The Most Famous
COMPOSERS from Serbia
Top 5
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Serbian Composers of all time. This list of famous Serbian Composers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Paul Abraham (1892 - 1960)
With an HPI of 59.88, Paul Abraham is the most famous Serbian Composer. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages on wikipedia.
Paul Abraham (Hungarian: Ábrahám Pál; 2 November 1892 – 6 May 1960) was a Jewish-Hungarian composer of operettas, who scored major successes in the German-speaking world. His specialty – and own innovation – was the insertion of jazz interludes into operettas. Abraham was born in Apatin, Austria-Hungary (today Serbia), and studied at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music in Budapest from 1910 to 1916. He studied cello with Adolf Schiffer and composition with Viktor Herzfeld.
2. Stevan Mokranjac (1856 - 1914)
With an HPI of 56.00, Stevan Mokranjac is the 2nd most famous Serbian Composer. His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Stevan Stojanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Стеван Стојановић, Serbian pronunciation: [stêʋaːn stojǎːnoʋitɕ]; 9 January 1856 – 28 September 1914), known as Stevan Mokranjac (Serbian Cyrillic: Стеван Мокрањац, pronounced [stêʋaːn mokrǎːɲats]) was a Serbian composer and music educator. Born in Negotin in 1856, Mokranjac studied music in Belgrade, Munich, Rome and Leipzig while in his twenties. Later, he became the conductor of the Belgrade Choir Society and founder of the Serbian School of Music and the first Serbian string quartet, in which he played the cello. He left Belgrade at the beginning of World War I and moved to Skopje, where he died on 28 September 1914. Often called the "father of Serbian music" and the "most important figure of Serbian musical romanticism", Mokranjac is well-regarded and much revered in Serbia. Following his death, the Serbian Music School was renamed the Mokranjac Music School in his honour. He has been featured on the country's paper currency and that of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1964, the Mokranjac family home in Negotin was restored and turned into a museum and musical centre. Celebrations of Mokranjac's life, known as "Mokranjac days", have occurred annually in the town since 1965. In 1981, a large statue of Mokranjac was constructed in the yard of the Mokranjac family home to mark the 125th anniversary of his birth.
3. Stevan Hristić (1885 - 1958)
With an HPI of 48.37, Stevan Hristić is the 3rd most famous Serbian Composer. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Stevan Hristić (Serbian Cyrillic: Стеван Христић; 19 June 1885 – 21 August 1958) was Serbian composer, conductor, pedagogue, and music writer. A prominent representative of the late romanticist style in Serbian music of the first half of the 20th century.
4. Sanja Ilić (1951 - 2021)
With an HPI of 46.94, Sanja Ilić is the 4th most famous Serbian Composer. His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.
Aleksandar "Sanja" Ilić (Serbian Cyrillic: Александар "Сања" Илић; 27 March 1951 – 7 March 2021) was a Serbian and Yugoslav musician and composer. Ilić started composing as a teenager. In 1971 he formed the rock band San, which disbanded in 1975, after the band's vocalist Predrag Jovičić died in concert from an electric shock. After this event Ilić decided not to perform live with a band again. He continued his career as a composer, composing several hit songs for Yugoslav pop and rock artists. He worked with composer and keyboardist Sloba Marković on the electronic music album Delta Project and actor and lyricist Irfan Mensur on the album Plava ptica. In 2000, Ilić formed the ethnic music ensemble Balkanika, with which he recorded five albums and had numerous performances across the world. During his career, Ilić wrote music for theatre, film, television shows and various performers. He died in 2021 in Belgrade. He was the brother of keyboardist and Generacija 5 leader Dragoljub Ilić.
5. Isidora Žebeljan (1967 - 2020)
With an HPI of 33.96, Isidora Žebeljan is the 5th most famous Serbian Composer. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Isidora Žebeljan (27 September 1967 – 29 September 2020) was a Serbian composer and conductor. She was a professor of composition at the Belgrade Music Academy and a Fellow of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. She won many national awards for her music, among them the Stevan Mokranjac National Music Award in 2004.
People
Pantheon has 5 people classified as Serbian composers born between 1856 and 1967. Of these 5, none of them are still alive today. The most famous deceased Serbian composers include Paul Abraham, Stevan Mokranjac, and Stevan Hristić. As of April 2024, 2 new Serbian composers have been added to Pantheon including Stevan Hristić, and Isidora Žebeljan.
Deceased Serbian Composers
Go to all Rankings
Paul Abraham
1892 - 1960
HPI: 59.88
Stevan Mokranjac
1856 - 1914
HPI: 56.00
Stevan Hristić
1885 - 1958
HPI: 48.37
Sanja Ilić
1951 - 2021
HPI: 46.94
Isidora Žebeljan
1967 - 2020
HPI: 33.96
Newly Added Serbian Composers (2024)
Go to all RankingsOverlapping Lives
Which Composers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 5 most globally memorable Composers since 1700.
