This is the greatest succes of Croatian football in history, surpassing the third place of Croatian soccer team in 1998 during the FIFA World Cup in France. We recall the names of Davor Šuker, Zvonimir Boban and Slaven Bilić from 1998, and the names of Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić and Dejan Lovren in 2018. Before arriving to the final match, Croatian won in matches with very strong teams: England, Russian Federation, Denmark, Argentina and Nigeria. Furthermore, we indicate in this article some very interesting historical and cultural contacts between Croatia and France. On the photo Domagoj Vida immediately after the match with England, with his kids and the kids of Ivan Perišić.
Category: Culture And Arts
Sanja Falisevac Croatian sculptress and poet enriching us with her deafblind world
Sanja Falisevac began to portray at the age of 14, when she was already completely blind and deaf. She remembers from her childhood beautiful pictures of snow under sunset and Christmas. Her mother used to play with her by writing letters with her finger on her back, which Sanja easily recognized. She now communicates with the outer world in a similar tactile way, by writing on her palm. Her sculptures reveal her as a born artist, and she is now a member a the Union of Professional Croatian Artists. According to her own description, although being blind and deaf, she sees the outer world very clearly in her mental pictures and communicates by using touch. She is a perfect example for all those who think that their life is difficult.
Louis Zorich the USA veteran stage actor has died in New York in 2018 at the age of 93
Louis Zorich was born on February 12, 1924 and died on January 30, 2018. He was an American actor. He is perhaps best known to television audiences for his portrayal of Paul Reiser’s father, Burt Buchman, on the NBC series Mad About You. He played the role from 1993 to 1999. Zorich was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Croatian immigrants Anna (nee Gledi) and Christ Zorich. He was Broadway veteran and the husband of Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, he also starred on TV’s ‘Brooklyn Bridge.’
Alojzije Prosoli organizing 16th Dvigrad Festival of Early Music in June and July 2018
Participating the 16th International Dvigrad Festival of Early Music are Ensemble Dialogos with Katarina Livljanić (Fr), Ensemble Antonima Frottolisti (It), Ensemble Lucidarium (It), Centotrecento Ensemble (It), Elena Roce, soprano, and Ema Stein, Renaissance lute, Ensemble Responsorium (Hr), Capella Sanctae Sophiae (Hr). The Festival is organized under the auspices of Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, president of the Republic of Croatia. Alojzije Prosoli is the founder and director of the International Dvigrad Festival of Early Music, as well as of the Musica Sacra (Sveta glazba) association in Zagreb. The town of Dvigrad is placed in Istrian peninsula on the SW of Croatia, not far from the city of Pula.
Miro Gavran to have premieres in Cuba, the Netherlands, Romania, Macedonia and Kosovo, May & June 2018
Miro Gavran: “It is a great pleasure to have five foreign premieres in such different cultures in short period of time. I am very happy to have my first premiere in Cuba which I can thank Zeljka Lovrencic. I am also happy to have another Dutch premiere after 30 years which wouldn’t be possible without the help from Sanja Kregar who published several books of my prose in Amsterdam in last few years. Premieres in Romania, Macedonia and Kosovo and extension of successful cooperation so far. …” With these performances Miro Gavran confirmed that he is the most performed Croatian writer in Croatia and abroad. His work has been translated into 40 languages.
Zvonimir Mihanovic distinguished Croatian hyper-realistic painter living in the city of Split
After completing his elementary and high school education in Split, Croatia Mihanovic went to Paris in 1971 to study at the L’Ecole des beaux-arts. Major galleries in the United States promote his art and organizing exhibitions, including galleries in New York, Chicago, Palm Beach, Beverly Hills, and Aspen. He is represented by Mihanovic International of Aspen, Colorado, USA. Mihanovic’s distinctive style of painting, recognized by art critics as a particular expression of contemporary hyper-realism, places him among the most sought after and in-demand artists in the world today. As a colorist, he is creative and unsurpassed, capturing not only detail but exact and precise colors.
Ivana Marija Vidovic translated into Croatian the verses written in 1876 in honor of Franjo Krezma in Verona
In 1876, young Croatian violinist Franjo Krežma (on the photo), then at the age of 14, had a series of three consecutive concerts at the Ristori Theatre in Verona, on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th December. The concerts have been announced by beautiful verses written by anonymous Italian author G.D. The verses have been translated into Croatian in 2018 by Ivana Marija Vidović, distinguished Croatian pianist, poetesse and writer. Franjo Krežma was a violin prodigy: he earned his diploma at the Conservatory of Vienna at the age of 13! He died very young, at the age of 19.
When you want to lift your spirits sky high, come to Croatia!
Visit the city where Marin Čilić found his love! Visit and discover Mario Mandžukić’s Slavonia and its tremendous food and wine. Visit the National Parks approved by Ivan Rakitic. See a concert in Pula’s Arena -– approved by the 2CELLOS. Visit the birth town of Luka Modrić (on the photo). Hit the basket on Dražen Petrović’’s court like Dario Šarić. See one of the most beautiful Croatian buildings in the birth town of Dario Šarić. Visit one of the sunniest coast lines in Euope and find out who is the biggest Croatian musician in Croatia and it’s not Maksim Mrvica.
Ana Vidovic playing extremely demanding Grande Ouverture Op. 61 by Mauro Giuliani
Ana Vidović, distinguished Croatian guitarist, continues to surprise us with a variety and quality of her classical guitar interpretations of famous composers. We provide a small collection of videos describing her unprecedented success throughtout the world, ranking her among the best contemporary classical guitar musicians. She was born in the city of Karlovac in Croatia, and completed the study of classical guitar at the Academy of Music of the University of Zagreb, which she inscribed at the age of 13! We also provide an interesting interview with Ana conducted by Benjamin Verdery.
Filip Cvitic and his Fabula Shop promoting Croatian cultural heritage
Fabula Shop is a new E-Commerce platform on which the native and foreign customers have access to high-quality gifts with stories that promote Croatian cultural heritage. Fabula Shop gathers people who have an interest in products with Croatian background and products which promote Croatian cultural heritage. Here you will find authentic jewelry, museum tickets, souvenirs, clothes, illustrations, books and services connected with culture of Croatia. Currently the physical products are available for delivery in entire Europe, and the digital ones in the whole world.
Ante Glibota's hommage to Otto Piene and his HÉLIOGABALUS Berlin 18th April – 30th June 2018
THE NIGHTS OF HELIOGABALUS is homage to Otto Piene on what would have been his 90th birthday (1928-2014) . Poems by Fernando Arrabal, text by Ante Glibota (on the photo), lithographs by Otto Piene, and sculptures by Andreas Blank and Stefan Rinck. This artistic dialogue between the visual arts and poetry was conceived by Ante Glibota. Ante Glibota, a close friend of Otto Piene, will attend the opening and give an introduction. Schlachthaus.fresh&fine art will open its new exhibition space at Budapester StrassYe 10 in Berlin Charlottenburg. Opening: 18th April 2018, duration of the exhibition: 19th April -EUR” 30 June 2018.
Miro Gavran's plays "The Doll" and "Death of an Actor" published in Hindi in Jaipur, India 2018
“The Doll” and “Death of an Actor” – two popular plays written by Miro Gavran were published as two books in hardcover in Hindi in Jaipur, India. Publisher is Bodi Prakash. Both of these were translated into hindi by Saurabh Srivastava. Gavran’s plays had performances all around India – from Mumbai to Puni and Hyderabad, Assam and Bangalore in the last 15 years. This is first time that his texts were published as books in India.
Kristian Krekovic's portraits exhibited in Sweden upon the initiative of Ljerka Galic
Kristian Kreković (1901-1985), distinguished Croatian painter, spent the years 1948-1952 in Sweden, where he made several portraits of members of the Schmitz family in Malmo. It is known that during that period Kreković made a portrait of the Swedish King Gustav Vth. He also portrayed Mahatma Gandhi in his atelier in Paris in 1931, who often visited him. Upon the intiative of Mrs. Ljerka Galic of the Croatian Foundation Heritage, an exhibition of Kreković’s works of art has been organized in Malmo in October 2017.
Miro Gavran to be awarded with "Gold Merit Badge of the Republic of Austria" by president Van der Bellen
Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria made a decision to award Miro Gavran with “Gold Merit Badge of the Republic of Austria”. It will be awarded on March 20th 2018. He received international “Dr. Alois Mock Europa-Preis” award for affirmation of European values in his literary works in December in Vienna. Prominent publisher from Vienna – “Seifert Verlag” published four of his novels in hardcover. Gavran has had nine theatre premieres in German in Austria and Germany so far and there is one more premiere coming up in Vienna in Septermber 2018.
Jelko Yuresha Croatian ballet prodigy at the Royal Ballet in London since 1962
Jelko Yuresha was born in 1937 as Željko Jureša in Croatia’s capital Zagreb. In 1958, Jelko Yuresha emigrated to England, later gaining United Kingdom citizenship. Yuresha made his professional debut as a first guest artist with the newly formed Irish Theatre Ballet in Dublin. He joined London Festival Ballet (today English National Ballet) in 1959. In 1959, Yuresha partnered with Belinda Wright at a Royal Command Performance before Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in Manchester. Jelko Yuresha and Belinda Wright married in 1961. In 2017, Mr. Jelko Yuresha has donated his valuable ballet collection to his native City of Zagreb.
London piano recital by Stefan Warzycki in aid of the International Trust for Croatian Monuments 28 Feb 2018
The recital of distinguished pianist Stefan Warzycki is being given in aid of the International Trust for Croatian Monuments, which was founded in 1991 under the auspices of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (UK) in response to damage and destruction of monuments of culture in Croatia caused by war. It has supported the restoration of churches, cathedrals, museums, libraries and works of art. All of the music in this recital is for the left hand alone, composed by J.S. Bach (Brahms’s superb arrangement), F. Bridge, D. Lipatti, M. Moszkowski, L. Godowski, P.Z. Novak). The concert will be held at Leighton House Museum, 12 Holland Park Road, London, W14 8LZ, on Wed 28 Feb 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
Senoa House in Zagreb The Museum of August Senoa described by Lady Jadranka Beresford-Peirse
Lady Jadranka Beresford-Peirse, b. Njerš, of Croatian origin, lives in London, and is a founder of The International Trust for Croatian Monuments already in 1991. Since then, she has organized numerous humanitarian and cultural events and undertakings. Here we reproduce her very interesting article published in London by “The Bridge”, a journal of Croatian community in England, which deals with The Šenoa House, which is a private museum in the city of Zagreb, directed by Mrs. Jasmina Reis. August Šenoa is significant Croatian writer from the 19th century, one of the trademarks of Croatian literature.
Mihael Feric founded Tambura Museum in Brod na Savi Croatia unique in the world
Mihael Ferić, distinguished Croatian expert for tamburitza music, founded the Tambura Museum in the town of Brod na Savi in 2012, which is unique in the world. It contains a fascinating collection of tamburitza instruments of amazing versatility, since the mid 19th century until today, as well as a rich collection of various manuals and books. The most valuable book has been written by Mr. Ferić himself, entitled “Croatian Tambura Breviary”, written in Croatian. In this article we provide a some of the most interesting photos from the Tambura Museum, inviting You to visit Croatia in order to see this unique exhibition.
Miro Gavran's novel "Kafka's Friend" published in Bulgarian in 2017
Miro Gavran is the greatest contemporary Croatian writer, whose plays and novels have been translated into fourty languages worldwide. His novel “Kafka’s friend” has been released in Sofia, Bulgaria, by respected publishing house “Paradox”. The translation into Bulgarian was done by Valentina Sedeveeva. This novel has so far been translated from its original Croatian, into Dutch, Czech, Slovakian, English and Albanian, as well as partially, into French and Esperanto. It tells a powerful and emotional story of two writers and friends, Franz Kafka and Max Brod, and the women that determined their destiny.
Croatian tamburitza orchestral play widespread throughout the world
Croatian tamburitza tradition goes back to the mid 19th century, when orchestral tamburiza play has been introduced in the city of Osijek on the NW of Croatia. It soon became quite widespread, not only in Croatia, but in many other countries throughout the world. Tamburitza play is an essential part of Croatian music culture, recognizable throughout the globe, especially in the USA, Argentina, Chile and Australia. In Croatia, there even used to be tamburitza orchestras for blind children. Orchestras for girls and women bear witness of an early emancipation of Croatian women already in the early 1900s. On the photo see Ann Elias from the Croatian Tamburitza Orchestra in the USA between the two World wars.