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Antonio Janigro (1918-1989), the founder and long-term conductor of the Zagreb Soloists, which developed over time into one of the world's best string orchestras, lives on in the memory; as an outstanding cello virtuoso he set benchmarks with his recordings. He began his studies at the conservatoire in his native city of Milan. Pablo Casals recommended he then go to Paris, where in subsequent years he won six national and international prizes, and where, in 1933, his worldwide career was to begin. After the end of the Second World War Janigro went on to study orchestral direction, and made his debut as a conductor in 1948. In 1954 he founded the Zagreb Soloists, whose reputation grew at such a mercurial pace that the ensemble was given permission, even at the height of the Cold War, to perform on international stages. Janigro was also conductor of the Radio Zagreb Symphony Orchestra (1954-64) and of the Orchestra Dell'Angelicum di Milano. As successor to Karl Ristenpart he headed the Chamber Orchestra of Saarland Radio. He taught at the music universities of Düsseldorf and Stuttgart and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and was conductor of that institution's Camerata. Antonio Janigro compiled a wide repertoire both as a soloist and with the Zagreb Soloists, encompassing works by Vivaldi, Corelli and Boccherini as well as the great works of the Viennese Classical School by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven through to Brahms. He simultaneously ensured that works by contemporary composers were well represented in his concert programmes and as a result premiered some very interesting works by the likes of Krzysztof Penderecki, György Ligeti and Milko Kelemen, who was involved in this very collection, both as composer and arranger.
