On the 10th Anniversary of Croatia’s accession to the European Union, the Embassy of Croatia in Washington, in collaboration with the Kennedy Center, presented a concert by Viktor Cizic, a renowned pianist from Zagreb, Croatia. With critical acclaim and a lasting impression on audiences and reviewers, Viktor brought forth a diverse blend of compositions by George Gershwin, Margareta Ferek-Petrić, Davorin Kempf, and Franz Liszt, at times seamlessly transitioning into contemporary music.
Category: Music
Festival Epidaurus 2023 in Cavtat, beautiful late summer in Croatia
Under the motto ‘Living with Arts,’ the international music and art festival Epidaurus Cavtat took place for the seventeenth year in a row from August 27th to September 17th. The festival, recognized and renowned internationally, has made Cavtat the center of the art world at the end of each summer for 17 years, bringing over fifty performers and hosting more than 200 concerts and events. The founder and director of the Festival is Ivana Marija Vidović, Croatian pianist and poetesse.
Yoko Nishii recipient of the Commendation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan
The Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendations are awarded to individuals and groups with outstanding achievements, in order to acknowledge their contributions to the promotion of friendship between Japan and other countries and areas. Japanese pianist Yoko Nishii (on the photo) is a recipient of the commendation for 2023. She was awarded for her continuous promotion of Croatian and Japanese music during the past 25 years, and in particular of the pianist works of Dora Pejačević, the first Croatian woman-composer of international reputation.
Epidaurus Festival in Cavtat 2023, Croatia, will take place on Sunday, August 27th
Right from the first day of the 17th Epidaurus Cavtat Festival, visitors of this renowned event will be welcomed with a true delight – an evening that equally celebrates art and the importance of peace in the world. Cavtat is a lovely small town near the city of Dubrovnik. The 2023 Epidaurus Cavtat Festival officially opens on August 27th at 8 PM with the prelude programme Together for world peace along with the opening of the exhibition The Power of Music by the Dubrovnik Association of Visual Artists DuLu. The founder and director of the Epidaurus Festival in Cavtat is Ivana Marija Vidović, distinguished Croatian pianist and poetesse (on the photo).
Mexican Mariachi music is very popular in Croatia
According to Fulanito Viajero (Mexico), the best ten Mariachi ensembles in the world (after Mexico) arrive from the following countries: Croatia!!! , Japan, USA, Spain, Slovakia, Colombia, USA, Cuba, UK, Poland. Top 10 Mejores Mariachis Extranjeros del Mundo! The best Croatian Mariachi ensemble is Los Caballeros , founded in 1998 in Croatia’s capital Zagreb. They were often accompanied by distinguished Mexican harpist from Ciudad de Mexico. Many thanks to Mrs. Branka Gudelj (Canada, on the photo), for revealing us this surprising facts.
Yoko Nishii and Marija Vidovic held concerts in Tokyo, Tokamachi, and Osaka
In July 2023, three concerts with Marija Vidović (soprano) and Yoko Nishii (piano) were organised in Tokyo, Tokamachi and Osaka by the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Japan and EU delegation to Japan, on the occasion of celebrating the Croatian Statehood Day, the 10th anniversary of the EU membership, the 30th anniversary of Establishment of diplomatic relations between Croatia and Japan. The concert included works by Croatian composers: Dora Pejačević (the first Croatian woman-composer), Ivan pl. Zajc, and Josip Hatze.
Emmanuel Vukovich Canadian violinist of Croatian roots popularizing Ukrainian folk music
Emmanuel Vukovich prepared several very nice video recordings of beautiful Ukrainean folk songs, accompanied with his violin play. He appears as soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Museum of Natural History, London, and the Hrvatski glazbeni zavod in Zagreb, Croatia, performing with such artists as Ida Haendel, Matt Haimowitz, and Alex Klein. Emmanuel is founder and artistic director of the international collaborative The Parcival Project and artistic director of MontrealAcEUR(TM)s Bach Odyssey.
Ana Vidovic incredible classical guitar perfomer and teacher
Ana Vidović, residing in the USA, was born in Karlovac near Croatia’s capital Zagreb, and started playing guitar at the age of 5. At age 7, she gave her first public performance and at the age of 11 she was performing internationally. She became the youngest student at age 13 to attend the prestigious National Musical Academy in Zagreb. In the second half of 2023 she will have solo concerts in Cordoba Spain, Ventura Ca, Girona Spain, Seattle WA, Copenhagen Denmark, Viborg Denmark. She is a wonderful classical guitar teacher, always ready to share her unique music experience with numerous guitar fans throughout the world. Her timetable of solo concerts is filled in for more than a year in advance.
Ivana Marija Vidovic the first Croatian to join the Jury of the "Giulio Rospigliosi" competition in Italy
Among the distinguished members of the jury from the world of classical music, for the first time in the history of the competition, this year was someone from Croatia. Dubrovnik pianist and poetess Ivana Marija Vidović was alongside her distinguished colleagues Pietro de Maria and Stefano Fiuzzi, both of them presidents of the jury. The jury was also joined by the Mexican conductor Gabriela Diaz Alatriste, Hungarian pianist Istvan Szekely, the Italian pianist Adriana Silva, and the Austrian pianist, organist and conductor prof. Robert Lehrbaumer from Vienna.
Miho Demovic 1934-2023 distinguished Croatian music historian and St Paul's shipwreck on the island of Mljet
Miho Demović, Croatian priest, defended his PhD in Germany (Koeln), dealing with the history of Croatian music in the city of Dubrovnik. He is best known for his numerous musicological studies and monographs dealing with Croatia, especially with Dubrovnik. He initiated scholarly studies of the problem of ubication of the well known shipwreck of St Paul in the 1st century AC (described in the Acts of Apostles of the New Testament), that showed that it occured near the island of Mljet near the city of Dubrovnik, and not on Malta.
Yoko Nishii distinguished interpreter of pianistic works by Croatian composer Dora Pejacevic
On 5th March 2023, the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Tokyo celebrated 30 years of unwavering diplomatic ties between Croatia and Japan. The esteemed presence of H.I.H. Princess Tsuguko of Takamado and other distinguished guests who have contributed significantly to our relations made the event even more special. The celebration was further enhanced by a wonderful performance of Japanese pianist Yoko Nishii (on the photo), paying tribute to the legendary Croatian composer Dora Pejačević on the 100th anniversary of her passing on the same day in 1923.
Dubrovnik gets a new sister city – Sorrento in Italy due to an initiative of Ivana Marija Vidović
The Charter on twinning and cooperation between the City of Dubrovnik and the City of Sorrento was signed on Feb 5, 2023, by two mayors, Mato Franković on behalf of the City of Dubrovnik and Massimo Coppola on behalf of the City of Sorrento. The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and the Sorrento Dubrovnik Festival, as well as the Dubrovnik pianist Ivana Marija Vidović and conductor maestro Paolo Scibilia, are the most responsible for the intensification of cooperation between the two cities.
Buddha – one of the most popular saints in the Christian calendar of the Middle Ages
Could you ever imagine that one of the most popular saints in the Christian calendar of the Middle Ages was – Buddha? After ten years of researche, Katarina Livljanić and her ensemble Dialogos, bring the incredible story of saints Barlaam and Josaphat, a christianized version of Buddha’s life, which crossed over at least four religions and was transmitted through almost all the medieval languages. Powerful songs sing the legend about the king’s son, prince Josaphat, who leaves the noisy world of opulence to search for inner peace – songs which follow the path of his story from one medieval language to another, from Greek, Latin to Old Croatian, Italian, Church Slavonic…
Ivana M. Vidovic in Granada with Frano Kakarigi – encounter of pianist and double bassist
For any musician who has been involved in music, in this context classical, since early childhood, performing in the imposing and magnificent Granada with a Spanish-Hispanic repertoire perfectly arranged with great colleagues in the ensemble, but also with another Croat, Frano Kakarigi, our respected double bass player from Dubrovnik with an address in Granada, it is probably like one of the dreams come true that all those who are truly involved in music could long for!
Tatiana Tajci Cameron Croatian singer in the USA
In 2019, Tajci launched a new touring show with Live on Stage agency. Tajci’s recent biographical book “(un)Broken” combines poetry and song to augment memories from her diary that chronicle her intimate accounts of how music and the creative process can promote the healing of emotional pain. Tajci is co-songwriter of Olivia Newton-John’s latest hit single “Window in the Wall”. She is a Board Member of Nashville Peacemakers, a Better Decisions volunteer mentor at TN State Prison for Women, and a volunteer presenter for EndSlaveryTN.
Martina Filjak – the official portrait of distinguished Croatian pianist
One of the most exciting artists to emerge in recent years, Martina Filjak is garnering international praise for her poetic passion and technical mastery at the keyboard as well as for her charismatic personality and magnetic stage presence. The artist’s extensive repertoire ranges from Bach to Berio and encompasses more than 30 piano concertos. She is dedicated to continuous exploring of piano literature and various concert formats. Based in Berlin, Martina speaks seven languages.
Michael Buble Canadian global singing star of Croatian / Italian origin
Michael Buble has Croatian roots on his father’s side, and Italian on his mother’s side. More precisely, Michael Steven Buble was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada in 1975, the son of Lewis Buble, a fisherman with Croatian ancestry from the island of Lošinj, and Amber (nee Santaga), of Italian origin. He and his wife Luisana Lopilato have four children. The second name Buble is Croatian, and should be pronounced as boobl:e . Michael Buble visited Croatia in 2019, and had an emotional 2-hour concert in the city of Zagreb.
Nenad Bach & PingPongParkinson appearing at ESPN / Princess Zeina Rashid of Jordan, visited the WTTC
ESPN produced segment about Nenad Bach and his journey through diagnosis of Parkinson. ESPN ( Entertainment and Sports Programming Network ) is an American-based global cable and satellite television channel. Her Royal Highness, Princess Zeina Rashid of Jordan, visited the WTTC (World Table Tennis Center) on Sunday, February 6th 2022, as the first stop on her visit to New York metro area to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of the global non-profit PingPongParkinson . The purpose of Princess Zeina’s visit to the New York Metro area was to participate in celebrating and promoting the growth of PingPongParkinson .
Yoko Nishii's pianist concert tour in Croatia for 2022: Vinkovci, (R)upanja, Vukovar, Rijeka
Yoko Nishii is touring Croatia again: Vinkovci, 12th September (Music school “Josip Runjanin” at 19:00), (R)upanja, 13th September u 19:30 (Pastoral – cultural center), Vukovar, 15th September at 19 sati (Marble Hall of Eltz Palace). Yoko Nishii is a Japanese pianist. She speaks Croatian, and until now had 50 soloist concerts throughout Croatia, in as many as 24 cities and towns.
Hrvojka Mihanovic Salopek: Digital Recording of the Croatian Mariological Heritage
This cultural project is carried out under the auspices of the Committee for Education, Science and Culture of the Croatian Parliament and the Council for Culture of the Croatian Conference of Bishops. Videos are published in English and Croatian (Digital Recording of the Croatian Mariological Heritage, i.e., Digitalno snimanje hrvatske marijanske baštine). The Project leader, scenarist and director: Hrvojka Mihanović-Salopek, Ph.D., employed at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb.