Matej Meštrović

Son of Sretna Meštrović. MATEJ MEŠTROVIĆ (16.06.1969) is one of most versatile Croatian artists. Not only is he a successful musician and a composer, but also a well known director of documentaries and travel films, the field in which he was recognized and highly awarded both in Croatia and internationally (the memorable performance with a renowned American harpist Georgia Kelly at the Zagreb Music Biennale is only one of the grounds). For two years he was composing the opera ‘Gypsy Girl’ in Amsterdam for an Italian conductor and producer Giuseppe Raffa. Meštrović is also the laureate of the City of Zagreb Award for an exqusite realization of Croatian pavilion and the exhibits at Expo ’98 in Lisbon. He has co-operated with a travel writer Stipe Božić composing the music score for his documentaries ‘Dubine’ (Depths), ‘Sjeverni Pol’ (North Pole), ‘Dhalaugiri’, and ‘Reticent Wall’ (first prize at the International Film Festival in Trento, Italy). ‘Svete Planine‘ (Holy Mountains of the World) and ‘Deserts Of The World’ (Pustinje Svijeta) have also received awards. Matej Meštrović is the author of a film score for ‘Dreamscape’ by Tomislav Rukavina, shown at the Expo 2000 in Hannover. He has composed film music for the director Zdravko Mustać continually since 2001. In October 2001 he was presented with a special award at the International Tourism Film Festival in Split, for the film ‘Croatian Dream’, whereas ‘Croatian Dream Dubrovnik’ got an award in 2004. Matej Meštrović received a special recognition from the Mayor of Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic). “Zvuci Velebita” (Sounds of Velebit), an original film music recorded on a CD, sold as a complement along with the National Geographic magazine issues in 45,000 copies. In 2005 Matej Meštrović wins The Best Tourism Film Award in all categories at the International Tourfilm Festival in Poznan. As a composer he develops a project of promotion of Croatian monuments heritage under UNESCO protection; in adition, works on almost all albums of a renowned Croatian crossover pianist Maksim Mrvica. In the year 2009 together with a pianist Kristina Bjelopavlović and a percussionist Borna Šercar he formed Orient Expresto, an ensemble for two pianos and percussion. They have performed with great success in Vienna, Tokyo, Zagreb, Dubrovnik and other Croatian cities. Especially successful for the artist was the year 2010, in which Music Information Center publishes Meštrović’s sheet music for two pianos ‘Twenty fingers’ while he is completing the score for the series ‘Deserts of the World‘; the same year his film ‘Hercegovina – Zemlja Svjetlosti‘ (Herzegovina – The Land of Light) wins the Oktavijan Award at the Days of Croatian Film; and he composes music for the Croatian pavilion at the Expo in Shanghai; Aquarius Records releases his original CD “Deserts of the World”, which was nominated for Porin in 2011; and his film ‘Zagreb Zagreb’ receives the Baldo Čupić Award for the Best National Tourism Film, which included screening in 50 countries. Since the end of 2012 Matej Meštrović has worked with the ensemble SUDAR, not only as a pianist, but also a composer. Working and giving concerts together proved to be a success so the tandem recorded a joint album, dubbed ‘Eat Suite’.