Milenko Stefanović

Milenko Stefanović (February 19, 1930 – July 25, 2022) was the most famous Serbian  classical and jazz clarinet player –  soloist, former Principal Clarinetist of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and Professor at the Josip Slavenski School of Music, University of Pristina and University of the Arts in Belgrade.

Education
Stefanovic began his music study  at the age of five.  He graduated and completed his postgraduate studies from the Belgrade Conservatory. His major teacher was Professor Bruno Brun, the founder of modern Serbian school of clarinet playing. He also studied chamber music and orchestral playing in Salzburg, Austria, in the class of Igor Markevich, Erich Leinsdorf and Fernand Oubradous.

Awards

Contests
Stefanovic  was a top-prize winner or finalist in the major Yugoslavian and international competitions, including the competitions in Sarajevo (1952), Skopje (1954), Ljubljana (1956), Moscow (1957), Munich (1957), Geneva (1957) and Prague (1959). 

He was also honored with the Award of the Yugoslavian Radio-Television (Ohrid, 1972), awards of the City of Belgrade for the best concert in the previous concert season (1976, 1981, 1986), as well as with 7th July Award (1962), the state’s highest award for the arts.

State awards
In 2007, upon recommendation of the Expert Committee of the  Ministry of Culture, he was awarded Special Acknowledgement for the Highest Contribution to the National Culture of the Republic of Serbia. In 2010 the Association of Musical Artists of Serbia awarded him with The Lifetime Achievement Award.

Performance career
During his long career, Stefanovic performed throughout  Europe, Africa and North America. Stefanovic recorded for the leading radio and television stations in the country and abroad: United Kingdom, Italy, France, USSR, Germany, etc. As a soloist, member of various chamber groups and orchestras, he worked with  distinguished Yugoslavian and international artists, including Anton Nanut and many others. 

He was one of the few artists honored to perform  Copland’s Clarinet Concerto under the baton of Maestro Aaron Copland (1961). 

He was a long-time principal clarinetist of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra (1954-1976). 

Stefanovic  also played jazz – as a soloist and member of  the Belgrade Jazz Trio and Markicevic Quintet.

He has a number of personally dedicated clarinet works by prominent Yugoslavian composers: Dejan Despic, Aleksandar Obradovic, Petar Bergamo, Dusan Radic, Petar Ozgijan, Miodrag Ilic. 

Stefanovic was the chair of the committee in numerous Yugoslavian and international competitions.

Compositions
Stefanovic wrote numerous jazz compositions and some film music.

Teaching career

He taught at the Josip Slavenski School of Music, University of Pristina and University of the Arts in Belgrade. His former students hold teaching positions in music schools and universities and play in orchestras in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Stefanovic wrote several textbooks for the clarinet students.

He served as the Vice-Chancellor and member of the Board of Trustees of the University of the Arts in Belgrade.

Affiliations
Stefanovic is an honorary member and former president of the Association of Musical Artists of Serbia.

Death
Stefanović died on 25 July 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia, aged 92.

References

Other websites 
Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra
Association of Musical Artists of Serbia 
The Faculty of Arts of Priština 
The Music Teacher's List
       Clarinet Teachers
Faculty of Music in Belgrade
School of Music Josip Slavenski

1930 births
2022 deaths
Serbian classical musicians
Serbian jazz musicians
Clarinetists
Yugoslavian musicians
Musicians from Belgrade