24–27 May 2005
Invitation Composers’ Competition
The 13th edition of the event “Horizons on the Tisa” – Josif Marinković Days began on 18 May in Belgrade, when a delegation from Novi Bečej laid flowers at the graves of Josif Marinković and his grandson, Dr. Ivan Valčić. On the official opening day, 24 May, a wreath was also placed on the building of the former birthplace of the composer in Novi Bečej.
Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the staff of the Cultural Centre, and under the patronage of the Executive Council of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and the Municipal Assembly of Novi Bečej, it was decided that Josif Marinković Days would last four days, from 24 to 27 May. The event featured an exceptionally rich programme, with its central focus on the premiere performances of solo songs from the Fifth Invitation Composers’ Competition.
Numerous guests and participants were welcomed by the President of the Municipality of Novi Bečej, Aca T. Đukićin, after which the festival was officially opened by Mr Bojan Pajtić, President of the Executive Council of the Assembly of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
The ceremonial atmosphere of the opening of this uniquely profiled event was musically enhanced by mezzo-sopranos Tanja Obrenović (Ala je lep ovaj svet by J. Marinković) and Jelena Štulić (Čežnja by J. Marinković), accompanied on the piano by Dragana Anđelić–Bunjac and Sandra Karadžić, respectively. The Academic Chamber Choir “Liceum” from Kragujevac, conducted by Miloje Nikolić, performed Marinković’s Prayer, with piano accompaniment by Milica Gašparović.
Five Legacies of Josif Marinković
Surpassing its local significance in every respect, the 13th “Horizons on the Tisa” offered, already on the first evening, an opportunity to pay tribute to the great figure of Serbian musical Romanticism whose name the festival bears. This tribute was delivered in an exceptional, professionally musicological yet warmly personal manner by Dr Sonja Marinković, who highlighted five selected legacies of Josif Marinković in her traditional introductory address.
She emphasized his importance as the founder of the Serbian solo song, as well as his role, together with Stevan Mokranjac, in the transformation of Serbian performance practice from amateurism to art. With special reverence, she spoke of his vision of music education at the Seminary, noting that Marinković’s pedagogical work had a profound influence on the development of prominent figures of Serbian culture. Finally, she underlined the results of the composer’s scholarly writing and, in particular, his nobility, warmth, modesty and devotion to work to the point of self-sacrifice—human qualities whose radiance is still felt today.
An Evening of Sacred Music
That same evening, the Academic Chamber Choir “Liceum” from Kragujevac presented an evening of sacred music in the Orthodox Church of St Nicholas in Novi Bečej. Under the direction of Miloje Nikolić, the choir achieved an authentic artistic expression, both in the sonorous shaping of intonationally pure and harmoniously balanced choral lines, and in the clear articulation of text and refined dynamic nuances.
The programme included works by Josif Marinković (Our Father, O Heavenly King), Aleksandar Obradović, Stevan Hristić, Stevan St. Mokranjac and Marko Tajčević.
Gift Concerts
From the programme of the second day of “Horizons on the Tisa”, two gift concerts of instrumental music stood out.
The first was performed for pupils of Novi Bečej primary schools by students of the “Slobodan Malbaški” Elementary Music School from Kikinda, who presented their piano, guitar, clarinet, trombone, accordion and violin classes. Structured as a classical public lesson, this programme represented an excellent example of thorough preparation of the youngest audience, who followed the performances of their peers with spontaneous interest and approval.
In the evening, a concert was given by the String Octet of the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka, founded by Associate Professor Milorad Kenjalović. The audience was able to follow an ensemble in which selected students aptly represented the work of the string department, closely linked to the challenges of professional performance.
The ensemble performed a popular programme of works by Bach, Mozart, Boccherini, Britten and Brahms, with engaged, clean and energetic interpretations. A particularly significant role was played by the first cellist and artistic director of the Octet, Associate Professor Branislav Petrović.
Premiere Concert of the Competition Solo Songs
The central event of the festival—the premiere performances of the competition solo songs—took place on the third day. The concert, dedicated to the first performances of twelve solo songs submitted to the competition, offered an overview of the current state of the domestic solo song through a variety of genres and stylistic atmospheres.
This year, the invitation composers’ competition was non-competitive in nature. All twelve solo songs were purchased by the general donor, AD “Polet” IGK Novi Bečej, part of the NEXE Group. The compositions were performed at the premiere in alphabetical order of the composers.
(The list of compositions and performers follows, unchanged.)
The concert opened with Invisible Nets by Minta Aleksinački, whose arioso vocal line was subtly interpreted by soprano Sofija Pižurica. She then, accompanied by Dragana Anđelić–Bunjac, immersed herself in the almost impressionistic atmosphere of Oh, Desolate Sea by Miroljub Aranđelović Rasinski. Inspired by the poetry of Laza Kostić, the composer gave voice to the well-known verses through a broad cantilena, clearly articulated and emotionally accented, supported by a transparent piano part that gradually blossomed.
After the recitative-arioso Seeking Prey… by Aleksandar Damnjanović on verses by Rainer Maria Rilke, and the ominous Caminante by Miloš Zatkalik—whose dramatic character was announced by a turbulent instrumental introduction—the melodically developed Prayer by Novi Sad composer Svetozar Kovačević sounded as a contrast, discreet in its piano part. This was followed by the romantic, delicately illuminated, Schumann-like miniature Happiness by Vera Milanković, which enchanted with its tenderness and perfect balance between vocal and piano lines.
With bitter humour and the sharpness of an accusatory text, the recitative song From the Broken… Island by Miloš Raičković, to verses by Nađa Tešić, came as a surprise. It was followed by Two Lorca Pastorals by Aleksandar Simić, with distant echoes of the Spanish milieu and sharply achieved peaks in the vocal line. Novi Sad composer Aleksandra Stepanović was inspired in The Sad Singer by verses of her fellow citizen Pero Zubac; the work was premiered by baritone Vasa Stajkić and pianist Sandra Karadžić.
Audience approval was particularly strong for the eleventh piece, Song by Vladimir Tošić, whose repetitively processual arc, with a powerful gradation and a minimalistically conceived tonal foundation, was exquisitely shaped—rising to vibrant heights like a large, undulating vocalise—by the outstanding Sofija Pižurica and the reliable pianist Dragana Anđelić–Bunjac. Finally, as a deeply moving love lament or bloody lullaby, with fatefully accented chordal strikes, Bloody Wedding in Brzava by Zoran Hristić resounded, powerfully realized and poetically lived through in the performance of Tanja Obrenović, with the composer at the piano.
Concert by the Nešić Brothers
On the final, fourth day of the festival, an authorial concert by Nemanja Nešić (born 1976) from Novi Sad was organized for younger audiences. Together with his brother Svetozar, the young composer presented songs from his first solo CD, Just to Have You Here (Vojvodina Music, 2003).
As part of the festival programme, visitors were also able to see the exhibition of artistic photographs Travelogue, by Vesna Mićović and Milan Aleksić from Belgrade.
The Book of Solo Songs
The festival also featured the promotion of the first volume of the book Solo Songs from the Invitation Composers’ Competition, comprising 35 songs by 25 authors selected from the previous four competitions (1996, 1998, 2001 and 2003). This sheet music edition, a kind of anthology of contemporary Serbian solo song, represents one of the greatest values of this year’s festival.
The editorial work and selection of compositions were carried out by ethnomusicologist Dr Dimitrije O. Golemović. The publisher is the Workers’ Cultural Centre “Jovan Veselinov Žarko”, and the book was printed at the “Bačkalić” Printing House in Novi Bečej, in a print run of 500 copies. The publication of this valuable music material was made possible by AD “Polet” IGK NEXE Group.
The promotion was vocally enriched by tenor Saša Štulić (Autumn Farewell by Dimitrije O. Golemović) and mezzo-soprano Tanja Obrenović (Saturdays of My Childhood by Konstantin Babić), with piano accompaniment by Sandra Karadžić and Dragana Anđelić–Bunjac.
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