Rajko Maksimović (1935, Serbia) finished his undergraduate studies in composition at the Music Academy in Belgrade in 1961, and his post-graduate studies in 1965. He worked as a professor of composition and orchestration at this Academy, as a professor of composition at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad, and also as professor at the Department for Recording and Sound Design at the Faculty of Drama.

His most important works are in the field of choral and vocal-instrumental music, such as: Buna protiv dahija (Uprising against the Dahis), Testament vladike crnogorskog P. P. Njegoša (Testament of Petar Petrovic Njegos the Bishop of Montenegro), Pasija Svetoga kneza Lazara (Passion of the Holy Prince Lazar). Among his pieces for chamber ensembles the most important ones are solo cantata Možda spava (She might be asleep), Prelid za prepodne jednog fauna (Prelude to the Forenoon of a Faun) and Jeu à quatre.

Maksimović received many awards, such as the Hristić Award for Piano Concerto, Mokranjac award for Testament of Petar Petrovic Njegos the Bishop of Montenegro, October award for the Passion of St. Duke Lazar and Vuk Karadžić award for the lifetime achievement.

So far, he has had three successful and well-received author’s concerts (in 1987, 1996 and 2006) at the Kolarac Concert Hall.

Television of Novi Sad made a 50-minute movie about his work. He wrote and published an autobiographical-memoir trilogy So It Was (1998-2002), and in 2008 in collaboration with Miloš Jevtić Speaking of Music..

The composition O-trim-pa-ra, (the three-voice female choir version) uses fictitious words from a non-existent language, and it is based on motifs from our folkrole or similar to its spirit (from the fourth movement of my composition Rukovet). Pre-beats often occur and the use of syllables such as: trim, sli, tra, bre, zvi, krun, fli, tram, trum, dram, plom etc. which make performing them easier.

Rajko Maksimović www.rajko-maksimovic.net