11:00
11:00 Town Square
Concert: Classical music at 11
Primary Music school Choir – Art school Stevan Mokranjac Negotin
Conductor: Aleksandra Djukić
12:00
12:00 Birth house of Mokranjac
Scientific panel
Subject: To the Contemporary Reading of Mokranjac’s Legacy
Lecturer: Katarina Tomasevic, PhD, musicologist, senior research associate of the Institute of Musicology SANU
Exactly three decades passed since dr. Dragutin Gostuški – composer, musicologist, aesthetician and art critic, also a great admirer of Mokranjac’s work and, once in a while, a frequent and warmly welcomed guest of Negotin festival – boldly proclaimed the “Cherubic Hymn” (from Liturgy) for “the most beautiful song in the world”. Being fully aware of the risk what such a statement means for the reputation of aesthetician, Gostuški has actually by it widely opened the door to the endless chain of new inquiries about the key criterion for which Mokranjac’s work is recognized as the canonical value of the national, European and world heritage.
It is well known that there was broadly written about Mokranjac even during his life time. His younger followers – composers Kosta Manojlović, Petar Konjović and Milenko Živković, to whom, according to Konjović’s words, Mokranjac has “pointed the way” – dedicated their best and most insightful pages to his life and work. Mokranjac’s rich melographic and music opus remained the important focus of attention in works of the national music scholarship’s doyens (to mention only Stana Đurić-Klajn, Dragoslav Dević, Nadežda Mosusova, Roksanda Pejović), confirming its “openness” for new readings and evaluations in numerous prominent contributions by the next generations of researchers, including the youngest ones. Mokranjac’s work proved to be fertile ground for the application of some of the most current theoretical starting points, what, as a consequence, produced – on one hand – a step backwards from the music itself, and – on the other – encouraged a big step toward to the new interpretations of the overall the effects of Mokranjac’s activities and practices in the ideological, political and socio-historical context of the epoch.
The question of the vitality of Mokranjac’s music during the long 20th and at the beginning of our century, as well as the question of inexhaustible joy and love that choral conductors, singers and the audience doubtlessly share for it, takes us, however, back to the central issue of its aesthetic values. If once prof. Vlastimir Peričić lucidly pointed out to the formal similarity of Garlands with some forms of the Western Classicism, and D. Gostuški concluded that Mokranjac, due to the everlasting aesthetic peaks of his music must be considered as a classic of Serbian music, it seems that the question about the nature of the beauty of Mokranjac’s work re-emerges, inviting us to explore it again, taking a more or less certain paths of contemporary music aesthetics, analysis and interpretations. Even if these roads would stray into the meanders of Jankélévitch’s world of “inexpressible”, the journey itself would give to the researchers a lot, enriching their horizons of understanding the noble beauty of Mokranjac’s work. One separate path should also illuminate the complex question of transformation of the interpretation canon of Mokranjac’s work in the past and modern age, while on the third branch of the contemporary reading of Mokranjac heritage numerous, still uncharted territories of its close connection with the genres of popular music would be revealed.
The lecture is illustrated with video and music examples, which, among other things, support the thesis that Mokranjac’s opus took the role of the starting model for the later stylistic transformation of Serbian music in the 20th century.
13:00
13:00 Birth house of Mokranjac
Promotion of the monographic publication
The Birth of Serbian Music Culture and DVD with a series of shows about the history of Serbian music by Dragutin Gostuški
Published by Musicology Society of Serbia and RTS
Dragutin Gostuški, The birth of Serbian music culture, RTS & MDS, 2017.
Marking thirty years since the premiere of the RTS series of the same name
The most demanding and ambitious television project that Gostuški dedicated most attention to was the series The birth of Serbian music culture. For Gostuški personally, at the time in his mature years, it signified a new, almost pioneering, research undertaking, considering that the topics of the national historiography of music, particularly those that relate to earlier epochs, until that time had mostly remained outside the mainstream of his musicological work. What assures us that the decision of editor Snežana Nikolajević to entrust Gostuški himself with the lead role in the series was completely justified is the fact that the eight episodes of the series build a mosaic of richly documented, fresh and striking historical interpretation of the course of Serbian music, which owes its highly educational value and persuasiveness to teh authentic, personal stamp of the writer and host.
Katarina Tomašević, senior editor
14:00
14:00 Art School Stevan Mokranjac
Master solo singing course Zoran Todorovic
Milica Ilić, accompanist
MASTER CLASS OF SOLO SINGING BY ZORAN TODOROVIĆ
Master solo singing course of Zoran Todorovic, tenor, within 52nd Days of Mokranjac in Negotin, at the Art School Stevan Mokranjac, September 26th to 28th, 2017, from 2 pm to 6 pm
Milica Ilić, piano accompanist
19:30
19:30 Krajina Cinema Stage
Concert: Chamber Orchestra Strings of St. George
Soloists: Marko Josifovski, violina
Chamber Orchestra Strings of St. George this year marks 25 years of existence. It was founded in 1992, at the initiative of a group of former students of the School for Music Talents from Ćuprija and Professor Petar Ivanović. Since its inception, several generations of the most eminent artists have passed and given their stamp to this unique Belgrade chamber ensemble. The first prize at the International Competition of Music Youth in Belgrade in 1996, won under the artistic leadership of Professor Petar Ivanović, contributed to this ensemble becoming one of the most important in the country. That same year, the orchestra performed on a concert in London on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of UNICEF.
At the invitation and recommendation of Professor Ivanović, from 2006 to 2011, the role of the Music Director of the Orchestra was entrusted to the violinists of world reputation – Gordan Nikolić. In a music marathon called Music challenge, where all Mozart Concerts for Violin and Symphony No. 29 were performed conducted by him, won the City of Belgrade Award for the most successful concert in 2006, whereas the Concert with violinist Roman Simović, held in November 2011, was proclaimed for Concert of the Year by the magazine Muzika Klasika.
Strings of St. George have had over 1600 performances in the country and abroad that were followed both by the sympathy of the audience and the high ratings of the professional public. In addition to published reviews, the artistic results of the orchestra are credibly documented by permanent soundtracks for radio and television as well as 18 compact discs. The repertoire includes works from various epochs – from baroque to contemporary music. They regularly perform compositions by Serbian authors, among which many are those dedicated to this ensemble, as well as pieces of chamber music in arrangements for string orchestra. The musical profile, dedication and enthusiasm of this ensemble have made cordial relationships with soloists, conductors and composers.
Within the orchestra there are several chamber ensembles that have had a lot of concerts, performing at the eminent domestic festivals. Among the most important tours and guest performances are the ones they had in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, Macedonia, Slovenia, Italy, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The guitarists perform regularly at prominent festivals: BEMUS, NOMUS, BELEF, NIMUS, Ohrid Summer, the Days of Mokranjac, Budva City Theatre, Sarajevo Festival, International Composers’ Forum and others.
Tonight’s concert is a replay of the concert that took place in February this year in Villach, Austria.
21:00
21:00 Cultural Centre
Good evening friends – a concert of evergreen music in honor of marking the Day of the Artistic Ensemble of the Ministry of Defense Stanislav Binicki
Soloists: Željko Vasić, Beti Djordjević, Ana Sofrenović, Dejan Cukić, Ljubica Vraneš
Conductor: Vojkan Borisavljevic
Artistic Ensemble of the Ministry of Defense Stanislav Binicki
The Artistic Ensemble of the Ministry of Defence, Stanislav Binički, celebrates 118 years of existence this year, preserving the tradition of the First Belgrade Military Orchestra, which was founded on September 26, 1899, by our celebrated composer, teacher and founder of military music – Stanislav Binički. It was the first Belgrade orchestra to perform, at that time, modern music.
Stanislav Binički, an important figure in domestic as well as world music history. In addition to managing the military orchestra, he was also a composer and a teacher, and is considered to be the founder of military music. He left behind numerous works of classical music, which for theme have motifs and folklore of this region. He is the creator of the first Serbian opera At Down, but in addition to many important works, we will emphasize a world famous, and for Serbs very important as a military and national motive March on the Drina, composed 100 years ago.The Artistic Ensemble of the Ministry of Defence Stanislav Binički today represents an institution that, in its due diligence, affirms and represents the Republic of Serbia, the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, to both domestic and foreign audiences, as well as to the expert public, with its repertoire diversity, genre adaptability, high artistic criteria and a wide range of performance.
In addition to concert activities, the ensemble has made significant projects in discography and film music. We can highlight the many years of work on filming Montevideo, Taste of a Dream which had a fantastic reception with film lovers, and also resulted in a major European tour, where the Ensemble presented itself at concerts in Slovenia, Italy and Switzerland. In recent years, the Ensemble has released four compact discs.
Composer and conductor – VOJKAN BORISAVLJEVIĆ, studied at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, while he obtained musical education at the Belgrade schools Dr Vojislav Vučković and Stanković, as well as in private studies in Paris. He has been actively engaged in artistic work since 1965. He has always been a free artist within the Association of Composers of Serbia, with the status of a prominent artist. He composes music for theatre, film and television, popular and children’s songs, instrumental compositions and arrangements. He has collaborated with TV Belgrade as a music editor since 1968. He participated in a number of music, theatre and film festivals in the country and abroad, where he was awarded several times. His work includes music for 59 theatre plays and musicals in Belgrade’s theatres (National Theatre, JDP, Atelje 212, Theatre at Terazije, Belgrade Drama Theatre, Bosko Buha, Duško Radović, Pinokio), as well as in theatres in Novi Sad, Sombor, Kragujevac, Vršac, Sarajevo and Sofia. In addition, he also wrote music for 19 film productions from Serbia, USA and Slovakia, as well as for a large number of shows and series of Belgrade television. A special part of his opus is presented by over 500 compositions of popular music for the most famous soloists and ensembles from Serbia and ex Yugoslavia (Leo Martin, Zdravko Čolić, Đorđe Marjanović, Indeksi, Miki Jevremović, Radojka Šverko, Bojan Milanović, Jasna Zlokić, Nada Knežević, Oliver Dragojević, Lutajuća srca …) that were performed and rewarded at festivals, concerts and broadcasting programs in the country and abroad. For the needs of radio, television, festivals and productions, he has written over 3,000 music arrangements for his and other compositions.
As a conductor, he performed at concerts, festivals and radio and television shows with major orchestras and choirs such as: Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra, Choir and Jazz Orchestra RTS, Artistic Ensemble of the Ministry of Defence Stanislav Binički, Symphony Orchestra and Big Band RTV Slovenia, Banja Luka Philharmonic, as well as the Belgrade Soloists String Orchestra, which he founded and was an artistic director. In the Terazije Theater, where he has been in steady commitment, he conducted in over 1000 performances at the home stage, as well as in guest appearances in Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Czech Republic and throughout Serbia.