Bratislav – Bata Zlatković (1961) was born in Niš, where he graduated from the lower music school for guitar and the secondary music school (theoretical department and flute department). He graduated in flute from the Academy of Music in Sarajevo.
After graduating, he worked in popular music and recorded five albums with the group Galija and one solo album, all released by the national company PGP-RTS, on which he presents himself as a composer, arranger, songwriter and performer. On these releases, he played the flute, guitar and keyboards. He is the composer and arranger of the hits: „Da li si spavala“, „Na tvojim usnama“, „Mi letimo u nebo“, „Sloboda“, „Kopaonik“, „Skadarska“, „A be da be“ and others. As an author and performer – a multi-instrumentalist, he performed in concert venues (halls, stadiums) throughout the former Yugoslavia and was a guest on the largest radio and television stations (Belgrade, Skopje, Podgorica, Sarajevo…). The Anthology of Rock Poetry of the SFRY – Petar Janjatović, the book Galija – Milan Kerković, the Illustrated YU Rock Encyclopedia – Petar Janjatović, the Anthology of Serbian Popular Songs – published by the Association of Composers of Serbia, as well as numerous articles in newspapers testify to his successful work in this type of music. https://www.discogs.com/search?q=bata+zlatkovic&type=all
Since 1996, he has been involved in applied music. He composes, arranges and produces music for theater, animated, documentary and feature films, for which he has been awarded several times at domestic and international festivals. Milan Karadžić, Olivera Djordjević, Dejan Krstović, Kokan Mladenović, Nenad Todorović, Zoran Lozančić, Spasoje Ž. Milovanović, Aleksandra Kovačević, Hadi Kurić (theater), Vera Vlajić, Božidar Zečević, Marislav Radisavljević, Ivan Hadži Zdravković, Dejan Dabić (film) are some of the names with whom he has collaborated in this field.
He wrote the oratorio „Na raskršću“ (At the Crossroads) for narrator, soloists, choir and symphony orchestra, premiered at the Opening Ceremony of the 20th International Choir Festival in Niš – conductor Milena Injac.
He has published fifteen original compositions for standard and non-standard chamber ensembles under the title Vergul – Art (scores, sections and audio CDs) published by the Faculty of Arts – University of Niš. He promoted this release at the concert “Author’s Evening of Bratislav Zlatković” at NIMUS, which featured the participation of over forty musicians from the city’s cultural institutions (Symphony Orchestra, Military Orchestra, Music School, Faculty of Arts) in various chamber ensembles.
He made a permanent recording for Radio Belgrade of his vocal-instrumental piece “This is my country” in the RTS studio in the Kolarac Foundation Hall with soloists and the Symphony Orchestra and Choir of Radio Television of Serbia, conducted by Stanko Jovanović, and released a CD of this work published by the Faculty of Arts of the University of Niš and the Branch of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA) in Niš.
His compositions and arrangements, written for various chamber ensembles, have been performed at competitions and concerts in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain, Bulgaria, Italy…
He was the artistic director of the festivals: Nisomnia (2011 and 2012), Majska pesma (2007, 2017-2023), the selector of Niška jesen festival (2003), and he is one of the founders (2008) and the artistic director of the international Naissus Guitar festival from its founding to the present.
With prof. MA Vesna Petković, in 2005 he founded the duo Crescendo (flute/guitar, guitar/guitar). The duo has had successful concerts in Serbia and Republic of Srpska, at international festivals in Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina and as soloists with the Academic Chamber Orchestra in Serbia and at international festivals in the cities of Murcia, Cartagena, Cieza, Tore Pacheco (Spain) and the cities of Pernik and Sofia (Bulgaria). The Crescendo duo performs original music for flute and guitar, as well as arrangements of classical music prepared for this ensemble.
In 2019, he founded the chamber ensemble Trio de Janeiro, with which he held several concerts in the country and abroad.
As a member and president of the jury, he participated in domestic and international competitions, and his students have won over forty first prizes at festivals and competitions. They have also held a significant number of very successful concerts in the country and abroad.
Since 1993, he has been engaged in pedagogical work at the Secondary Music School (Flute), from 1994 to 2004 he taught at the Higher Music School (second instrument Guitar). In 2004 he became an assistant professor, in 2009 an associate professor, and since 2019 he has been working as a full professor at the Department of Chamber Music at the Faculty of Arts, University of Niš.