Luka Sorkočević (1734 – 1789) was a Croatian composer and a diplomat of the Dubrovnik Republic, coming from the renown Dubrovnik patrician family Sorkočević. Luka studied music in Dubrovnik and Rome.
Being a member of the reputable patrician family in the Dubrovnik Republic, Sorkočević was the state official and a diplomat, thus he engaged in composing as an amateur. But still, as an amateur, he could compete with his European contemporaries.
Sorkočević was the first Croatian composer of symphonies. Luka performed his symphonies at the family palace or summer residence just as it was usually done at that time. Private concerts were usually held at summer residences, in the salon. All of his autographs and manuscripts of compositions are stored in the Franciscan Monastery of the Friars Minor in Dubrovnik.
Unfortunately, the last years of his life were not kind to him. Due to kidney disease and major depression, Sorkočević took his own life by throwing himself through the window of his house (today’s Bishop’s Palace, opposite to the cathedral). He was buried in the Franciscan church in Dubrovnik.
The art school in Dubrovnik bears his name.