About Vasilije Mokranjac
Vasilije Mokranjac (Belgrade, 11 September 1923 – Belgrade, 27 May 1984) was a Serbian composer, professor of composition at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade and a member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. He was one of the most prominent Serbian composers in the second half of the 20th century. Although famed for his symphonies, he also wrote piano music, as well as music for radio, film and theatre. He won the most prestigious awards in former Yugoslavia, including the October Prize, the award of the Yugoslav Radio-Diffusion, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award. == Biography == Vasilije Mokranjac was born into one of the most prominent Serbian musical dynasties. His father, the cellist Jovan Mokranjac, was a nephew of the composer Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac; his mother Jelena, of Czech origin, was also a cellist. However, Vasilije Mokranjac chose to study piano: from 1932 to 1942 he was studying privately with Alexei Butakov, and then he enrolled at the Belgrade Music Academy (nowadays Faculty of Music) to study with Emil Hajek; he graduated in 1948. However, while studying piano, he became interested in composing music, so he enrolled to study composition with Stanojlo Rajičić and graduated in 1951. After graduating, he devoted himself to composing and teaching, and he never performed as a pianist. From 1948 to 1956 he taught at music schools “Josif Marinković” and “Mokranjac” (named after his grandfather) in Belgrade.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.