Music Maestro Miljenko Prohaska Dies

Renowned Croatian composer, music arranger and orchestra conductor Miljenko Prohaska has died in Zagreb aged 89, reports Croatian Radiotelevision…

Prohaska was known for founding a number of prominent Croatian orchestras, and for his longtime service as the conductor of the Radio Zagreb Dance Orchestra (the present-day Croatian Radiotelevision Big Band Orchestra). Born on 17 September 1925, Prohaska graduated from the Zagreb Music Academy in 1956, and from the mid-1950s until the late 1980s 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 ensembles. Prohaska also conducted orchestras at five Eurovision Song Contests (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.

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).