International festival DAYS OF MUSIC - Herceg Novi, Montenegro 2008 For daily newspaper POBJEDA, review of the first part of the Festival
The twenty-fifth time in 36 years , a long time from the first year of the festival, which was held back in 1972, five years ago renewed "Days of Music" in Herceg Novi, and this July, show the existence of justification, precisely in this city, asserting that they have become a very important component of the artistic life of the Boka-Kotorska Bay. During the years it got optimal quality, nice response in the media and popularity with domestic and foreign audience, and this year's celebration of classical music have maintained and expanded its international character, gathering musicians from ten countries, aiming to be recognizable in celebration ways by its cosmopolitanism, and the hard chamber concept. Focused on two chamber duos, three, four piano recitals and chamber orchestral or programs of orchestra, which is realized by string ensemble Virtuoso di Praga, "Days of Music" in its anniversary edition, watching in the future, confirming the reality, that Herceg Novi is important cultural center of the region, in the art doesn’t know for national or ethnic barriers, and harmony is expressed as one of the basic laws of existence.
With all the features of the five-year jubilee in the new form, the festival was officially opened on the Square of Saint Jerome (with protocol greetings of mayor Dejan Mandic and artistic director Boris Kraljevic), with concert of the Virtuoso di Praga, who confirmed the high expression of the culture chamber of the renowned ensemble, led by concert master and artistic manager Oldrich Vlcek. On the program were Quartet in F major by Karl Stamitz, representatives of rococo Mannheim school, Concert for oboe and strings by Antonio Vivaldi, in same tonality, with reliable soloist Vratislav Venom, who is, then shown as an equal partner to Oldrich Vlcek in the famous double Concert for violin, oboe and strings in D minor of Johann Sebastian Bach. At the end of this evening of noble and unified music performance, it was played a Concerto Grosso in the Vivaldi’s way, in which the author Peter Breiner, brought the popular theme of this great Italian baroque with known Beatles tunes, creating mixed composition of form and content, indicating one of the roads that could go to modern art music.
Good contact with the audience, approval and long applause, was followed also by the program of the young Italian soprano Chiara Visio Ursin and renowned pianist from Belgrade, Dubravka Jovicic. The singer who has achieved success on the international and opera stage, first interpreted several melancholical chamber opera arias, of her countryman Vincenzo Bellini, Italian master of early romantic opera, whose ideal of gorgeous, wide cheerful tune melodies, the opera became the model for most creators of 19th century, and then choosing a Puccini’s arias and Katalani’s arias and three sentimental romances of Toasty and Gastaldon. Immeasurable contribution to the performing and sovereign support to the soprano, pianist Dubravka Jovicic extended and shaped entire program, with Mediterranean spirit and character, and clearly designed dramatically the course of blesk towards settling in the quiet night, got through deliberately combined solo piano compositions of Liszt , Debussy, Albenisa and Granados.
On the third night, the festival audience met in the hall of the Music School, 22 years old pianist from Vietnam, Ngjen Nat Kvi, whose biography tells us about her career, as a "wonderkid", who has already started at the age of eight, when she gained the first prizes on national competitions.
Today, she is a student in the class of Boris Kraljevic at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore (after completion of the State Conservatory in Ho Chi Minh City), the young artist is also delighting with specific sensibility, excellent technique and personal understanding of content of selected repertoire. Surprisingly serious and deep plunge in the poetics of Mozart, Chopin and Prokofiev, was impressed and violinist Oldrich Vlcek, who invited her to play with his orchestra at the International Festival Pontes in Prague, presenting selected work of Vietnam composer.
After opening, Virtuoso di Praga also performed on the fourth night of the festival , prepared for its second concert of cheerful Vivaldi, Dvorzak, and once again Karl Stamitz, that are with enviable level of construction and the participation of two distinguished guests, raised the temperature in the auditorium of the Church of St. Jerome. It sounded interestingly, in the first version for string orchestra, popular Piano Quintet in A major, Opus 81of Antonín Dvorzak in which the Polish-Belgian pianist Joanna Trzeciak, on the piano a bit smothered tembra, she achieved an excellent balance with string corps and the individual solo sections, and he followed her perfectly complemented and engaged, emphasizing the most discreet swings and live dance rhythms, this sumptuous melodic works.
In the second part of the evening, they performed three Concert of Vivaldi from opus 10 for flute and orchestra, and Concert of Stamitz for flute and string orchestra in G major, close to Mozart, which impressed the Italian-American flutist Giuseppe Nova, marking them as flawless interpretation solo party. Equally were brilliant brass bravurama and beautiful tone and technical possibilities of his golden instrument, the charming artist has contributed to remember this show as Eve style, sense and taste, and we expect similar qualifications and this year the remaining concerts of 25th, apropos 5th .On "Days of Music", we are going to expect and piano recitals of Rita Kinka from Serbia and Miriam Conti from Argentina, two programs with the Virtuoso di Praga and pianist Boris Kraljevic and Russian cellist Marina Tarasova, and many beautiful programing and performance surprises.
