Isidora Žebeljan facts for kids

Isidora Žebeljan (born September 27, 1967 – died September 29, 2020) was a famous Serbian composer and conductor. A composer writes music, and a conductor leads an orchestra or choir. She taught composition at the Belgrade Music Academy and was a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, which is a very important group for smart people in Serbia.

Isidora won many awards for her amazing music, including the Stevan Mokranjac National Music Award in 2004.

About Isidora Žebeljan

Isidora Žebeljan studied how to compose music at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. Her teacher, Vlastimir Trajković, was a student of a very famous French composer named Olivier Messiaen. From 2002, Isidora became a professor herself, teaching others how to compose music at the same university.

Her Awards and Recognition

Isidora's musical work earned her many important awards in her home country. In 2004, she received the Mokranjac Award. She also won a special fellowship from the New York Civitella Ranieri Foundation in 2005, which helps artists and writers.

In 2006, she was chosen to be part of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. This is a big honor, and she became a full member in 2012. The same year, she was also elected to the World Academy of Art and Science (WAAS), which is a global group of smart people. In 2014, she received an award from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean for her achievements in art.

International Success

Isidora became known around the world for her opera called Zora D. An opera is like a play where most of the words are sung. This opera was asked for by the Genesis Foundation in London. It was first performed in Amsterdam in 2003 and later opened the 50th season of the Vienna Chamber Opera.

Many important groups and festivals asked Isidora to create music for them. These included:

• The Venice Biennale, a big art festival in Italy.
• The Bregenz Festival in Austria, where she created an opera called The Marathon.
• The Genesis Foundation in London, for an art exhibition by Bill Viola.
• The University of Kent in the UK.
• The International Horn Society, for musicians who play the French horn.
• The Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, Italy.
• The City of London Festival.

Performing Her Music

Isidora wrote music for many famous musical groups. Some of these included the Wiener Symphoniker, The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the Brodsky Quartet, and the Berlin Philharmonic Octet. Her music was played all over Europe, in Israel, the USA, and Asia at many festivals.

Famous musicians and conductors also performed her music. These included conductors like Paul Daniel and Claudio Scimone, pianists Kyoko Hashimoto and Aleksandar Madžar, and horn player Stefan Dohr.

Music for Theatre and Film

Isidora was also well-known for writing music for plays and movies. She created music for more than thirty theatre shows in Serbia and other countries. She won the Sterija Award three times for her theatre music. She also won the Yustat Biennial of Stage Design Award four times for the best theatre music.

She helped with music for several famous films, including Time of the Gypsies, Arizona Dream, and Underground, all directed by Emir Kusturica. She also worked on La Reine Margot and The Serpent's Kiss. Isidora also composed the music for the film How I was Stolen by the Germans, for which she won awards at film festivals.

Conductor and Pianist

Isidora Žebeljan often performed her own music. She would conduct orchestras and play the piano. She conducted concerts in London with The Academy of St Martin in the Fields and in Amsterdam. She also played the piano with the Brodsky Quartet.

Isidora passed away on September 29, 2020, in Belgrade, Serbia.

Her Music Recordings

Several of Isidora's musical works have been released on CDs. In 2012, a German company called Classic Produktion Osnabrück (CPO) released a CD of her orchestral music. The Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra played on this CD.

In 2015, CPO released another CD with her chamber music for strings, played by the Brodsky Quartet. Another CD called Balkan Bolero was released in 2013, featuring her chamber music for wind instruments. Other companies like Deutsche Grammophon and Chandos Records also released CDs with Isidora Žebeljan's music.

Important Musical Works

Isidora Žebeljan's music is published by Ricordi-Universal, a major music publisher.

Key Compositions

Isidora wrote many different types of music. Here are some of her most important works:

• Operas: Zora D, The Marathon, Simon, the Chosen, Two Heads and a Girl, and Simon the Foundling.
• Orchestral Music: Pieces for a full orchestra like The Horses of Saint Mark and Hum away, hum away strings.
• Music with Soloists: Works for an orchestra with a single instrument or singer, such as Rukoveti for soprano and orchestra, and Dance of the Wooden Sticks for French horn and string orchestra.
• Chamber Music: Music for smaller groups of instruments, like Song of a Traveller in the Night for clarinet and string quartet, and Needle Soup for an octet (eight instruments).
• Vocal Music: Pieces for singers, including Latum lalo for mixed choir and When God created Dubrovnik for mezzo-soprano and string quartet.
• Piano Music: Works just for the piano, like Umbra and Il Circo.

Awards and Honors

Isidora Žebeljan received many awards throughout her life for her amazing contributions to music:

• 2014: Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean Award for her artistic achievements.
• 2014: Musica Classica Magazine Award for best composer of the year.
• 2012: Became a full member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
• 2011: Award for best original music at the Sopot Film Festival for the movie How I was Stolen by the Germans.
• 2010: Belgrade's newspaper Danas named her "The person of the decade in music."
• 2009: Berlin's magazine Der Freitag listed her as one of the ten most promising public figures in the world.
• 2007: Sterija's award for her music for the play Skakavci.
• 2006: Elected as the youngest member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
• 2005: Gorki list Creativity Award for culture and arts.
• 2005: Fellowship from the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, New York.
• 2004: 'Stevan Mokranjac' Award, a top Serbian music award, for her opera Zora D.
• 2002: Grand Prix YUSTAT for her music for the play The Miracle in Schargan.
• 2001: Vasilije Mokranjac's Foundation Award for her composition Rukoveti.
• 2001: Sterija's award for her music for the play Jegor's Road.
• 2000: Grand Prix for her music for the play The Three Musketeers at the Children Theatre Festival.
• 2000: Grand Prix YUSTAT for her music for the play Leonce and Lena.
• 1998: Sterija's award for her music for the play Speech Impediment.
• 1998: Grand Prix YUSTAT for original music.
• 1996: Grand Prix YUSTAT for her music for the play A Man Is A Man.