Josip Štolcer-Slavenski (Čakovec, Croatia, then Austro-Hungary 11 May 1896 - Belgrade, Serbia, then Yugoslavia 30 November 1955) was a Yugoslav composer (ethnic Croat) and professor at the Music Academy in Belgrade.
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He was born in Čakovec, Austria-Hungary (present day Croatia) into the Štolcer family. Here he attended elementary school but later studied music in the class of Zoltán Kodály in Budapest and Vítězslav Novák in Prague. He also studied in Paris, France.
Štolcer started his career as a music teacher in Zagreb in 1923 but soon, in 1924, he moved to Belgrade. Like another Yugoslav composer, Jakov Gotovac, he was a Pan-slavic and Yugoslav national romantic whose work was strongly influenced by regional and national heritage. The sounds of home, its own history and heritage were in his works masterfully expressed new sequence of universal time. He observed the sound heritage of the cultures of the east, hoping to find the environments unchanged by the influence of the modern world. Josip Štolcer's Memorial Collection, established in 1965 in Belgrade contains original manuscripts and scores, tapes and records, as well as numerous other objects and musical instruments from the composer's home. Several music schools in Serbia and Croatia were named after him.
His best works are incorporated in a symphony named Simfonija Orienta (Symphony of the Orient) for soloists, choir and orchestra as well as in another symphony Balkanofonija (Symphony of the Balkans). Further he composed numerous piano works, violin sonatas, string quartets, and solos; his best-known choir songs are Voda zvira and Romarska.
Štolcer-Slavenski lived in Belgrade until his death in 1955.
