Miljenko Prohaska
Encyclopedia
Miljenko Prohaska is a notable Croatia
n composer
, music arranger
and orchestra conductor
.
His is mainly known for founding a number of prominent Croatian orchestras and for his longtime service as the conductor of the Radio Zagreb Dance Orchestra (present-day Croatian Radiotelevision
Big Band
Orchestra).
Prohaska first began learning the violin at a children's music school in Zagreb. He went on to enrol at a secondary music school where he was educated as a contrabass
player and graduated in 1951, before continuing his studies at the Zagreb Music Academy
and graduating in 1956 from the music teaching department. Since the mid-1950s until the late 1980s Prohaska was a contrabass player with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio Zagreb Symphony Orchestra, the Yugoslav Radio Orchestra, the Zagreb Jazz Quartet and many other musical ensemble
s. He was also the director of the Zagreb Festival of Popular Music (Zagrebfest) from 1967 to 1969.
In 1989 he retired from playing and became the conductor
of Radio Zagreb's Dance Orchestra. Between 1996 and 1998 he was conductor of the Croatian Army
Big Band. Prohaska also conducted orchestras at five Eurovision Song Contest
s (twice in London
, twice in Dublin ad once in Madrid
), and often performed around the world, including one of his more notable appearances at the 10th Monterey Jazz Festival
in 1967, when he conducted the Don Ellis Orchestra rendition of his compositions. In 1966 Leonard Feather
included him in The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Sixties, and Willis Conover
(the notable jazz broadcaster
on the Voice of America
) dedicated two of his regular programs to Prohaska and his music.
As a composer he is mainly known for his jazz music, but he also made a number of compositions for symphony orchestras, as well as music arrangements for popular Croatian singers such as Josipa Lisac
, Gabi Novak
and Arsen Dedić
. Some of his compositions premiered at the Carnegie Hall
in New York City
and in Paris
and were performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet
, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
and the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra. He also worked as a score composer for a number of television and theatre plays, animated and films, ballets and choirs, and scored fifteen Croatian feature film
s. More recently, Prohaska occasionally works with the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet, the Zagreb Soloists, the Croatian Radiotelevision's Symphony Orchestra and their Big Band, and many others.
He is a longtime member of the Croatian Composers' Society
and had served as its president twice (1967–1968 and 1988–1990). Prohaska won numerous awards for his work, including the Golden Arena for Best Film Music
(1968), the Vladimir Nazor Award
for Life Achievement (1988) and the Porin Award
for Life Achievement (1995).
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n 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...
, music arranger
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
and orchestra 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...
.
His is mainly known for founding a number of prominent Croatian orchestras and for his longtime service as the conductor of the Radio Zagreb Dance Orchestra (present-day Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision
Croatian Radiotelevision is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite...
Big Band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
Orchestra).
Prohaska first began learning the violin at a children's music school in Zagreb. He went on to enrol at a secondary music school where he was educated as a contrabass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
player and graduated in 1951, before continuing his studies at the Zagreb Music Academy
Academy of Music, University of Zagreb
The Academy of Music 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....
and graduating in 1956 from the music teaching department. Since the mid-1950s until the late 1980s Prohaska was a contrabass player with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Radio Zagreb Symphony Orchestra, the Yugoslav Radio Orchestra, the Zagreb Jazz Quartet and many other musical ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
s. He was also the director of the Zagreb Festival of Popular Music (Zagrebfest) from 1967 to 1969.
In 1989 he retired from playing and became the 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...
of Radio Zagreb's Dance Orchestra. Between 1996 and 1998 he was conductor of the Croatian Army
Croatian ground army
The Croatian Army is a branch of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia.The fundamental role and purpose of the Croatian Army is to protect vital national interests of the Republic of Croatia and defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state.Basic tasks of the Croatian Army...
Big Band. Prohaska also conducted orchestras at five Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
s (twice in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, twice in Dublin ad once in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
), and often performed around the world, including one of his more notable appearances at the 10th Monterey Jazz Festival
Monterey Jazz Festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival is one of the longest consecutively running jazz festivals. It debuted on October 3, 1958 and was founded by San Francisco jazz radio broadcaster Jimmy Lyons.-History:...
in 1967, when he conducted the Don Ellis Orchestra rendition of his compositions. In 1966 Leonard Feather
Leonard Feather
Leonard Geoffrey Feather was a British-born jazz pianist, composer, and producer who was best known for his music journalism and other writing.-Biography:...
included him in The Encyclopedia of Jazz in the Sixties, and Willis Conover
Willis Conover
Willis Clark Conover, Jr. was a jazz producer and broadcaster on the Voice of America for over forty years. He produced jazz concerts at the White House, the Newport Jazz Festival, and for movies and television. By arranging concerts where people of all races were welcome, he is credited with...
(the notable jazz broadcaster
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
on the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
) dedicated two of his regular programs to Prohaska and his music.
As a composer he is mainly known for his jazz music, but he also made a number of compositions for symphony orchestras, as well as music arrangements for popular Croatian singers such as Josipa Lisac
Josipa Lisac
Josipa Lisac is an eminent female singer.-Biography:During the 1960s she was a vocalist of the group named Zlatni Akordi...
, Gabi Novak
Gabi Novak
Gabi Novak is a Croatian pop and jazz singer. She became famous in the 1960s.Gabi was born to a Croatian father and a German mother.She is married to Arsen Dedić, a renowned singer-songwriter who also composed many of her songs....
and Arsen Dedić
Arsen Dedic
Arsen Dedić is a Croatian singer-songwriter who has been prominent in the Croatian as well as former Yugoslav music scene. Dedić writes and performs chansons as well as film music...
. Some of his compositions premiered at the Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and were performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet
Modern Jazz Quartet
The Modern Jazz Quartet was established in 1952 by Milt Jackson , John Lewis , Percy Heath , and Kenny Clarke . Connie Kay replaced Clarke in 1955...
, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
As the fifth oldest orchestra in the United States, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has a legacy of fine music making as reflected in its performances in historic Music Hall, recordings, and international tours...
and the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra. He also worked as a score composer for a number of television and theatre plays, animated and films, ballets and choirs, and scored fifteen Croatian feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s. More recently, Prohaska occasionally works with the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet, the Zagreb Soloists, the Croatian Radiotelevision's Symphony Orchestra and their Big Band, and many others.
He is a longtime member of the Croatian Composers' Society
Croatian Composers' Society
Croatian Composers' Society is a professional organization of composers in Croatia.HDS organizes the Music Biennale Zagreb, an international festival of contemporary music, and Zagrebfest, a festival of Croatian popular music....
and had served as its president twice (1967–1968 and 1988–1990). Prohaska won numerous awards for his work, including the Golden Arena for Best Film Music
Golden Arena for Best Film Music
-List of winners:The following is a list of winners of the Golden Arena for Best Film Music at the Pula Film Festival.-Yugoslav competition :-Croatian competition :-External links:* at the Pula Film Festival official website...
(1968), the Vladimir Nazor Award
Vladimir Nazor award
The Vladimir Nazor Award is an annual award given by the Croatian Ministry of Culture to Croatian artists for highest achievements in various artistic fields. It was established in 1959 and is named after the notable writer Vladimir Nazor...
for Life Achievement (1988) and the Porin Award
Porin (music award)
Porin is Croatian music award founded by Croatian Phonographic Association, Croatian Musicians Union, Croatian Radiotelevision and Croatian Composers' Society.-Lifetime Achievement Award:...
for Life Achievement (1995).
External links
- Miljenko Prohaska biography at the Croatian Musicians Union website
- Miljenko Prohaska discography at Diskografija.com