Miljenko Prohaska

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Miljenko Prohaska (17 September 1925 – 29 May 2014) was a Croatian composer, music arranger and orchestra conductor, and a respected double-bass player. Born in Zagreb, he began with the violin as a child, later studied the contrabass and graduated from the Zagreb Music Academy in 1956. From the 1950s to the 1980s he played bass with major Croatian and Yugoslav ensembles and helped found several prominent Croatian orchestras. He also directed the Zagreb Festival of Popular Music (Zagrebfest) from 1967 to 1969.

In 1989 he stopped performing and became the conductor of Radio Zagreb’s Dance Orchestra, a role he held for many years. He also conducted the Croatian Army Big Band from 1996 to 1998. Prohaska conducted at five Eurovision Song Contests and appeared worldwide, including a notable 1967 Monterey Jazz Festival performance with the Don Ellis Orchestra playing his compositions.

Recognized by jazz historians, he was featured in jazz references and celebrated by broadcasters such as Willis Conover. As a composer, he focused on jazz but also wrote for symphony orchestras and created arrangements for Croatian singers like Josipa Lisac, Gabi Novak and Arsen Dedić. Some works premiered at Carnegie Hall and in Paris, performed by groups such as the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra. He scored music for television, theatre, films, ballets and choirs, including fifteen Croatian feature films.

Later in his career he worked with the Zagreb Saxophone Quartet, the Zagreb Soloists, and the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra and Big Band. He served twice as president of the Croatian Composers’ Society (1967–1968 and 1988–1990). His awards include the Golden Arena for Best Film Music (1968), the Vladimir Nazor Award for Life Achievement (1988) and the Porin Award for Life Achievement (1995). Miljenko Prohaska passed away in Zagreb in 2014 at the age of 88.