Programme
A word from the selector
Welcome to the 29th International Review of Composers!
Due to the ongoing pandemic and the necessity to prevent the spread of the virus, the twenty-ninth edition of the Review was conceived as an online festival which, although with physical distance between the performers and their audience, would still connect them within a specific life environment that has been forced upon us since the last year. For that reason, the recordings of the concerts will be broadcast on the Radio-Television of Serbia, periodically at certain times. Due to the worsening of the epidemiological situation, the recording of the Review had been postponed twice during 2020, but it was successfully completed on 27 and 28 March 2021, when all the concerts were recorded in the Great Hall of the Kolarac Foundation Hall.
The programme features thirty eight pieces selected among more than 200 works which were sent to the address of the Composers Association of Serbia, and written by composers from Serbia, North Macedonia, United Kingdom, Greece, Germany, Hungary, USA, Russia, Slovakia, Croatia, Japan, Belgium. The programme encompasses six concerts with compositions that represent remarkably diverse aesthetic “voices” of the recent contemporary art music, both in our country and worldwide. The focus is on chamber compositions for various combinations of instruments, with or without electronics, mainly for smaller ensembles up to a maximum of nine instruments. Works by composers of all generations are represented, ranging from the already established artists whose names are well known to the audience, to the youngest generation of domestic creators.
The concerts were performed by the most prominent Serbian ensembles dedicated to the interpretation of contemporary music. The specificity was brought by the ensemble Belgrade Baroque which, with its engagement in the field of contemporary music, has attracted many composers in recent years to write for them and to put the delicate sound of baroque instru- ments in the service of unconventional contemporary expression. The Bellowstop accordion duo, consisting of accordionists Đorđe Vasiljević and Marko Trivunović, also presented exceptional interpretations. Three domestic chamber ensembles – Metamorphosis, Construction Site and Žebeljan Ensemble – whose repertoire is focused on contemporary music, also participated in various formations, as well as many other prominent musicians. Of particular importance to the programme are works for solo instruments, sometimes with electronics, which bring an investigative approach to the instrument and the discovery of a new type of virtuosity. These works were interpreted by prominent soloists Ljubiša Jovanović, Sasa Mirković, Slobodan Gerić, Sanja Romić and Branko Džinović.
Until we return to the concert venues...
Due to the ongoing pandemic and the necessity to prevent the spread of the virus, the twenty-ninth edition of the Review was conceived as an online festival which, although with physical distance between the performers and their audience, would still connect them within a specific life environment that has been forced upon us since the last year. For that reason, the recordings of the concerts will be broadcast on the Radio-Television of Serbia, periodically at certain times. Due to the worsening of the epidemiological situation, the recording of the Review had been postponed twice during 2020, but it was successfully completed on 27 and 28 March 2021, when all the concerts were recorded in the Great Hall of the Kolarac Foundation Hall.
The programme features thirty eight pieces selected among more than 200 works which were sent to the address of the Composers Association of Serbia, and written by composers from Serbia, North Macedonia, United Kingdom, Greece, Germany, Hungary, USA, Russia, Slovakia, Croatia, Japan, Belgium. The programme encompasses six concerts with compositions that represent remarkably diverse aesthetic “voices” of the recent contemporary art music, both in our country and worldwide. The focus is on chamber compositions for various combinations of instruments, with or without electronics, mainly for smaller ensembles up to a maximum of nine instruments. Works by composers of all generations are represented, ranging from the already established artists whose names are well known to the audience, to the youngest generation of domestic creators.
The concerts were performed by the most prominent Serbian ensembles dedicated to the interpretation of contemporary music. The specificity was brought by the ensemble Belgrade Baroque which, with its engagement in the field of contemporary music, has attracted many composers in recent years to write for them and to put the delicate sound of baroque instru- ments in the service of unconventional contemporary expression. The Bellowstop accordion duo, consisting of accordionists Đorđe Vasiljević and Marko Trivunović, also presented exceptional interpretations. Three domestic chamber ensembles – Metamorphosis, Construction Site and Žebeljan Ensemble – whose repertoire is focused on contemporary music, also participated in various formations, as well as many other prominent musicians. Of particular importance to the programme are works for solo instruments, sometimes with electronics, which bring an investigative approach to the instrument and the discovery of a new type of virtuosity. These works were interpreted by prominent soloists Ljubiša Jovanović, Sasa Mirković, Slobodan Gerić, Sanja Romić and Branko Džinović.
Until we return to the concert venues...
Branka Popović, Programme Selector