The Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb is one of Croatia’s most important musical and cultural institutions! It was named after Vatroslav Lisinski, the composer of the first Croatian national opera Ljubav i zloba [Love and Malice]. The Hall was built according to the conceptual design of Marijan Haberle, Minka Jurković and Tatiana Zdvořák-Erlih, with its construction carried out by Eugen Erlih (Erlich, Ehrlich). The construction of the Hall lasted for 13 years, from 1960 to 1973. Lisinski has a Great Hall with 1,848 seats and a Small Hall with 309 seats. Albert Pregernik and Heinrich Keilholz are to be thanked for their excellent acoustics. The Hall can boast the largest indoor cinema screen in Croatia (with dimensions of 19 x 8 meters) and, after the Zagreb Cathedral, the second-largest organ in Croatia, made by the Walcker company from Ludwigsburg. At the grand opening of the Concert Hall, on 29 and 30 December 1973, a total of 24 concert performances were held over two days, attended by more than 30,000 people! To this day, the Lisinski Concert Hall celebrates its day on 29 December in a festive New Year atmosphere.
Lisinski is also home to the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra and the list of ensembles and soloists who have enriched the cultural offerings of Zagreb and Croatia with their performances in the Hall is truly awe-inspiring: Berlin, Vienna and London Philharmonic Orchestras, Lorin Maazel, Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Valerij Gergijev, Riccardo Muti, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballé, Martha Argerich, Mstislav Rostropovič, Tina Turner, Sting, Nick Cave, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Chick Corea, Paco de Lucía, Diana Krall and many more. The Hall hosts around three hundred public events annually, including concerts, theatrical performances, congresses, film screenings and even ice ballet. With over three hundred thousand visitors each year, Lisinski is one of the most visited cultural institutions in Croatia.
dr. sc. Ana Unkić
Head of Multimedia
Documentation Department
