MRS for the Croatian Musical Heritage

23.11.2021.

Many people know the outstanding work of the Music Information Centre of the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall: the promotion of Croatian music, particularly in music publication and the assembly and distribution of information about Croatian musical life. But few know that MIC, thanks to support of the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia and the City of Zagreb is a real MRS or Music (Mountain) Rescue Service. For many years now, the music rescue service, MIC, has attempted in every possible way to trace and preserve the musical heritage. MIC manages to find works of Croatian composers, particularly thanks to the dedicated work of the ardent musicologist Dr Davor Merkaš, sometimes in the one and only manuscript example, in some damp old garage or dusty and dilapidated attic – and save them from oblivion and decay. One of the rescue actions of MIC was initiated in order to look after the legacy of the brilliant Croatian composer and conductor Miro Belamarić. This involved successful collaboration with the Music Academy of Zagreb University, the National and University library and particularly with the maestro’s heir, his nephew Mihjalo Jelisavčić. Mr Jelisavčić enabled the return of valuable manuscripts from Vienna to Zagreb, their temporary housing in the Music Information Centre where the autographs of Belamarić’s compositions, including the very valuable operas Love of Don Perlimplin and Tales from the Vienna Woods, were carefully listed and digitalised, after which they found a lasting home in the National and University Library. MIC organised another successful rescue in association with Ms Jasmina Miletić, daughter of the outstanding Croatian composer Miroslav Miletić. The rich, diverse and artistically very valuable oeuvre of Miroslav Miletić with several hundreds of the composer’s compositions has been carefully examined, arranged and listed, and after that carefully digitalised and finally handed over to the National Library. In view of the condition of the Croatian music heritage, we are sure that the MIC CHVL will go one proving, through similar projects and undertakings, its outstanding value as a real rescue service, finding, collecting, storing and through its sheet music publications bringing back to life many valuable and classic works of Croatian music!