At the age of 75, one of Croatia's greatest jazz musicians and educators has left us, while the world stage shares Nick Cave's heartbreaking story of losing two sons in seven years.
The Croatian music scene has lost another giant. At the age of 75, Neven Frangeš, a prominent Croatian jazz pianist, composer, and music educator whose career left an indelible mark on the domestic cultural scene, has passed away. The news of his death was announced on Monday, August 10, 2026.
Born in 1951 in Zagreb, Frangeš began his musical education at the Vatroslav Lisinski Music School and later graduated from the Classical Gymnasium. Although he briefly studied general linguistics at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Zagreb, his love for music prevailed, and in 1972 he enrolled at the Zagreb Academy of Music, graduating with honors.
That same year, as a student, he made his first appearance at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, where years later he served as the director of the music program. His talent took him around the world, performing in nearly all European countries, the United States, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. In addition to his performing career, he also composed film music and received numerous awards for his work. He was also the president and a member of the board of directors of the prestigious Croatian music award Porin.
On the same day Croatia lost its musical giant, world media shared the heartbreaking testimony of the Cave family. The son of famous musician Nick Cave, 26-year-old Earl, spoke about the devastating loss of his twin brother Arthur, who tragically died eleven years ago after falling from a cliff in Brighton. Arthur had taken LSD for the first time that day.
Earl told The Sunday Times that he found solace in faith, even though he didn't attend church as a child. "I like the idea that this isn't all there is. I wonder if that's somehow deeply connected to my trauma. I definitely need that idea. It's comforting," Earl said. He added that faith has helped him in his grieving process: "Life no longer feels like an endless void of nothingness. Faith keeps me on the right path and helps me stay true to my moral principles. I pray for people and send them good wishes. It makes me happy."
Unfortunately, the Cave family faced another tragedy. Nick's son Jethro, who was 31 and struggled with schizophrenia and drug addiction, died in 2022 in Melbourne. Death came just two days after his release from prison, where he had spent two months for physically assaulting his own mother.
Nick Cave, who performed in Pula a few days ago, spoke to The Guardian with incredible honesty about losing two sons. "I think that's something all parents who lose a child feel, regardless of the circumstances, simply because the only thing you're supposed to do as a parent is not let your children die. Forget it. The only thing you're supposed to do is protect your children," the musician said.
"On the most basic level, it's against nature to bury your own children. And you simply can't avoid the feeling of guilt."
When asked if he feels guilt because drugs were involved in Arthur's death, Nick added: "It's possible there's some element of guilt in that. You know, such things are written in our DNA; we inherit them." He also noted that the public nature of the tragedy, as strange as it sounds, helped him: "It prevented me from completely closing the windows, locking the doors, and just living in that dark world."
Nick has processed his grief through music; the song "Skeleton Tree" from 2016 speaks of pain and mourning in a raw and deeply personal way. His wife Susie channeled her pain into the fashion brand The Vampire's Wife, which has since closed.
