Stjepan Šulek was a Croatian composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 and conductor

Conducting

Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

.

Biography

Born in Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

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

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

, and composition

Musical composition

Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...

. In 1936 he received his diploma from the Zagreb Academy of Music. Until 1952 Šulek was an active soloist who gave numerous recitals. He was also an active chamber music

Chamber music

Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...

 performer of the highest level, as he led the Zagreb String Quartet from 1936-38 and was a member of the Maček

Ivo Macek

Ivo Maček was a Croatian pianist.From 1939-45 he performed as part of the Maček-Šulek-Janigro Trio. He taught at the Hochschule für Musik "Franz Liszt", Weimar in Germany.-References:...

-Šulek-Janigro

Antonio Janigro

Antonio Janigro was an Italian cellist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Milan, he began studying piano when he was six and cello when he was eight. Initially taught by Giovanni Berti, Janigro enrolled in the Verdi Conservatory of Milan, where he was instructed by Gilberto Crepax...

 Trio from 1939-45. At the Zagreb Conservatorium, Šulek began teaching violin in 1939, composition in 1948, and orchestration

Orchestration

Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra or of adapting for orchestra music composed for another medium...

 in 1953.

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

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. 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. From 1958-64 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

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

, and Slovenia

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

. Šulek died in Zagreb in 1986.

Symphonies

Symphony

A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...

 

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

Concerto

Concerto

A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...

s

• First Piano Concerto (1949)
• Second Piano Concerto (1952)
• Third Piano Concerto (1970)
• Cello Concerto (1950)
• Violin Concerto (1951)
• Bassoon Concerto (1958)
• Viola Concerto (1959)
• Horn Concerto (1972)
• Sextett (1957)
• Organ Concerto "Memento" (1974)
• Clarinet Concerto (1970)

"Classical concertos" for orchestra

• First Classical Concerto (1944)
• Second Classical Concerto (1952)
• Third Classical Concerto (1957)
• Fourth Classical Concerto (1983)

Sonatas

• 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