto (1970) * Cello Concerto (1950) * Violin Concerto in D minor (1951) * Bassoon Concerto (1958) * Viola Concerto (1959) * Horn Concerto (1972) * Organ Concerto "Memento" (1974) * Clarinet Concerto (1970)

"Classical Concertos"

* First Classical Concerto, for orchestra (1944) * Second Classical Concerto, for strings (1952) * Third Classical Concerto, for strings (1957) * Fourth Classical Concerto, for orchestra (1983)

Sonatas In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the Music history, history of music, designating a variety of ...

* First Piano Sonata (1947) * Second Piano Sonata (1978) * Third Piano Sonata (1980) * Sonata for Trombone and Piano "Vox Gabrieli" (1973) * Sonata for Cello and Piano (1974) * Sonata for Violin and Piano

Chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

* Ten string quartets * Piano Sextet (1957)

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
s

* Koriolan (1957) * Oluja (Storm) (1969)

Ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
s

* De Veritate (1977)

Choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

* Bašćanska ploča (Bašhka Stone Etchings) (1980)

Cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
s

* Zadnji Adam (the Last Adam) (1964)

Song cycle A song cycle () is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a combinat ...
s

* Singing of the Dead Poet (1970) * Strah (Fear) (1975)

Guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* The Troubadours Three **I. Melancholy **II. Sonnet **III. Celebration

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sulek, Stjepan 1914 births 1986 deaths Croatian opera composers Vladimir Nazor Award winners Academy of Music, University of Zagreb alumni Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery 20th-century Croatian classical composers 20th-century male composers Croatian male classical composers 20th-century male musicians Yugoslav musicians