"Meštrović is a prolific and eclectic musician who has a varied discography"

Matej Meštrović (b. 1969) is undoubtedly the most versatile artist on the Croatian cultural scene, and an exclusive artist of PARMA Recordings. In 2018, he premiered the Danube Rhapsody for piano and orchestra in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, thus becoming the first Croatian composer to have his own work premiered in that prestigious hall. 

He is the author of music for three Croatian pavilions at the world exhibitions EXPO: Shanghai 2010, Hanover 2000, and Lisbon 1998, for which he was awarded the City of Zagreb Award. He is the winner of numerous awards: Special awards from the mayor of Karlovy Vary, “Oktavian” at the “Days of Croatian Film,” “Baldo Čupić” for the best national tourist film, and four Global Music Awards. He is the author of music for over 400 documentaries. 

His CD Vivaldi 4 SEASONS FOR 3 PIANOS was included in the Spotify list of 50 classical releases. Meštrović’s CD 3 RHAPSODIES FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA, published by PARMA Recordings, recorded with the Zagreb Philharmonic, and is the first official CD in the history of that orchestra for the American market. 

American critics declared Meštrović the Croatian John Williams. In 2019, 3 RHAPSODIES FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA won the Global Music Award Gold Winner Best of Show. In April 2020, Meštrović’s CD PIANO WAVES won the award for Best Classical Music Album, and the award for Album of the Year in all categories on the prestigious American portal SoloPiano. In March 2022, Meštrović, together with the percussionist Borna Šercar, presented Croatia at the world exhibition EXPO in Dubai. This summer, Pelješki Most, the largest bridge in Croatia, was opened with Meštrović’s composition for choir, soloists, and symphonic orchestra.

News

December 19, 2022

PARMA Artists Selected as 2022 Global Music Award Winners

April 11, 2019

Composer Conversations: Matej Meštrović and 3 RHAPSODIES

Albums

Pleter

Release Date: December 2, 2022
Catalog Number: NV6480
21st Century
Concertos
Orchestra
Piano
Dynamic pianistic playfulness and impressive orchestral sonority shine in PLETER from Croatian pianist and composer Matej Meštrović. The composer’s personal signature can be heard throughout the piece, equal parts majestic and jubilant with subtly suspenseful moments that cascade into grandiose beauty. An eclectic and versatile composer, Meštrović joins the acclaimed London Symphony Orchestra on this recording, unearthing immeasurable melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic opulence as both the composer and the featured pianist.

3 Rhapsodies

Release Date: March 22, 2019
Catalog Number: NV6219
21st Century
Concertos
Orchestral
East Asian
Orchestra
Piano
It is tempting to compare Matej Meštrović's compositional style to his great predecessors in the late-Romantic tradition. After all, much of the Croatian composer's style and techniques would be right at home in Rachmaninoff’s concertos, Tchaikovsky's works, or Prokofiev's neoclassicism; and the name of the album's first work, Danube Rhapsody, naturally evokes associations with Smetana's similarly river-themed Vltava. Add to all of this that Meštrović, like most of his great musical ancestors, is a talented virtuoso pianist, and it's easy to see why 3 RHAPSODIES is bound to meet with enthusiasm.

4 Seasons for 3 Pianos

Release Date: August 25, 2017
Catalog Number: NV6114
Baroque
Chamber
Piano
Navona Records proudly presents 4 SEASONS FOR 3 PIANOS, a whirlwind transcription of Vivaldi’s masterful string concertos by Croatian pianist and composer Matej Meštrović. Performing with Hakan A. Toker and Matija Dedić on three pianos (and accordion), Meštrović thoroughly reimagines the four concertos, his work exceeding that of a normal transcription. The collection, in such a radical new form, becomes almost a whole new work.