The Croatian Museum of Tourism hosted the exhibition of the Museum of Međimurje in Čakovec dedicated to the life and work of Ljubo Kuntarić in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. The exhibition aims to present the legacy of this celebrated composer, preserved by the museum in Čakovec, to connect cultural institutions and to promote the museum’s activities.

Ljuboslav Ljubo Kuntarić (Čakovec, 1925 – Volosko, 2016) was born in Čakovec, where he began his musical studies, and he continued in Varaždin and Požega. He reached the peak of his career in Volosko near Opatija, where he lived from 1951. There, alongside his musical career, he also developed an engineering (hydro-construction) career, achieving notable results in both areas. From 1959, he worked at the Opatija-Projekt company in the architectural design office, where he founded a hydro-sanitary department.

He took inspiration for his musical works from religious and national roots. Slavonian folklore, Dalmatian klapa songs, the distinctive Istrian musical heritage, Međimurje folk songs and the Kajkavian dialect inspired his work. He composed right up to his last days, until he was 92.

Kuntarić’s dynamic and dance melodies were performed at the Zagreb, Opatija, Kvarner, Slavonia, Krapina and Split festivals in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The fast and dynamic rhythms with the simple lyrics by Blanka Chudoba were felt in the melodies performed at the Opatija Festival – ‘Ko biseri sjajni’ (1958), ‘O mojoj ljubavi’ (1958), ‘U sjeni palme’ (1958), ‘Autobus Calypso’ (audience’s 2nd prize and jury’s 3rd prize, 1959), ‘U nedilju, Ane/Mali motorin’ (audience’s 3rd prize, 1960) and the song ‘Opatijo’ (the Opatija Tourist Association prize). In addition to these, he was the writer of numerous entertaining melodies (‘Ti ni ne sulutiš’, ‘Ta tvoja ruka mala’, ‘Nina’), as well as stage and film music (‘Nježna pjesma’, ‘Sretan put’, ‘Pjesma tuge i nade’).

The Rijeka branch of the Association of Musicians of Pop and Folk Music, led by Ljubo Kuntarić, launched the Melodies of Kvarner song contest festival in 1964 in Rijeka with the aim of promoting young authors and preserving Istrian and Čakavian melodies. In 1969, the festival was given its current name, Melodies of Istria and Kvarner (MIK). Kuntarić participated in the festivals with the compositions ‘Plavi twist’ (audience’s 2nd prize), ‘Bez jedra i vjetra’ (jury’s 1st prize) and ‘Sreća je tu’ (Ritam magazine award for the most cheerful melody).

His oeuvre also includes compositions for tamburitza and mandolin ensembles and choirs (‘Međimurje tak si lepo zeleno’, ‘Falat zemlje štera ima dušu’, ‘Impresije iz Voloskog’, ‘Moje drago serce’, ‘Zvuci Primorja’), as well as religious works (‘Ave Maria’, ‘O, daj mi snage, Bože moj’, ‘I pristupit ću žrtveniku Božjem’). Along with the notes of entertaining festival melodies, Kuntarić wrote music for more than twenty musical and stage works (musicals, operas, operettas, puppet plays and film music) in the period from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s. He wrote the music for the rock opera ‘Karolina Riječka’, his most significant and most performed musical and stage work, which premiered in 1981 in Rijeka.

He received numerous awards for his work, including the Porin Award for Lifetime Achievement (2009), the title of Honorary Citizen of the Town of Čakovec (2015), the Zrinski Award of Međimurje County (2014), the charter of honorary member of the Zrinski Guard (2004), and posthumously the Lifetime Achievement Award of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County (2017).

The exhibition presents a valuable cultural heritage of the second half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century through the museum holdings of Kuntarić’s impressive oeuvre. The title of the exhibition in the Međimurje dialect, Falat zemlje šteri ima dušu (roughly translated as A bit of land that has a soul or in a figurative sense, a legacy) symbolically depicts his spirit, dedication and exceptional diligence in composing and planning, as well as the constant pushing of his own boundaries.

With his compositional versatility, intuition, artistic curiosity and dedicated work, he brought together different parts of Croatia into a unique musical whole. The exhibition, therefore, also shows the background of the creation of melodies dear to many, and not only their final audio form. As an exceptionally prolific author, his work includes more than 2,000 pieces of popular and dance music, 160 songs for children and more than 680 religious works.

His entry into the world of domestic pop music began in 1953, when the song ‘Ta tvoja ruka mala’ won first prize at the Zagreb Festival. Therefore, the special atmosphere of that period is evoked by the ambiently decorated living room with music, sound equipment and retro furniture.

The final part of the exhibition is dedicated to the donation of the legacy, the establishment of the Ljubo Kuntarić Memorial Collection, the significance of the heritage, and the projects that preceded the realisation of this valuable thematic exhibition, further emphasising the value of his work.

EVENTS ACCOMPANYING THE EXHIBITION

Lecture, 19th June 2026 at 6 pm, Tajana Vidović, senior curator and author of the exhibition

A bit of land that has a soul – the life and work of the composer Ljubo Kuntarić in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. The lecture will provide insight into the exceptional material legacy of Ljubo Kuntarić, through which the story of his musical creativity and engineering career will be revealed, with an emphasis on the work created during his time in Volosko.

Expert-led tour of the exhibition, 20th June 2026 at 8 pm by Tajana Vidović, senior curator and author of the exhibition

Lecture, 2nd July 2026 at 7 pm, Velid Đekić, researcherand publicist

Ljubo the rocker – Although known primarily as a composer of popular songs, Ljubo Kuntarić also wrote rock’n’roll compositions. It is less well known that during the ‘60s, his compositions ended up in the hands of local electric bands such as Uragani and Sonori, who arranged them in a rhythmically faster, tighter rock form. He reached the peak of his approach to the rock milieu in the early ‘80s, when he composed the rock opera Karolina Riječka.

Organisation: Croatian Museum of Tourism, Museum of Međimurje Čakovec
Author of the exhibition:Tajana Vidović
Expert collaboration: Nataša Ivančević
Design of exhibition display: Tajana Vidović
Technical set-up: Tajana Vidović, Sven Kramar, Ranko Puž
Media promotion: Ivan Modrić
Graphic design and preparation: Wanda design, Reci Da – Design studio
English translation: Martin Mayhew
Language editing and proofreading: Dijana Stanić-Rešicki, Ines Virč
Print: Tiskara Zrinski, d.o.o. Čakovec, Tiskara Sušak, Rijeka

The exhibition was funded by the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, Međimurje County, Town of Čakovec and Town of Opatija.