Stevan Hristić

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stevan Hristić (1885-1958)
Enlarge
Stevan Hristić (1885-1958)

Stevan Hristić (June 19, 1885-August 21, 1958), was the most popular Serbian composer of the first half of the 20th century, remembered best for his technically cultivated compositions in the Neoromanticist, veristic, and Romanticist-Impressionist styles.

Contents

[edit] Biography

He conducted his primary studies in Leipzig, but also in Moscow, Paris and Rome before the First World War. He had an expert knowledge of both the European musical style and of Serbian national music (especially the works of Mokranjac). Because of this, he created a distinct style that was a mix of folkloric, Late Romantic and Impressionist elements in both melody and harmony.

His greatest contribution to the cultural life in Serbia is the founding of the Belgrade Philharmonics. He was also the Opera director of the Belgrade Opera in 1924 - 1935, and in 1937, one of the founding professors of the Musical Academy. After the Second World War, in 1945, he was a co-founder of the League of Composeres of Serbia, also servin as one of its first presidents. He was also the first president of the Alliance of Composers of Yugoslavia, founded in 1950. Since 1950 he was a casual member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

In 1907, he created the stage music for "Čučuk Stana". He continued writing solo poems, a few choir works and two major works - the "Symphonic fantasy for violin and orchestra" and "Rapsody for violin and piano". His most important creations are "Resurrection", the first Serbian Oratorio; "Opelo in b minor" (a Serbian Orthodox Requiem); and the Ballet "Ohridska legenda" (The Legend of Ohrid)", his most famous work.

One of his greater contributions is a Ballet scene of Opera "Suton" from 1958 which he wrote while he was a guest in Moscow.

[edit] Famous Works

[edit] Oratorio

  • Resurrection (1912)

[edit] Ballet

  • The Legend of Ohrid (1947)

[edit] Opera

[edit] References