As part of the Christmas-New Year cycle, the Musical Youth of Novi Sad, like every year, prepared a rich program, consisting of six concert evenings. Encompassing all genres of artistic music, starting with spiritual, through ethnic Balkan melos and all the way to jazz and classical music, carefully nurturing and following the taste of the audience, Musical Youth is unfailingly able to create a program concept in accordance with the interests of the visitors. If you would like to spend this last month of the year at interesting concert events, as well as to see off this year in traditional style together with the Musical Youth, you can take a look at this year’s program.
The first in a series of concerts will be held on Thursday, December 15, in the Synagogue (Novi Sad), under the name “PESMA HERUVIMA” (The Cherubikon) by Divna Ljubojević and the choir “Melόdi” on the occasion of 30 years of creativity.
Divna Ljubojević is an artist well known to all lovers of spiritual music; her voice is recognizable, authentic, “archaic” and – as visitors would like to say – truly angelic. As a conductor, composer, singer and interpreter of spiritual music, together with her Choir and studio “Melόdi”, the artist promotes and presents the tradition of the Byzantine cultural heritage to the whole world, trying to revive it through unusual arrangements and present it in a new guise. She expresses gratitude and thanks to the Lord for his gift in many ways, trying not to deviate from the essence; with her dedication, she unites many cultures, people and unites everything through song, representing the Orthodox faith in the most beautiful possible way. It is recorded that she participated in the creation of the first hologram opera in the world, and her missionary work was crowned with the Order of Theotokos of Pochayiv “for the preaching of Orthodoxy through singing”. In previous years, the Novi Sad audience had the opportunity to attend Divna Ljubojević’s concerts, and this year, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia, she will celebrate 30 years of creativity with her performance.
All additional information, as well as tickets, can be found at the Musical Youth of Novi Sad (Katolička porta 2, tel. 021/452-344) every working day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., as well as two hours before the start of the concert at the venue of the program. You can make online reservations and payment to the account at the https://prodaja.snp.org.rs/sr/site/index
Ticket prices: 2,200 dinars – middle ground floor and gallery and 2,000 dinars – side ground floor.
Friday, December 16, Serbian National Theater (Novi Sad), 8 p.m., Amira Medunjanin and the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra with conductor Mikica Jevtić
The interpreter of the traditional Bosnian song – sevdalinka, Amira Medunjanin is loved not only among the Novi Sad audience, but also everywhere in the region and around the world. “Bosnian Billie Holiday”, as Garth Cartwright, journalist of the Guardian newspaper, called her, nurturing the tradition, with her authentic voice that emerges from her deepest sincerity, wins the hearts of listeners and penetrates the deepest human pores; being memories and memories of the past, with her interpretation she makes it become an integral part of today’s time. This is evidenced by the sold-out concert on the first night in record time, in just seven days. Due to the great interest, another date has been set for her performance – December 20, 2022.
Tuesday, December 20, Serbian National Theatre, 8 p.m., Amira Medunjanin and the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra with conductor Mikica Jevtić
After guesting on the A Secret Gate album of the “Mostar Sevdah Reunion” group in 2003, Amira Medunjanin recorded her debut album Rosa in 2005, published by “Snail Records”. The album received great reviews in the UK and across Europe, appearing in the nominations for “album of the year”. After that, in April 2009, Amira releases the album Live, published by “Gramofon”, which contains recordings from her concert in the Bosnian Cultural Center (Sarajevo) during the Jazz Fest Sarajevo 2008. In the same year, together with the internationally recognized accordionist Merima Ključo, she publishes an already recorded studio album Zumra, which represents an innovative approach to the musical tradition of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Macedonia, combining applied accordion with arrangements of traditional melodies, lyrics and vocal performance style. During her work, she often performed with different ensembles and artists; among others, one of the collaborations that was very noticeable was the one with the jazz pianist Bojan Zulfikarpašić.
Tickets are on sale at the box office of the Serbian National Theater, according to the opening hours of the ticket office. Online reservations and purchases at: https://prodaja.snp.org.rs/sr/site/index
Ticket prices: 2,500 – ground floor and 2,000 – balcony
Wednesday, December 21, Matica srpska Gallery (Novi Sad), 8 p.m., Duo Symphony, Lidija Bizjak and Mihajlo Zurković
The pianist duo, known to the public for their exceptional musical performances, who live between France and Serbia, leave a deep artistic mark both here and abroad. At the concert evening, he will perform the Coriolan Overture op. 62 and Symphony no. 7 by Ludwig van Beethoven, for piano four hands, in transcription by Hugo Ulrich. In addition to Beethoven’s works, the repertoire will include Bagatelles for solo piano by our composer Aleksandra Vrebalov. Striving for the essence of performance, the interpretations of Lidija Bizjak and Mihajlo Zurković captivate with pure sound, a clear and carefully designed melodic line. Paying attention to quality, these artists do not deviate from naturalness, simplicity and sincerity in their approach to the work – thus they create a solid connection both with the composer himself and with the audience who unmistakably recognizes this.
Pianist Lidija Bizjak began her musical training at the Faculty of Music in the class of Aleksandar Šandorov, then graduated and completed postgraduate studies in piano at the Paris Conservatory in the class of Professor Jacques Rouvier, and chamber music in the class of Maurice Bourg. She was the laureate of the International Competition in Dublin in 2000, taking the flattering title of “rising stars” in 2000/01. As part of the tour of the same name, she performed in nine of the most prestigious concert halls such as: Carnegie Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Musikverein in Vienna, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, as well as in Paris, Athens, Cologne, Brussels and Birmingham. After winning the Avant-scène competition at the Paris Conservatory, in 2002 she performed Ravel’s Concerto for the Left Hand in the Cité de la Musique in Paris and Chopin’s Second Concerto at the Lyon Festival. She also participated in numerous festivals in the country, throughout Europe, as well as in the United States of America. She performed as a soloist with all major orchestras in Serbia, as well as international ensembles, including: “Kapitol” from Toulouse, National Orchestra of France, Orchestra from Picardy, “Britten” Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Warsaw Symphony, Stuttgart Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestra of RTV Ireland. In 2002, she founded a piano duo with her sister Sanja, which soon achieved notable success by winning two special prizes at the ARD competition in Munich in 2005, followed by a series of concerts in France and throughout Europe, as well as in Australia and Japan. So far, the duo Bizjak – Zurković has released two compact discs, for the recording companies “Mirare” and “Onyx”, which were well received by the audience and critics. The pianist is also engaged in pedagogical work as a full-time professor at the Regional Conservatory of Normandy in Caen and at the conservatory in the 18th arrondissement in Paris.
At the age of 14, pianist Mihajlo Zurković became a “year zero” student for exceptional young talents at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad. He graduated and received his master’s degree in the same institution with the highest grades, in the class of Prof. Jokut Mihailović. He is the winner of many awards at national and international competitions, the most important of which are: the first special prize at the international competition “Petar Konjović” (Belgrade, 1995), the first prize at the international competition “Citta di Moncalieri” (Moncalieri, Italy, 1995) and the first award at the International Forum in Kiev (Ukraine, 2009). From his first solo concert, which he gave at the age of 12, until now, Zurković has played over four hundred recitals, chamber concerts and performed as a soloist with various orchestras. He played in all important halls in Serbia and had notable performances in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, Romania, Hungary, Japan, China, Russia and the USA. He also played at numerous prestigious festivals throughout Europe and the world. During the 2013/14 concert season, he participated in the big project of the Irish company “Fabulous Beast Dance Theater”, in which he performed Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring and Petrushka at festivals in Germany and Ireland. In 2009, he released a compact disc produced by the cultural center “Laza Kostić” from Sombor and the Novi Sad Academy of Arts with works by Schubert, Chopin, Brahms and Scriabin. Mihajlo Zurković is the creator, one of the founders and the first artistic director of the re-established music festival of the Sombor music festival – SOMUS. He is employed as an associate professor at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad.
Entrance to the concert is free!
Friday, December 23, Serbian National Theater (Novi Sad) (Novi Sad), 8 p.m., Belgrade Soul Sexstet
The main mission of the “Belgrade Soul Sextet”, consisting of trumpeter Nikola Mijajlović, accordionist Nenad Ljubenović, double bass player Stevan Bata Kovačević, pianist Bojan Mladenović, percussionist Siniša Jović and vocal artist Jelena Jakovljević, is to bring traditional, European and Balkan music, in original arrangements – – presented to the audience in a completely new, modern and interesting spirit. Their music is thus interwoven with well-known melodies of jazz, tango and traditional Balkan music, which is represented by sevdah. The composition of the “Belgrade Soul Sextet” was created in 2017 at the initiative of its artistic leader, trumpeter and professor Nikola Mijajlović. The ensemble consists of six renowned artists and professors from the field of classical music. They chose sevdah as a very suitable genre for firmly connecting with the audience and conveying a state of peace, love and tranquility, believing that the traditional music of any culture at its core rests on sevdah – “that most sincere emotion, from which everything begins, and the universal medicine, which heals every pain and increases happiness”. This ensemble has so far performed a series of successful concerts in cities throughout Serbia, as well as abroad, and regularly participates in various prestigious festivals throughout Europe.
Tickets for the concert are sold at the Music Youth of Novi Sad (Katolička porta 2, tel. 021/452-344), on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., as well as two hours before the start of the concert at the venue of the program. Online reservations and purchases at: https://prodaja.snp.org.rs/sr/site/index
Ticket price: 600 dinars
Wednesday, December 28, Synagogue, 8 p.m., Winter Dreams – New Year’s gala concert by Miša Majski and the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra
The last evening of the Christmas-New Year cycle of the Musical Youth of Novi Sad will close the traditional New Year’s gala concert of the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra, which the audience loves and eagerly awaits. Carefully selected repertoire with works by Peter Tchaikovsky, which is adapted to the formal, festive atmosphere, as well as this year’s carefully selected soloist – are reason enough not to miss this concert, especially since this year for the first time in Novi Sad the soloist will be the famous Miša Majski, one of is one of the greatest cellists in the world. Together with him, the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra will perform, led by maestro Aleksandar Marković.
Miša Majski’s fantastic career is filled with collaborations with outstanding artists such as: Martha Argerich, Radu Lupu, Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Maxim Vengerov, Zubin Mehta, Mikhail Pletnev, Leonard Bernstein, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Barenboim and orchestras including: Vienna, London and Israel Philharmonic, Russian National and European Chamber Orchestra. Miša Majski’s rich discography includes a large number of CDs for “Deutsche Grammophon”, with which he signed an exclusive contract. In spirit with pianist Martha Argerich, he recorded sonatas by Bach, Schubert, Franck and Debussy, as well as a set of Beethoven sonatas, an edition that won the “Diapason d’Or” award and was nominated for the “Grammy” award.
Miša Majski was born in Latvia. His teacher, the great cellist Rostropovich, described his student as the most talented musician of today, whose playing combines poetic expression, exceptional temperament and brilliant technique. After moving to Israel, his lavish concert activity begins, which includes performances in almost all corners of the world and in the most sought-after music centers – London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, New York, Tokyo…
Tickets are on sale at the box office of the Serbian National Theater, according to the opening hours of the ticket office and online at the link: https://prodaja.snp.org.rs/sr/site/index
More detailed information about the concerts, as well as ticket sales, can be found on the website of the Musical Youth of Novi Sad: https://www.muzickaomladina.org/ .
Autor: Katarina Georgijević
Translation: Jelena Čolović