Rossi fest Belgrade

​ Lectures by prof. Ane Stefanović and prof. Tijane Popović Mlađenović Museum of National Theatre in Belgrade 27 January 2020 at 17:30 ​ Alongside the various musical parts of the festival program, there will be professional lectures by Ana Stefanović and Tijana Popović Mlađenović, Serbian musicologists and full-time professors at the University of Arts, Faculty of Music in Belgrade. ​ Judicium Salomonis: Two baroque interpretations in oratorios by Carissimi and Charpentier The lecture focuses on the oratorios of Giacomo Carissimi and Marc-Antoine Charpentier, created under the same title, in 1669 and 1702 (H.422), inspired by the theme of Solomon's Court. This Old Testament parable from the first Book of Emperors (3: 16-28) not only addresses the personality of King Israel, David's successor Solomon, prophet and poet, but thematizes complex ethical issues concerning wisdom and reasoning, intangible values, on the one hand. and material wealth, power and authority, on the other hand. The Roman composer, creator of the oratorio, Karisimi, and his French disciple and successor in the oratorio genre, Charpentier, who otherwise turned to biblical themes in his work, approached this text in different ways. While Karisimi in her smaller part, for four soloists, choir, two violins and continuo, primarily sets the biblical parable as a narrative, while emphasizing the affective side of its actors, Sharpentia in a more extensive two-part oratorio setting (for nine soloists, choir and orchestra), gives the interpreation more oriented towards its philosophical and ethical side. In the lecture, we address these differences in the musical interpretation of Solomon's court multiple meanings. ​ Prof. dr. Ana Stefanović Musicologist, Professor at the University of Arts, Faculty of Music (Department of Musicology), in Belgrade and Associate Researcher at IreMus, Paris. She received her MA degree at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade and her PhD in musicology at the University Paris IV Sorbonne. Main areas of her research are baroque opera, solo song, the relation between music and text, as well as questions of musical style and stylistic analysis. She is engaged in several international and national projects in musicology and is the author of a large number of studies and articles published in reviews for musicology and music theory, and in collected papers. She edited several issues of collected papers and organized several international conferences. She published the books: La musique comme métaphore. La relation de la musique et du texte dans l’opéra baroque français: de Lully à Rameau, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2006; Temporality and Narraivity in Music Drama, Beograd, FMU, 2017. She is also the author of the Anthology of Serbian Art Song I–VI, Belgrade, UKS, 2008–2014. ​ Before and After the Music of Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps What world, what network of meanings, or what dimensions of musical time are revealed before Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time ? What new possibilities of designation open up in the already acquired meanings of this piece? Or, in other words, what possible points or paths on which, in the already established network of its meanings, the new agent – which would correspond to the intention of the subject of interpretation and its wish to express this new experience – would be sought and found? Or, does the possibility of dynamism of the meaning itself, its unsteadiness and changeability or, in other words, the possibility of using a certain meaning of the principle-inducer of sense once again, makes it abandon its original area and obtains the hitherto non-experienced and unachieved effects of sense? ​ Prof. dr Tijana Popović Mladjenović Musicologist, full-time Professor and Head of the Department of Musicology of the Faculty of Music, University of Arts in Belgrade. She has been a visiting professor at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, the University in Ljubljana, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, and the Music Academy in Sarajevo. Her main research interests include the European music of the fin de siècle , contemporary music (she specialized in contemporary French music at the University of Paris IV Sorbonne), aesthetics and philosophy of music, and issues concerning thinking in music. She is author of six books: Musical Writing (1996 [2015]) , reviewed in Music and Letters; E lucevan le stelle (1997) ; Claude Debussy and His Time (2008) ; Processes of Panstylistic Musical Thinking (2009) ; Interdisciplinary Approach to Music: Listening, Performing, Composing (2014) , reviewed in Musicae Scientiae; and The Musical Text and the Ontology of the Musical Work (2017) . ​

Lecture by dr Ana Stefanović Museum of the National Theater in Belgrade January 28th, 18h (also broadcasted online; GMT +1) The Story of Esther in Genre Interpretations of Musical Baroque Since its first edition, Rossi Fest has included lectures (dedicated to the topics on intercultural and interdisciplinary context of Salomone Rossi`s work, his time, contemporaries and successors) in its program. This year a lecture will be held by an eminent Serbian musicologist and professor of the Faculty of Music of the University of Arts in Belgrade, dr. Ana Stefanović. Lecture abstract: The story of Esther, from the Old Testament Book of Esther, throughout the Baroque was an inspiration to composers and poets in some of the most significant musical works of this era. The content and messages of this story ‒ which are celebrated in the Jewish tradition during the Feast of Purim ‒ including their two aspects: serious and carnival, high and low regarding the genre, were suitable and challenging for musical transposition. Traditionally, as a biblical story, situated in the oratorio genre field, the story of Esther has been nevertheless differently understood in the long history of its musical settings in terms of stage, style, and genre. The basis of Esther’s baroque musical interpretations is the well-known play of the same name by Jean Racine from 1689, which was a direct impetus for several important musical and stage achievements. First, for musical intermedi composed for the first performance of Racine’s play by Jean-Baptiste Moreau, then for the sacred story (histoire sacrée) by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Historia Esther from 1677, for Antonio Lotti’s oratorio L'umiltà coronata in Esther (1714), then, for Händel’s first oratorio, Esther (1718/1732), and finally, for the oratorio by Cristiano Giuseppe Lidarti, Esther (1774) ‒ found just over two decades ago ‒ which, after a century and a half, represented the first musical work after Rossi’s Ha-shirim asher li-Shlomo (1620‒1623) written in Hebrew, but in the genre framework of the Western tradition. In this lecture, we will pay particular attention to genre and stylistic interpretations of the story of Esther in the works of Moreau, Händel, and Lidarti. Prof. dr Ana Stefanović Musicologist, Professor at the University of Arts, Faculty of Music (Department of Musicology), in Belgrade, and Associate Researcher at IreMus, Paris. She received her MA degree at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade and her Ph.D. in musicology at the University Paris IV Sorbonne. The main areas of her research are baroque opera, solo song, the relation between music and text, as well as questions of musical style and stylistic analysis. She is engaged in several international and national projects in musicology and is the author of a large number of studies and articles published in reviews for musicology and music theory, and collected papers. She edited several issues of collected papers and organized several international conferences. She published the books: La musique comme métaphore. La relation de la musique et du texte dans l’opéra baroque français: de Lully à Rameau, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2006; Temporality and Narrativity in Music Drama, Beograd, FMU, 2017. She is also the author of the Anthology of Serbian Art Song I–VI, Belgrade, UKS, 2008–2014.

With this year's Portraits and Remembrance program part, we are introducing a refreshing segment, that has been in our plans for a while. Namely, we are introducing the interviews with composers, done by a young and talented musicologist, Bojana Radovanović, who managed to bring us closer to the selected composers' perspective on their creative poetics, tastes, and artistic goals with her interesting questions. - „I proudly present what Bor gave throughout its history“: Interview with Marko Karanfilovski ​ - Sonorities and textures are the result of a detailed colour design: Interview with Chesney Palmer ​ - “Directness and frankness can be as meaningful and powerful as the abstraction”: A conversation with Jorge Andrés Ballesteros - “My piece conveys the idea that like the train, the man hasno real choice regarding his life”:Interview with Carmel Curiel ​ - “In composition, I appriciate chastity, sobriety and perfect instrumentation”: Interview with Pavel Nesit ​ - “by my death... II concerns the larger Jewish historical narrative characterized by destruction and ressurection”: Interview with Gil Dori ​ - “I look at sound as a material with its own microcosm”: Interview with Otto Wanke ​ Bojana Radovanović Musicologist and art theoretitian, Research Assistant at the Institute of Musicology SASA ​ ​ PhD student at the Department of Musicology, Faculty of Music in Belgrade. She completed master studies of transdisciplinary humanities and theory of art and media at the Faculty of Media and Communication (2017, supervisor: Dr. Miodrag Šuvaković). She is a participant of projects Beyond Quantum Music (2019–2022) i APPMES - Applied Musicology and Ethnomusicology in Serbia: Making a Difference in Contemporary Society (2022–2024). Her master thesis Science as Art – interdisciplinarity in Dragutin Gostuški’s scientific works (supervisor: Dr. Vesna Mikić) is published within the e-collection Wunderkammer/Their Masters’ Voices (FMU, 2018). She also published a book Experimental Voice – Contemporary Theory and Practice (Orion art, Belgrade) and co-edited the collection Shaping the Present through the Future: Musicology, Ethnomusicology and Contemporaneity (Institute of Musicology SASA, 2021). She publishes papers in collections, journals, participates in conferences, tribunes and panel discussions. She works on archiving and promotion of Serbian film and art music on internet with association Serbian Composers. She is a collaborator with Center for Popular Music Research (Belgrade, Serbia). She is also a member of Board for the Protection of Serbian musical heritage SASA and a member of Editorial Advisory Board in Metal Music Studies journal (Intellect Press, UK). She is the representative of the Section for transdisciplinary research in art for the INSAM Institute of Contemporary Artistic Music from Sarajevo, and the co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of the INSAM Journal of Contemporary Music, Art and Technology. Marko „I proudly present what Bor gave throughout its history“: Interview with Marko Karanfilovski Composer Marko Karanfilovski, whose piece Forced March for clarinet, piano, snare drum, baritone, cello will be performed at Rossi Fest 2022, completed his bachelor and master studies at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade with Prof. Tatjana Milošević Mijanović. Besides his formal education, he attended masterclasses by distinguished composers, such as Ivo Medek, Dimitris Andrikopoulos and Yinam Leef. His pieces were performed in numerous concerts and festivals in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the USA. He also writes music for short films, theater plays, and commercials. We spoke with Marko Karanfilovski about the piece he will present himself with to the Rossi Fest audience and the inspiration and ideas that guided his compositional process, which will come to life with performers. We had the opportunity to be introduced to you with a short biography and a video announcement before the performance. Tell us something you would like the audience in Serbia and abroad to know, but it somehow always gets left out from the official, shortened biographies. Together with contemporary art music, I deal with various other genres, dependent on the moment and the mood. I give every kind of music a chance, which does not mean that I enjoy all of it, but I approach them without prejudices. Besides music, I also write lyrics for popular, that is, commercial music, I make beats for hip-hop/trap/drill music, I also have one bossa nova song and a lot of other things. This is not something I understand as something rare or unique, but as something very natural for a complete musician. If I were to deal with only one genre, I would be like a mechanic who fixes only one brand of cars, which is not a good mechanic. Throughout my adolescent age, I also went through a metal phase. First, you divide music by genre, then you look at it as good or bad, and at the end, you know whether it works for you or it does not, regardless of its artistic or music quality. In line with the previous question, tell us something more about the piece we are hearing at Rossi Fest 2022. Can you delve into the particularities of what inspired you to create Usiljeni marš? Since the foundation of Rossi Fest, I have wanted to compose for the call for composers. I was a member of the choir Brothers Baruh, where I had the opportunity to get to know the music and the culture of the Jewish people. And during all those years, I either did not have enough time or did not have a clear idea of what to write. Then one day, I was driving through my hometown Bor, and I saw the statue of the poet Miklós Radnóti. Although I have seen this sculpture a thousand times before, that is when I got the idea to put to music some of his songs, which he wrote while he was forced into labor here. I have chosen the song Forced March because I liked it instantaneously. A good text eases and directs the process of composing. When I decided on the text, what remained was to write the music in about seven days, so I got to work. What does this composition reveal about your compositional process? What are the continuities, and what are the differences compared to your previous works and methods that led to them? My process is usually very similar. I think about an idea, a concept, and parameters for a longer period of time, and the very writing of the piece is quick. This "pre-production" is the essential part of creating for me. Admittedly, I sometimes take an instrument into my hands and develop ideas from improvisation. Still, I more often delve into the deliberation beforehand when I am completely separated from the instruments and music in general. Often things become clearer when I am doing something completely unrelated to music. As for artistic apathy, that is something I dealt with even before the global crisis, and I still struggle with it today. Namely, after the master studies of composition, I did not write a single note for precisely two years. I even thought about quitting the contemporary music altogether, but then came the commission from the KozArs festival in BiH, and some other commissions from different chamber ensembles, open calls, and, finally, Rossi Fest. I realized that I needed the more extended break to return to writing and work more than ever before, although I now have very little time to do so because I work full-time in a music school. The continuity of this composition to my previous work is that it also strives toward more clear musical parameters. Rhythm, pulse, and even the melody are almost entirely rejected in the contemporary works around the world, and those are the parameters because of which we consider contemporary music an heir to classical music that evolved naturally. Without those parameters, recent artistic works should be viewed separately from the so-called classical music because, apart from the noting of music and the use of classical instruments, there are no more other connections. Speaking about Usiljeni marš, how did your experience in the domain of applied music help or influence the process of creation, given that there is a text and the personal connection between the song and festival competition theme? Subconsciously, it probably helped. Having a text or any other kind of program makes the process easier for sure. The program directs you, whether in trying to paint the atmosphere, emotion, or use music as a counterpoint or parody to the text. Only, this was easier because I did not have to consult the directors as in applied work and had it all in my own hands. As a great local patriot, I am proud of what Bor gave, even in those awful war times. I try to maintain the idea of a cosmopolitan Bor. I follow the thread, from the French times and surrealist Vane Živadinović, the short-lived work of Radnóti, black-wave movies, Goribor works, all up until today. Is the text, the content, or the emotion reflected in the very compositional decisions and requirements from the performers, instruments, structure, or the content of the piece? The title itself says Forced March. That was my guiding idea, a bit naïve, but it works as such. My first association to march is a snare drum, which is why it is obligatory in the ensemble. Likewise, the clarinet is very prominent in Jewish music, and it also gets its place here. Every instrument in here because it should be here. Also, music mostly follows the atmosphere and the emotion of the text, be it through underlining or as a commentary. When you write a piece that includes voice, do you rely only on the meaning of the text in this part, or do you work with the sound of the language itself? How do you imagine someone not understanding the language perceives the emotion and meaning behind the text? What are the techniques or specifics of your work with voice and language in this piece? I rely on all means available to better communicate the emotion and the content of the text. This piece does not have much "floral singing" because the text does not allow it. This is why I even considered including a reciter into the ensemble instead of a singer but finally decided on a singing part as I saw that as an additional instrument that can also carry out the text by, at the same time, keeping the narrative quality of performance. Do you manage to follow the international scene of contemporary music? Can you recommend to the audience music by any contemporary composer you like to listen to, learn from, or get inspired by? I try to discover new music every day. Those are often the compositions written in the same of the last year. I follow several YouTube channels that regularly publish works from more or less affirmed artists from all over the world. To the audience I would warmly recommend work by Uroš Rojko, Đuro Živković, Justina Repečkaite, Chaya Czernowin, Nina C. Young, and other contemporary authors. Of course, one should always go back to Charles Ives. Lately, I have been writing and listening to a lot of solo guitar music, and here I can mention Leo Brouwer, Nikita Koshkin, Dušan Bogdanović, Toru Takemitsu, and Atanas Ourkouzounov. Chesney ​ Sonorities and textures are the result of a detailed colour design: Interview with Chesney Palmer ​ In this conversation with Chesney Palmer, a pianist, clarinetist, and emerging composer from South Africa, we had an opportunity to further explore thoughts and intentions behind the piece In the Spaces, I still remember, which will be performed at Rossi Fest 2022. In his biographical note, Palmer emphasizes his keen interest in abstraction theories and the links between visual abstract art and music. As a synesthete, he uses his multi-associative experiences to explore abstract art in a personal way that emphasizes textures, shapes, and sounds in music. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. under Lukas Ligeti. We had the opportunity to be introduced to you with a short biography and a video announcement before the performance. Tell us something more about yourself, something you would like the audience in Serbia and abroad to know, but it somehow always gets left out from the official, shortened biographies. Thank you very much for the opportunity to participate in this interview. I think something worth noting about my music journey is that I had a very late start. I only began with formal music education at the age of 14 and had to work extremely hard towards developing my passion to this level. Although this is only the beginning I look forward to developing more than I have already in the past 11 years. In line with the previous question, tell us something more about the piece we are hearing at Rossi Fest 2022. Can you delve into the particularities of what inspired you to create In the Spaces, I still remember? In the Spaces, I still remember is a work that incorporates the use of vocal textures that create extra musical moods that connect us more closely with human experiences. This is not a new concept used in music, the recent work of Lukas Ligeti That which has remained…That which will emerge? has inspired me to explore the use of spoken text in music to create a very organic human experience of telling stories about history. John Adams’ work On the Transmigration of Souls also displayed profound use of spoken text to convey a serious message riddled with sober experiences about lived reality. The physical presence of the human voice juxtaposed with the music present an eerie realistic tribute to a dark space in human history. The reason I chose the word “space” as opposed to “place” is because “place” carries natural assumptions of a geographical location in history, in this case being Germany. Space allows the audience to attach spaces in time of significance that warrant remembrances. Not all the stories of that time took place in a single location and this work tries to accommodate all the stories that took place at several spaces and honours those personal memories as well. What does this composition reveal about your personal compositional process? What are the continuities, and what are the differences compared to your previous works and processes that led to them? This particular work presents a typical approach to composition I am attempting to cultivate and solidify. The contexts of my works almost always attempt to grapple with content of a more serious nature that provokes thought. A more accurate exploration of my compositional style deals extensively with theories of abstractionism and ideas of the metaphysical linking visual art and music through synesthesia. While In the Spaces, I still remember does not deal with art in my usual compositional style, it does still make use of my approach to sound through colour. It also presented a welcomed challenge in attempting to compose using a limited number of instruments, and thus my choices of instrumentation was a direct bearing of timbre and colour choices. While this has no real influence of the style of music I produce, it most certainly has an influence of how I choose to orchestrate certain sections of the music according to a colour design conceived before I begin the compositional process. Can you further introduce us to the experience of a synesthete, specifically in relation to the piece In the Spaces, I still remember? What are the ties between the visual, sonic, and textures in this particular piece? This work presents a plethora of colour design that creates interesting moments of sound – both tonally as well as moments of synthetic flavour. The choice of the spoken texts was very intentional. Like all sound to a synesthete, voices also present a palate of diverse timbres because no two voices are the same. That being said, the unique timbres, inflections and natural tones of each musician’s voice contribute to a layer of extra-musical colour that gives this work a distinct character. While there is no finite way of calculating exactly what the colour design for these sections will be because I don’t know what each performers voice sounds like and if this is performed by different musicians then the colour scheme would natural change. I suppose in some ways the music becomes this organic entity that is able to develop and shape itself independently of the composer. Working with colour is a primary approach to composition for me, whether that is using visual art as a proxy to suggest colour choices or exclusively using sound to develop a colour design for any piece of music. In this particular piece the sonorities and textures are the result of a detailed colour design. What are the specific techniques and gestures you used to transpose the initial written inspiration in your piece? Especially in relation to requirements for performers, instruments, structure and content of the work. Standard Western notation serves as a common vehicle to communicate my ideas effectively without too many unclear demands. The overall gesture of the piece finds a place in the ghostly whispering effect that the human voices create, perhaps as a metaphor of memory echoing through time. While the music itself is a tribute of what was before the use of the voice in this way provides the character of the piece. The clarinet was an intentional choice to carry a quasi-solo function because of the versatility of its timbre changes. Due to the limited number of instruments I made choice based mostly on an instruments ability to maintain or change timbre relatively quickly that would not feel to inorganic or too sudden, because the inspiration was to tell a story through text, the music in this piece became a servant to the text and in some moments provided dramaturgic intervals as if a change of scene on stage. The theme of remembrance happens on several levels. The first level is provided by the use of the words “I remember” constantly echoed by the performers. The second level is provided by the narration of the poem by Paul Celan by the reciter and the third is use of the names of The Righteous Six. All of these levels systematically enter the piece at different stages, much like a beginning, middle and end. Since your piece requires whispered and recited text, do you rely only on the meaning of the text, or do you work with sound of the language itself? How do you imagine someone not understanding the language perceive the emotion and meaning behind the text? What are the techniques or specifics of your work with voice and language in this piece? Quite an interesting question. In this particular piece, I did not specifically pay attention to whether a non-English speaking audience would understand the meaning of the phrase “I remember” and surmised that the message of this section of the festival (Portraits of Remembrance) would be universally understood by default. The choice of having the phrase “I remember” whispered was definitely a compositional choice, as I intended to create a soft layer of music that would not necessarily get in the way of the spoken text or music. Because the inflection of the speech allows for a high pitched “I” and a hushed/murmured “remember”, the audience should get the effect of an almost airy phrase that gives a ghostly and distant feel, symbolic of physical distance in time from these events. This would allow them to still experience the musical effect without having to understand the phrase in its entirety. Do you manage to follow the international scene of contemporary music? Can you recommend to the audience music by any contemporary composer you like to listen to, learn from, or get inspired by? I would recommend listening to everything and everyone, simply because building an aural library as a composer is paramount for obtaining a good sense for what is possible and it expands your musical imagination through the lens of how other composers thinking and approach musical content. I listen to Lukas Ligeti, Jeanne-Zaidel Rudolph, John Adams, György Ligeti, Mahler, Debussy (especially his later works). Due to my close relationship with Jeanne-Zaidel Rudolph and Lukas Ligeti whom I learn a lot about approaches to composition whether through their teaching, conversations or listening to their work, I am always inspired to achieve more and develop further not only in composition but in thinking more broadly about the field and about the world of music. Jorje Andres “Directness and frankness can be as meaningful and powerful as the abstraction”: A conversation with Jorge Andrés Ballesteros Boston based composers and speaker Jorge Andrés Ballesteros refers to himself as a polystylist, whose works center on classical music vernacular but include a range of musical styles. Among his regular commissions for projects and original works that engage with issues facing the community, he has written for groups such as the Chattanooga Symphony and the Mozart Society Orchestra. He received his BA in Music from Harvard University, where he studied with Chaya Czernowin, Edgar Barroso, and Trevor Bača. On this occasion, we were interested in the particularities of the compositional process in general, as well as behind his piece They came first…, which will be his debut at the Rossi Fest. We had the opportunity to be introduced to you with a short biography and a video announcement before the performance. Tell us something more about yourself, something you would like the audience in Serbia and abroad to know, but it somehow always gets left out from the official, shortened biographies. I love traveling and seeing the intersection of cultures! There’s something powerful and revealing about being in a place outside of your norm, but which is the norm for everyone else around you. When you’re the outsider, you see your own culture in stark relief by the differences to where you’re at in the moment and you learn something about yourself in the process. Having grown up bicultural (Mexican and American), getting to see more of the world has let me understand myself and my homes a little more. In line with the previous question, tell us something more about the piece we are hearing at Rossi Fest 2022. Can you delve into the particularities of what inspired you to create They came first…? When I wrote “They came first…” several years ago, I had been thinking a lot about how we view the Holocaust from the perspective of today. I had been passing by the New England Holocaust Memorial often at the time, since it sits in a part of downtown Boston that I frequented. At the end of the 6 glass towers, representing both the chimneys of the concentration camps and the 6 million Jewish lives that were extinguished, there is a black stone bearing Martin Niemoller’s poem “First they came…” I was struck not only by the poem but by these towers that stand in the heart of the city, creating their own little pool of quiet reflection in the hubbub of downtown. They stand there to remind us not only of what happened but of what can happen again if we are not willing to speak up. This piece was a reaction to that, showing the cost of silence and how quickly persecution can escalate, even in the heart of our cities and in places we might not expect it. What does this composition reveal about your personal compositional process (maybe also in regards to the current context of the global crisis)? What are the continuities, and what are the differences compared to your previous works and processes that led to them? There are a few continuities in this piece in relation to my personal compositional process. I often take inspiration from extramusical ideas and how they can be translated into musical gestures; in this case, I took the concept of isolation and persecution and wrote the quintet as a stand-in for a community that is isolated group by group, or in the case of this piece, player by player. In my composition process, I also often play with gestures in which a static or relatively static object (the central, obsessive D) is pushed to the extreme by other musical forces, eventually to a breaking point; in this piece, that emerges not only at the breaks where each player speaks but in the flute part, which becomes increasingly frantic as it realizes what is happening. “They came first…” does stand out from my other work, however, in its reliance on spoken text. Whereas I usually avoid explicit speaking in my instrumental works, to allow any references to be discovered by the individual listener if they so choose, I felt it was important for this particular piece to be direct and brook no argument as to its meaning. In today’s context, I think that directness and frankness can be as meaningful and powerful as the abstraction I often love in art. Perhaps that is why I had another unusual feature in this piece as compared to my other work, namely the relentless focus on a texture created by a single pitch. Harmony fascinates me, and most of my work explores harmonic relationships extensively. Not so this work, where the harmony is limited to uneasy unisons, moments of augmented chords born of an attempt at establishing a major third, and the subsequent collapse of those chords back into the uneasy unison. In no other work do I spend so much time on a single pitch, and I think this obsessive focus is related to the frankness of the text and of the occasion. What are the specific techniques and gestures you used to transpose the initial written inspiration and Martin Niemöller's poem in your piece? Especially in relation to requirements for performers, instruments, structure and content of the work. I referred to some techniques and gestures in the previous answer (the spoken text; the slow separation, isolation, and silencing of individual players; and the repeated, failed attempts to escape the uneasy unison into a different harmony), but other techniques include the following: The instruments and players are silenced in order from the middle outwards: clarinet, viola, violin, cello, and finally flute. The middle of the ensemble, of the society, is hollowed out while the edges attempt to keep the music going. Although the reality of persecution tends to happen in the other direction (from the margins to the middle), I felt it was important in this piece to acknowledge that every marginalization of a group is a loss in social morality, a hollowing out of the middle. In another piece, I have players enter and exit the stage depending on whether or not they are playing. In this piece, however, the players remain onstage when they finish, sitting silently, judging the others’ silence for having stopped. At first, the ensemble maintains some unity. They manage to find a peaceful moment at mm. 30-2, the flute manages to sound a new idea at 39, an idea picked up by the cello shortly after, but it is to no avail. The unity finally shatters and the first elimination (the clarinet) happens, almost halfway through the piece. Now that the first domino has fallen, the disappearances escalate with increasing speed, the following instruments fading away 13 measures later, then 9, and finally 6. After each group is targeted and silenced, it becomes easier to target and silence the next one. Similarly, the intensity of the elimination of the first group is never quite matched, with the cello’s departure the quietest of all. How does your description of your style - “centered in the classical music vernacular but include a variety of musical styles” (from your website) - apply to They came first…? I would actually argue that among my pieces, “They came first…” is among the least influenced by non-classical styles. It is certainly strongly informed by contemporary aesthetics in classical music. The verbalizing of the text is perhaps outside of these traditions and nods towards a more traditionally narrative formal structure than more contemporary forms, but in terms of techniques, it is less mixed than other works of mine. It’s worth acknowledging that this is a somewhat older piece and my compositional style has evolved towards polystylism quite a bit since I wrote “They came first…” Do you consider this polystilistic type of expression as the one that fits the contemporary context the best, and how do you see it developing in the near future? On a personal level, I absolutely see polystylism as the best way I can fit into the contemporary context. Through music, both as a composer and as the executive director for an ensemble, I engage with a wide array of people and communities, and I find that my communication is strongest when we adapt to a language we share, be that a literal language (e.g., switching to Spanish when working with Latino colleagues) or an aesthetic language (e.g., discussions on harmony that overlap between contemporary classical music and funk/jazz). I find that this chameleonic communication style extends to my music and how I engage with the world around me. That said, although this type of expression fits who I am as a person and a composer, I think it would be presumptuous for me to say that it is the one that fits the contemporary context best for every composer. I think it is important to have a certain humility in acknowledging that classical music and our individual styles are just one aesthetic among many, but it is just as important for us to search for and speak that aesthetic that most defines each of us. In this way, there is a certain social polystylism that can proliferate, and I’m sure that large-scale mélange of styles will continue to develop in unpredictable ways specific to millions of local contexts. Do you manage to follow the international scene of contemporary music? Can you recommend to the audience music by any contemporary composer you like to listen to, learn from, or get inspired by? I follow it to some degree, but with a stronger focus on music in the Americas. Some composers that I would recommend include Jessie Montgomery, Adolphus Hailstork, Jerod Tate, Caroline Shaw, Gabriela Ortiz, and too many others to list. I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention some teachers, friends, and colleagues who span continents and whose work has inspired and influenced me: Chaya Czernowin, Edgar Barroso, Marta Gentilucci, Anthony R. Green, and Trevor Bača. Carmel “My piece conveys the idea that like the train, the man has no real choice regarding his life”: Interview with Carmel Curiel ​ Composer and violinist Carmel Curiel, a student at the Jerusalem Academy of Music, with Prof. Yinam Leef, spoke about the inspiration and her compositional processes around the piece Is there anything sadder than a train, which will be performed at Rossi Festival 2022. Carmel received the Sharett Foundation excellence scholarship in composition. She won the 1st prize in the Israeli Composers Competition, and at Mark Kopytman Composition Contest, 2nd prize at Klon Award for emerging composers, and her pieces were played by the NY Philharmonic Orchestra, Iineraire Ensemble, I.C.S Quartet, Mivos Quartet, Meitar Ensemble. We had the opportunity to be introduced to you with a short biography and a video announcement before the performance. Tell us something more about yourself, something you would like the audience in Serbia and abroad to know, but it somehow always gets left out from the official, shortened biographies. I first encountered the world of music when I was a little child and started to learn to play the violin. Actually, my parents have nothing to do with classical music and they were very surprised when I asked them to play the violin. I discovered music composition when I was in high school thanks to my great music teachers. At first, it was really hard to understand what to do with a completely blank music page, but later on, I fell in love with this world! when I was serving in the army, at the intelligence force, I didn't want to stop composing, so I spent every night composing before I went to sleep. In line with the previous question, tell us something more about the piece we are hearing at Rossi Fest 2022. Can you delve into the particularities of what inspired you to create Is there anything sadder than a train? I remember that after reading the book Is this a man? For the first time, I felt that Levi’s writing was really powerful and I wanted to read more books written by him. I found a book containing a collection of poems written by him and the poem called Monday was deeply emotional for me. I remember how the music just came to me from the poem itself. I knew That one day I will compose a piece inspired by this poem. How do you see the relationship between a human and a machine/a mechanic entity? What are your interpretations of this transition “from the mechanics to the humanity that exists in the poem” that you are referring to? In the poem Monday, Levi attributes human qualities to the train and to the horse by referring to their sadness. In my perspective this comparison also conveys the reversed metaphor, attributing the man to object-like qualities, taking from him his humanity. In the musical aspect, we can feel this process from the recurring, measured movement to the periodic but not accurate movement, and to the free movement represented by the solo clarinet. The piece ends with the movement of the train which symbolizes the idea that like the train, the man has no real choice regarding his life. What does this composition reveal about your compositional process? How does the piece fit your aspirations so far? What are the continuities, and what are the differences compared to your previous works? I wrote this piece two years ago. The connection I had with the poem inspired me to create and use new materials I haven’t used before, especially the motive at the beginning - the repetitive movement. Throughout the writing of this piece, I realized the strength that exists in connecting music and text. The music animates the text and communicates it emotionally, while the text makes the music more concrete and more focused in the way it conveys the experience to the listener. What are the specific techniques and gestures you used to transpose the initial written inspiration and Primo Levi’s writings in your piece? The piece is written in three parts, like the verses in the poem, and it conveys the experience of each of the objects in the poem. In the entire piece, there is a feeling of slowing down that is also expressed in the poem. I did not want the music to be written in a way that literally mimics the text so the piece also has its own artistic freedom. The jet technique and key clicks produce a sense of mechanics, as opposed to the clarinet solo which has a very warm and human sound and is also reminiscent of the sound of klezmer music. Do you manage to follow the international scene of contemporary music? Can you recommend to the audience music by any contemporary composer you like to listen to, learn from, or get inspired by? I draw a lot of inspiration from both classical contemporary composers such as Stravinsky and Ligeti. I’m also really influenced by newer contemporary music composed by Murail, Romitelli, Unsuk Chin, Kaija Saariaho and Olga Neuwirth. I really enjoy going to contemporary music concerts and discovering new composers and new pieces, and experiencing the huge variety in today’s contemporary music. Pavel “In composition, I appriciate chastity, sobriety and perfect instrumentation”: Interview with Pavel Nesit As is the idea with these short interviews, young composer Pavel Nesit introduced us with his ways of thinking about music, his process of working on a musical piece, and particularities of his piece 1396 for alto saxophone, snare drum and cymbal, which is to be performed at Rossi Fest 2022. Pavel Nesit is currently studying composition at the Prague Academy of Music in the class of doc. Ph.D MgA. Slavomír Hořínka. In his current work, he tends to work with limited compositional material and focus on improving the purity of his compositional language. He has written a number of compositions for various ensembles (solo, choral, chamber or orchestral) and music for theater and film. We had the opportunity to be introduced to you with a short biography and a video announcement before the performance. Tell us something more about yourself, something you would like the audience in Serbia and abroad to know, but it somehow always gets left out from the official, shortened biographies. As a composer, I have been trying to participate in as many projects, competitions and various other offers as possible since the beginning of my studies. I am aware that it is extremely difficult to be a successful composer of contemporary music. This journey is usually not very pleasant, but I am motivated by every success. I think it's a lot of luck, but you have to go against your luck. In line with the previous question, tell us something more about the piece we are hearing at Rossi Fest 2022. Can you delve into the particularities of what inspired you to create 1396? It is one of the first compositions I wrote at the Academy in Prague. At that time, I was open to all possibilities and I wanted to try as many new composition methods as possible for me. That's why I worked with multiphonics, microintervals, singing to saxophone and other ways of playing. In addition, however, there is something in the composition that is typical for me. It is about deriving musical procedures from a few objects. For example, all multiphonics are based on the opening melody of the saxophone and the rhythm of the percussion instruments is based on a rhythmic figure, which we can hear also at the beginning of the work. In your biography and video introduction, you underline the idea of “compositional purity”. How does that idea concretely reflect on the piece at hand, 1396? My intention was for the individual musical ideas to come together and merge into one, and for the listener not to feel that there was anything extra in the composition. I am constantly trying to cultivate this compositional technique and thus create a pure musical language. What does this composition reveal about your personal compositional process (maybe also in regards to the current context of the global crisis)? What are the continuities, and what are the differences compared to your previous works and processes that led to them? I created the piece in 2019 and at that time I was open to all the possibilities of composition, and I still am. I think that says about me that I don't shy away from any compositional challenges. What are the specific techniques and gestures you used to transpose the initial textual inspiration in your piece? At first, I tried to incorporate into the music the rhythm of the monotonous slave labor that the prisoners had to do in the concentration camp. Furthermore, I used various techniques to express the horror that took place on the spot. For example, microintervals are supposed to evoke the cries of children who have been held in the camp. I had one condition from the customers of the composition, and that is that the composition is written for only two instruments. I chose a saxophone and percussion and these instruments provided me with rich possibilities, which I then used in my composition. Do you have any particular plans or ideas for further development of your style? Of course. I would like to incorporate into my work what I like about music. It's about energy and regularity. That's why these days I'm often inspired by modern dance music. Do you manage to follow the international scene of contemporary music? Can you recommend to the audience music by any contemporary composer you like to listen to, learn from, or get inspired by? To be honest, I don't follow the world scene that much, because I invest most of my time in composing and then I often don't have the energy to listen to more music. However, I would very much like to recommend the work of my current teacher Slavomír Hořínek. His work is characterized by its chastity, sobriety and perfect instrumentation. All of the above is what I appreciate about composers. Gil “by my death... II concerns the larger Jewish historical narrative characterized by destruction and ressurection”: Interview with Gil Dori Gil Dori, a composer whose piece by my death... II will be performed at the Rossi Festival 2022, is interested in interactive electronic music, graphic notation, proportional procedures, and Jewish music. In addition to his artistic work, Gil is a co-founder of the EyeHarp Association, a cooperative start-up that develops accessible digital instruments, based in Barcelona, Spain. He also teaches online computer music and sound design classes at Ben-Gurion University and Sapir Academic College, Israel. Gil holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Arizona State University. In this short conversation, Gil revealed his ideas, intentions, and thoughts behind his piece and his compositional process in regards to this work and his other compositions and projects. We had the opportunity to be introduced to you with a short biography and a video announcement before the performance. Tell us something more about yourself, something you would like the audience in Serbia and abroad to know, but it somehow always gets left out from the official, shortened biographies. Just a small fact, a few years ago I had a really good experience with Serbian musicians. I became friends with pianist Maria Ivanovic, and I wrote a piece for her and for the accordion player Nikola Tanaskovic. They are both very talented musicians, and I had a great pleasure working with them. In line with the previous question, tell us something more about the piece we are hearing at Rossi Fest 2022. Can you delve into the particularities of what inspired you to create by my death... II? The general context of the inspiration for the piece is my research into music and the Holocaust, which focused on a series of works that the Israeli composer Arie Shapira wrote about the Holocaust. I wanted to see how I could react to this topic in my own music, and if I would be able to contribute meaningfully to the vast repertoire of works about the Holocaust. Growing up in Israel, encounters with the Holocaust and its memory are fairly common. The piece derives form my personal discourse on the Holocaust, in the context of my upbringing and my musical interests regarding to my national and cultural identity. The piece is a central movement of a larger composition, but I also consider it as a separate, standalone work, because I wrote it for violinist Alexandra Birch. As a performer and a researcher, Birch aspires to bring broader recognition for music about the Holocasut. She served as a great inspiration in composing this piece. Birch also introduced me to the poems that inspired the piece, Inheritance and Away from Babi Yar, by the Jewish Ukrainian-American poet Julia Kolchinsky. Kolchinsky's grandparents are Holocaust survivors, and her poems reflect on personal and familial history, and the transmission of trauma between generations. They also reflect on the general Jewish narrative. These poems were a perfect match to what I wanted to express in music. Can you give us more insight into your doctoral project? How does this “standalone movement” relate to other movements of the project? The doctoral project includes a research part and a composition part. The research looks into representations of the Holocaust in music, and specificially in the series of works about the Holocaust by Shapira. The goal of the composition is to apply the findings of the research, and respond to them, in my own music. It presents my own compositional approach to the Holocaust, but it also corresponds to Shapira's style, techniques, and expressive means. In a sense, “by my death...” is a homage to this composer, who had a strong influence on my path to dealing with the Holocaust in music. However, my composition is not about the Holocaust alone. It concerns the larger Jewish historical narrative that is characterized by destruction and ressurection, with the Holocaust as a central event. The complete piece is written for clarinet, horn, percussion, violin, double bass, and live electronics which is played by three laptop performers. It is an expansion of the traditional klezmer group, with a horn that symbolizes the shofar, and live electronics as the bridge to the contemporary sound world. The first movement is chaotic, and focuses on tradition. The sounds are based on a spectral analysis of shofar blows. The music also features elements from Torah cantillation and Jewish prayer motives, all of them relate to ideas of death and ruin. The second movement concerns the Holocaust itself. It is for solo violin and laptops with narration parts, so it is unique by instrumentation and it is the only movement that features text. The final movement is based on memorial ceremonies in Israel, with the memorial siren as the main musical source. The movement is shaped by a siren's sound: swelling from nothing to become loud and piercing, until it slowly decays. In this movement the laptop performers manipulate sound recordings of a shofar, which can be regarded as the ancient siren. What does this composition reveal about your personal compositional process? What are the continuities, and what are the differences compared to your previous works and processes that led to them? The piece was written in a time when I was more invested in Jewish music and music about the Holocaust. I was teaching a Jewish music class at Arizona State University, directed a curated concert series about music and the Holocaust, and composed other works that reflect on Jewish culture and history. These days I do not deal so much with the topic of Judaism in my music. The piece also shows my interest in electronic music and live laptop performance. At the time I participated as a performer in LOrkAS (Laptop Orchestra of Arizona State), which I even co-directed. This aspect is still very strong in my music, and I keep exploring it in new ways. What are the specific techniques and gestures you used to transpose the initial textual inspiration in your piece? Especially in relation to requirements for performers, instruments, structure, and content of the work. Although the text inspires and informs the composition, the focus is on expressing the general feeling of the text, its tension, its stress, and also its factual storytelling style. The text is broken and shattered, and the narrators are asked to read the text in different ways, such as extremely fast, whisper, shout, and more. The performers of the narration parts do not necessarily have to be trained singers or narrators. In addition to narrating the text, they also perform the live electronics, processing their own sound at the same time. This may cause confusion and discomfort to the performers, which could be transferred to the audience. This is a way to evoke the idea of transmitting memory of a trauma through the generation. The music progresses gradually from abrasive, unintelligible sounds, to a thin texture with little activity. It slowly reveals the melody of the violin, which includes fragments from Shapira's Holocaust-based pieces. This goes hand in hand with making the text more understandable, yet with lingering fragments of the previous text (using the electronics). Given that your piece includes voice, do you rely only on the meaning of the text in this part, or do you work with the sound of the language itself? How do you imagine someone not understanding the language perceives the emotion and meaning behind the text? What are the techniques or specifics of your work with voice and language in this piece? Only two lines, one from each poem, are meant to be heard clearly: “The last place he came to look for her before the neighbor whispered Zhid” from the poem Inheritance, and “You don’t belong with dirty Zhids!” from Away from Babi Yar. The way I see it, the use of the word zhid is striking and familiar enough that even those who do not understand the language can understand the overall meaning. Especially with the way the performers are instructed to read these lines. This, I believe, works with an audience who may not understand English, but also with an English speaking audience who may not understand Slavic languages. After all, the poet—who wrote in English for English speaking readers—purposely used this specific word. How do you transpose your non-musical inspiration to musical means in by my death… II? What are the techniques (compositional and performing) used to paint that contrast? Also, what binds them together in that regard? I started the composition with the violin melody that is played at the end of the piece, and worked backwards from it. The melody has its inspiration from the music of Shapira, and it even takes fragments directly from him. This musical means of quotation resonates with the notion of the history and memories that are told and retold, passing down stories and pain from generation to generation, which Kolchinsky writes about in her poem Inheritance. This ties together both the musical and non-musical inspirations for the piece. Until this point in the piece, the violin plays broken parts of melodies and motives, in a mosaicing technique. The performer is faced with quick transitions between different bowing and pizzicato techniques, between fixed and undetermined pitches, and between single, double, and triple stops. These techniques are combined with live sound processing of the violin to help evoke a state of disarray, confusion, and stress, which arises from the poem Away from Babi Yar. All of this also helps to connect the violin part and narration parts on a conceptual level, although the live sound processing is what binds them together on a practical level. On the other hand, the narration parts, with their own electronic sounds, also contrast and obstruct the violin, making it harder for its music to break through. Only in the end, when all the electronics are silent, in a contrasting section to the whole piece, the violin gets to escape like Rayachka in Away from Babi Yar and to tell its story like the speaker in Inheritance. Do you manage to follow the international scene of contemporary music? Can you recommend to the audience music by any contemporary composer you like to listen to, learn from, or get inspired by? I try to follow the contemporary music scene. In the past few years I’ve been interested in animated graphic notation, especially that is created in real-time, during the performance itself. I find the scores and music of Cat Hope, Ryan Ross Smith, and David Kim-Boyle particularly creative and inspiring, both technologically and artistically. Otto “I look at sound as a material with its own microcosm”: Interview with Otto Wanke ​ Otto Wanke is a composer who has undertaken a series of musical studies: jazz composition in Prague, and then classical, film, and electroacoustic composition – under Karlheinz Essl, Iris ter Schiphorst, Wolfgang Liebhart in Vienna. In recent times, he is active as a performer of electroacoustic music. In 2018, he was employed as an assistant at the Department of Ethnomusicology at the Music university of Vienna and enrolled in a Ph.D. program. This brief conversation reveals streams of inspiration to his usual work, and especially piece Paths...Shadows, which will be performed at the Rossi Festival 2022. We had the opportunity to be introduced to you with a short biography and a video announcement before the performance. Tell us something more about yourself, something you would like the audience in Serbia and abroad to know, but it somehow always gets left out from the official, shortened biographies. At the center of my composition process lies the idea of considering sound as a material with its own microcosm, which can be analyzed with different electro-acoustic technologies and used for the structural as well as formal compositional proceedings. This sound material has its own physical and perceptive characteristics: grain, thickness, density or elasticity and my compositional techniques like instrumental synthesis or transformation of spectral morphology can be seen as a metaphorical sculpturing of the sound. In line with the previous question, tell us something more about the piece we are hearing at Rossi Fest 2022. Can you delve into the particularities of what inspired you to create Paths...Shadows piece? I was very touched by the story of Jan and Antonina Zabinski. The first encounter was actually a movie about their live, which I saw last year and started then my own research. At this point, there appeared also my intention to expose this material through a new composition. What does this composition reveal about your personal compositional process (maybe also in regards to the current context of the global crisis)? What are the continuities, and what are the differences compared to your previous works and processes that led to them? Whenever I use text sources in my compositions, I never work with fixed libretto, which is given to me. Rather I am creating my own version of this libretto, which inspires me and which correlate with the musical structures. In the case of this concrete composition, I additionally selected the phrases on my own and the structuring of the lyrics was for me a very important stage of the compositional process. ​ What are the specific techniques and gestures you used to transpose the initial textual inspiration in your piece? In this particular piece, I have tried to find different parallels between the text source and the structural development. For example, the typical textural technique was a text collage, which was further developed unfolded through the interventions into the text structures such as rearrangements of words or isolations of individual syllables in order to distill the common substance of these fragments. A similar procedure can be seen in musical phrases, where I often isolate very small gestures and I vary them through various looping techniques. Given that your piece has a prominent role for a soprano performer, do you rely only on the meaning of the text in this part, or do you work with the sound of the language itself? What are the techniques or specifics of your work with voice and language in this piece? I have tried to create a kind of zooming of selected words and phrases. Through this zooming I wanted to create a process of flux and motion. On one hand, the soprano is closely interlocked with the instrumental gestures and often the ensemble plays a role as a resonator of the voice. On the other, there are the mentioned looping techniques which can be very helpful in understanding some aspects of text as well. How are Żabińska’s diary and Alighieri’s Purgatorio, in your words, two “highly contrasting text sources”, represented in Paths… Shadows in the musical sense? What are the techniques (compositional and performing) used to paint that contrast? Also, what binds them together in that regard? Both sources differ in period of origin and used language was quite different as well. There is also a fundamental contrast between the imaginary world of Dantes purgatory and the real life drama of Żabińska. On the other hand, the Dante`s allegory can be associated with the dramatically events from the history as well as from our recent world. The most original aspect of Dante’s version of Purgatory is that the souls in Purgatory are in the process of moral change. They suffer, but not simply in order to repay a debt: they are suffering in order to become good. The consequence of this is that they willingly undergo the suffering, they understand the reasons for it. It is in fact the place where you reflect on those sins, and where you change the psychological tendencies which led you to sin. This leads to extraordinary richness in the depiction of character. Do you manage to follow the international scene of contemporary music? Can you recommend to the audience music by any contemporary composer you like to listen to, learn from, or get inspired by? I am very inspired by French spectral composers as Gérard Grisey or Tristan Murail but also by the Romanian school, which is not so famous – especially by Horațiu Rădulescu. I would also recommend the work of Jonathan Harvey, who created very interesting ambiguities between instrumental and electronical music.

​ ​ Opera L'incoronazione di Poppea , by Claudio Monteverdi National Theater in Belgrade, Stage Raša Plaović 28. january 2019. ​ The closing ceremony of the second edition of the Rossi Fest was marked by the performance of the famous opera of Claudio Monteverdi, The Coronation of Poppea (L'incoronazione di Poppea ), enriched by the synphonies of Salomone Rossi. The main roles were presented by members of the ensemble Baroque Vocal , led by Professor Claudius Eder and other Belgrade opera singers. Ballet dancers of ensemble Transition Dance Company were selected from the Institute for Artistic Art in Belgrade, and orchestra was New Trinity Baroque ensemble under the direction of Predrag Gosta who also prepared the performances for this opera production. ​ Conductor: Alberto Veronesi (Italy) Director: Aleksandar Nikolic Choreographer: Aleksandar Ilic Production: Rossi fest ​ Julie Grutzka - Poppea Larissa Botos - Nerone Florian Küppers - Seneca Christian Rohrbach - Ottone Shai Terry - Otavia Sonja Grevenbrock - Drusilla/Virtu Daniel Tilch - Lucano Radoslava Vorgic - Valetto/Fortuna Milica Lalošević - Amore ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ New Trinity Baroque: Katarina Đorđević, Ivana Zavišić and Dušica Blaženović, baroque violines; Gradimir Orbanović, baroque viola; Srđan Stanić, viola da gamba; Uroš Jovanović, violones; Darko Karajić, theorba; Milena Stanišić, renesansna harfa; Predrag Gosta, čembalo i orgulje; Boris Bunjac, percusions and guests from Germany: Solrun Wechner, čembalo i Sergio Bermudez, lauta Transition Dance Company sa Instituta za umetničku igru: Nenad Ivanković, Jovana Grujić, Luka Pejčinović, Nikola Pavlović, Anđelija Jovanović i Tijana Koprivica ​ 1/3 Alberto Veronesi, conductor Background: Born in Milan, Veronesi studied at the Conservatory of Verdi in Milan, after a successful degree in Piano, Orchestra composition and Direction. When he was a student he founded the Guido Cantelli orchestra. He performed in this Orchestra until 2000 with two great performances: at the Eastern Festival in Salisburgo (invited by Claudio Abbado) and on Santa Cecilia’s day at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino . Maestro Alberto Veronesi is an official artist at the Deutsche Gramophone and he conducted many researches in the repertoire of 800’ and beginning of 900’. He focused on Artists like Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Giacomo Puccini and others. He performed and recorded also the fairly known operas in order to have the biggest audience and to give more visibility to a neglected repertoire. With the Deutsche Gramophone, Bellini and Romantic Opera Verismo Project in association with the Deutsche Gramophone This Project is dedicated to the Italian post-romantic repertoire. The project has started in 2006 with the performance of Edgar, the youngest work of Puccini, recorded in an extended version with Placido Domingo and appreciated from critics. The second album, Puccini Ritrovato , contains an original version, Deutsche Opera in Berlin, performed by Angela Gheorghiu and Roberta Alagna. Opera has been performed by Domingo, Lang Lang and the Orchestra of Bologna city Theatre. Orchestras and Opera houses/theatres: Wiener Philarmoniker , Opera Orchestra of New York , Carnegie Hall , New York, Avery Fischer Hall , Grand Theatre of Tianjin China, The Orchestra of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Orchestra of Theatre La Fenice in Venice, Deutsche Opera Orchestra Berlin , Theatre Monnae Orchestra Bruxelles, Orchestra of Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome, Philarmonic Theatre in Bologna, Orchestra of S.Carlo Theatre Naples, Philarmonic Orchestra of Bologna, Sicilian Symphonic Orchestra of Palermo , Salzburger Festspiele , Brooklyn Academy of Music, Spring Festival New York, Teatro alla Scala, Festival Puccini di Torre del Lago , Maggio Musicale Fiorentino , Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana di Palermo, Tel Aviv Opera, Theatre NHK Tokyo, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Filarmonica del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Shanghai Opera House, Opera Orchestra of New York ,Fondazione Teatro Petruzzelli di Bari … etc Aleksandar Nikolić, director Aleksandar Nikolić, is a stage director engaged in the Opera of the National Theater in Belgrade from the season 2009/10. for maintaining and reviving the current repertoire as a stage director, reviving director, acting coach. In addition to theatre directing at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade, he also studied art history (Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade), industrial design (Belgrade Polytechnic), piano and music theory (1992-2004.). Hi did his professional upgrading in Brescia (Italy), Hanover (Germany) and Thessaloniki (Greece). Aleksandar Nikolić is currently completing his PhD in Theater Directing Studies at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (University of Belgrade). He started his professional carrier as a pianist, costume and set designer. From June 2015. Aleksandar Nikolić is engaged as professor (maitre de conferences) Belgrade Dance Institute for subjects Stage directing in opera and ballet , LibrettoAnatomy and Stage director’s analysis of the music text . He started his professional carrier as a pianist, costume and set designer. From December 2015. to February 2016. he was engaged in Royal Opera House Covent Garden as an assistant director(and later a director on duty) for Sir Richard Eyre’s production of La Traviata . From the season 2016/17 engaged in international masterclasses (Israel and Belgrade) for opera singers devoted to the interpretation of music and verbal text in the Italian and French opera repertoire. Don Giovanni (National Theatre in Sarajevo), Viva la mamma (National Theatre in Sarajevo), Don Giovanni (Kombank hall, Belgrade), Shakespeare: Sonnets (National Theatre in Belgrade, Serbia), Melancholic Dreams of Count Sava Vladislavich (National Theatre in Belgrade, Serbia), Le conevinienz e edinconevinienze teatrali (Croatian National Theatre in Rijeka, Croatia), Cavalleria rusticana (Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad, Serbia), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Vrnjačka Banja Summer Festival, Serbia), Viva la mamma (Israeli Center of Exelence, Jerusalem, Israel), Pyramus and Thisbe (Israeli Center of Excellence, Jerusalem, Israel), La serva- padrona (National Theatre in Belgrade, Serbia), Fledermaus (Israeli Museum of Art, Tel Aviv), The castle of Bluebeard (Belgrade Philharmonic) , Carmina Burana (Sava center, Belgrade, Serbia) , Blasphemy in the Valley of St Florian (Balkan Dance Festival, Coproduction of Bosnia, Serbia, Slovenia), That Crazy Girl (Opera and Theatre Madlenianum in Belgrade, Serbia), The Last Dream of Milutin Milanković (Opera and Theatre Madlenianum in Belgrade, Serbia), Pierrotlunaire (Opera and Theatre Madlenianum in Belgrade, Serbia), The Mysterious Stranger / The Studies of a Wild Gees / The Days of the Paris Commune (Teatro Filodamatika, Rijeka, Croatia), Éloge de l'Amour / Tristan und Isolde (Teatro Filodamatika, Rijeka, Croatia), Bergman: Autumn Sonata (Yugoslav Drama Theater, Belgrade), Nella note densa… In the dark night… (National Theater, Belgrade), The Stolen Doll , Far Away From Home , Heroism and Humanism for Children , Grace (cycle of musicals for children- chamber scene, National Theater, Belgrade), Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, Woyzeck by Georg Büchner. Aleksandar Ilić, choreographer Aleksandar Ilić, MA is the first soloist of the ballet of the National Theater in Belgrade, choreographer, poet, and professor at the Belgrade Dance Institute. He was educated at Music School Isidor Bajić , Dobrila Novkov’s Ballet School La Sylphide and Ballet School Lujo Davičo . Aleksandar holds Bachelor in Communications and MA in choreography (scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia). Ballet Performances: Viva la vida! ; Lisbon Story ; Holiday of Love ; Ballad of the Vagabond Moon and Butler’s Broom ; Alice in Wonderland . Dance performances, installations and performances: Mila Foundation and Pets ; Behind the Mirror ; My Phobia - Pteronophobia ; Dance Theater Ladies ; Sava Sumanovic's Dance - Beračice ; Reminiscence ; Four Poems for Tađa ; After the Sonata ; Scandal in the Valley of Saint Florian . Performances for the children: Magical Beans ; A Legend About You . Opera: Melancholic Dreams of the Count Sava Vladisavic ; The Magic Flute ; Don Giovanni ; Maid Mistress ; White Rose ; Viva la Mamma . He is the author of books of poems Holiday of Hearts (1999-2010) and At the Presence of Whisper (2013). He is one of founders and president of Association of Professional Ballet Dancers, Choreographers and Ballet Teachers of Serbia and the founder of the Terpsihora Award. He is Editor-in-Chief of Stepart, a magazine for artistic dance. Awards: National Theater, City of Belgrade, Dimitrije Parlic Prize , Golden Badge of the Cultural Education Community of Serbia and Life Award Filip Višnjić . Ensamble Barock Vokal In 2010, Claudia Eder initiated the excellence program Barock Vokal – College for Early Music at the Mainz School of Music. Barock Vokal quickly established itself as a very successful continuing education program in cooperation with Villa Musica , a state foundation of Rhineland-Palatinate . The one-year program gives young opera and concert singers the opportunity to obtain in-depth experience with “historically informed performance practice”. Under the guidance of internationally renowned artists in residence, the participants master their interpretation skills, thus gaining stylistic confidence with works ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary music. During the various project phases, the young professionals can work with distinguished artists – for instance, Andreas Scholl, Konrad Junghänel, Ton Koopman, Wolfgang Katschner, Michael Hofstetter and Fabio Bonizzoni. The concerts are always highly esteemed by the press and public. A special highlight is a tour with Alfredo Bernardini and the European Union Baroque Orchestra. From November 2016 onwards, Barock Vokal will repeatedly welcome the Japanese conductor Masaaki Suzuki as an artist in residence. Apart from the artistic training, the singers are being encouraged to create a professional network offering them further engagements on the international concert circuit. Barock Vokal is frequently invited to well-known events such as the Schwetzingen SWR Festival , Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg , the festival Rhein Vokal , the Rheingau Musik Festival and to the opera houses of Frankfurt, Cologne and Wiesbaden as well as the Campo Santo in Rome. Orchestra New Trinity Baroque Hailed by the critics as “Atlanta’s most adventurous early music ensemble” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), New Trinity Baroque is recognized as one of the leading early music ensembles today. Founded by Predrag Gosta in London in 1998, NTB was initially established as an ensemble of international musicians, and they continue to maintain this presence through collaborations with U.S. and international artists: past soloists include soprano Evelyn Tubb, recorder player Marion Verbruggen, violinists Ingrid Matthews, Florian Deuter, Bojan Cicic and John Holloway, harpsichordist Steven Devine, and others. Each season, the ensemble presents over thirty concerts and educational events in Atlanta and other cities throughout the U.S. and in Europe, performing on period instruments of the 17th and 18th centuries. The group’s repertoire ranges from chamber to orchestral, from cantatas to operas, and its styles from Renaissance to Classical. New Trinity Baroque’s concerts are consistently highly praised. Performances from the past include several Southeastern U.S. and Southern Europe premieres, such as Monteverdi’s “Vespers ” of 1610, Handel’s “Gloria ”, Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio ”, Corelli’s Concerti Grossi , Vivaldi’s “L’Estro Armonico ” Concertos, Pergolesi’s “Stabat Mater ”, Mozart’s “Eine kleine Nachtmusik ” and Divertimenti for Strings , as well as operas such as Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas ", Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo " and "The Coronation of Poppea ", etc. NTB is also an active recording ensemble with almost a dozen CDs to its credit. NTB's members regularly present lectures, educational events and masterclasses. The ensemble was an Affiliate Ensemble at Georgia State University's School of Music since 2003, and the Ensemble-in-Residence at Oxford College of Emory University since 2004. The group is also the Ensemble-in-Residence at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta for over 10 years, which is its main performing venue. New Trinity Baroque has toured England, Finland, Sweden, Serbia and Croatia, appearing at festivals such as Korkyra Baroque , the Belgrade Early Music Festival, Sastamala Gregoriana festival in Finland and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, Sout Carolina. Ensemble Transitions Dance Company from the Institute for Artictic Dance The Institute of Artistic Dance is an organizational unit of the Faculty of Engineering Management, where classes of study programs from the artistic program are conducted. The institute was founded by a group of eminent scientists who have gained vocations at world famous universities in Europe and the United States, together with renowned artists from Serbia, with the goal of transmitting the most contemporary world methods achieved in the field of artistic play to future artists in Belgrade and Serbia. IUI Transitions Dance Company is a dance company created within the Institute of Artistic Arts for individuals with higher education in arts who have at least 180 ECTS points. At the same time IUI Transitions Dance Company is engaged in education and experimentation to find new forms of choreographic and play vocabulary, and the way of expressing thoughts that choreographers put as a task before the players. During the past academic years, master's workshops and guest lectures were held by numerous professors, choreographers, pedagogues, performers and ballet masters from around the world. The students of the Institute for Artistic Art were presented independently or in groups within numerous manifestations, festivals, concerts and performances, all over Serbia. The ensemble performed in many renowned halls, among which are the National Theater in Belgrade, the National Museum in Belgrade; Bitef theater; Theater Terazije; Ilija M. Kolarac Foundation.

Lecture by Prof. Ana Stefanović Tuesday, January 26th Online event, 19h ​ Psalm 137 in Baroque musical interpretations The theme of this lecture is baroque interpretations of Psalm 137 (By the rivers of Babylon ). It is the only psalm from the Book of Psalms that describes the exile and captivity of Jewish people in Babylon after the defeat of Jerusalem and the fall of the First Temple in the 6th century BC. The text of this psalm is attributed to King David and Prophet Jeremiah in different sources, and it is a regular part of the liturgy in both Jewish and Christian traditions. The complexity of its meaning, representing a communal lament, has been a source of inspiration for classical music composers since the Renaissance, until the 20th century. The musical setup of Psalm 137 by composer Salomone Rossi from his collection HaShirim asher li-Shlomo (1620/1623) will present a kind of historical and contextual axis for insight into psalm interpretations of composers before and after Rossi, namely, in the period of High Renaissance and middle and high Baroque period in Italy and also in France and northern Europe. Providing a historical lineage of musical setups of Psalm 137 enables us, on the one hand, to trace the changes in the form of the motet, which is a common musical form for psalms, and on the other hand, a kind of musical exegetical study, additional interpretative layer in musical fiber which illuminates the theological and philosophical implications of its meaning. ​ Prof. dr. Ana Stefanović Musicologist, Professor at the University of Arts, Faculty of Music (Department of Musicology), in Belgrade, and Associate Researcher at IreMus, Paris. She received her MA degree at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade and her Ph.D. in musicology at the University Paris IV Sorbonne. The main areas of her research are baroque opera, solo song, the relation between music and text, as well as questions of musical style and stylistic analysis. She is engaged in several international and national projects in musicology and is the author of a large number of studies and articles published in reviews for musicology and music theory, and in collected papers. She edited several issues of collected papers and organized several international conferences. She published the books: La musique comme métaphore. La relation de la musique et du texte dans l’opéra baroque français: de Lully à Rameau , Paris, L’Harmattan, 2006; Temporality and Narraivity in Music Drama , Beograd, FMU, 2017. She is also the author of the Anthology of Serbian Art Song I–VI, Belgrade, UKS, 2008–2014. ​

Lecture ​ On January 29, within the scientific segment of the festival's current edition, Rossi Fest proudly hosted a musicologist from the Academy of Music in Zagreb, Ivan Ćurković, at the National Theater Museum. The distinguished guest delved into the captivating theme of "War and Peace in G. F. Handel's oratorios," captivating the audience with his insights and expertise. Dr. sc. Ivan Ćurković was born in Novi Sad in 1980. He graduated from the University of Zagreb in musicology at the Academy of Music (2005) and comparative literature and Hungarian studies at the Faculty of Philosophy (2007). He is pursuing his doctoral studies at the Institute of Musicology of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Heidelberg, where he obtained the title of Doctor of Science in 2017 with a dissertation titled The Vocal Duet and G. F. Handel's Italian Contemporaries. An Attempt at a Comparison. Since 2007, he has been employed at the Department of Musicology of the Academy of Music, University of Zagreb, since 2023 as an associate professor. In the period 2018-2021, he held the position of head of the Department of Musicology. He is a participant in several scientific conferences in the country and abroad, and he was also the president of the program and organizational committee of the international scientific conference Musicology and Its Future in Times of Crises organized on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Department of Musicology of the Academy of Music in 2020, and a member of the organizational committee of the scientific conference The Blasphemous in Music in Sound held at the Department of Musicology in 2023. He is the author of the monograph The Vocal Duets of G. F. Handel and His Italian Contemporaries (1706-1724), several scientific and professional articles as well as music and theater criticism, and he also works as a part-time associate of the Lexicographic Institute Miroslav Krleža. Since 2022, he has been a member of the management board of the international networking project, the so-called COST Action A new ecosystem of early music studies financed by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology. His areas of scientific interest are vocal music of the 18th century with special emphasis on the work of G. F. Händel, performance practice of the past and present, and the application of various cultural theories in historical musicology. War and peace in the oratorios of G. F. Handel January 30, 2024, at 6 p.m., Jewish Culture Center ​ Abstract: Although the war theme is an integral part of the opera librettos set to music by G. F. Händel, with frequent dynastic struggles characteristic of the opera series of that time, only the composer's vocal music in the English language could fully correspond with the wartime - or peaceful - reality of the United Kingdom. The English oratorio genre was invented primarily to morally educate the audience, and many authors such as Ruth Smith have pointed out the importance of interpreting these Handel works in the context of the time of their creation and the intellectual climate that surrounded them. At the same time, the reception of biblical oratories tended to identify the British nation with the chosen people, since the Old Testament war conflicts and their resolution could be seen in their own political everyday life. The lecture will consider those Handel oratorios in which the theme of war and peace plays a more important role and find a balance between the meanings they could have taken on at the time of their creation to their relevance today. Most of the presentation will focus on case studies from two groups of oratorios. The first includes works such as Deborah, Belshazzar, and, to a certain extent, Alexander Balus, which thematize the events of the war with the procedures of classical dramaturgy in which the conflict arises from the conflict between the warring parties, while the musical face takes on individual soloist roles, as well as choral parts of the opposing parties ( ethnic) groups. Judas Maccabaeus and Joshua are primarily in the second group, and the "enemy" in the musical and dramaturgical sense does not appear in them at all. Together with them, we should also consider Solomon, one of the rare oratorical thematizations of political stability and peace. ​ ​

Masterclass with Olga Makarina Saturday and Sunday, January 30th - 31st Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment - Rossi Fest office 17-20h A world-renowned opera singer, a professor of vocal pedagogy, and a long-term associate of Rossi Fest, Olga Makarina, joined us in this festival edition as well and held a two-day masterclass for young opera singers. Having in mind current epidemiological measures and restrictions, Ms Makarina joined us online via Zoom, while the participants and pianist Srđan Jaraković worked from the office of Rossi Fest at Kolarac Endowment. ​ The soprano from the Metropolitan Opera Olga Makarina was born in Archangel, Russia, where she earned her Masters in piano and voice from the St Petersburg Conservatory. She has won several important prizes and awards and is especially notable for her pedagogical work with young singers. Her first New York appearance was at the New York City Opera as Lucia di Lammermoor . She has performed as well Gilda in Rigoletto , Konstanze in Mozart's Abduction from the Seraglio and Olympia in Les Contes d'Hoffmann , Ilia in Idomeneo (Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival), Violetta in La Traviata (Kirov Opera) and Eudoxie in La Juive (Opera Orchestra of New York). Apart from these, she has also appeared as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Minnesota Orchestra and Orff's Carmina Burana . She performed the demanding role of Elettra in Mozart's Idomeneo at the Metropolitan Opera with James Levine conducting, while at Opera Pacific she was Adina in the Jonathan Miller production of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore . She appeared twice at the Bard Festival , singing scenes from Meyerbeer's Robert le Diable and Les Huguenots as well as the final scene of Norma and then as a soloist in the Grand Messe of Franz Liszt. Apart from the Metropolitan Opera , Olga Makarina performed on various stages in Prague, Bratislava, Palm Beach, Warsaw, and in Carnegie Hall .

Since its first edition, Rossi Fest has included lectures (dedicated to the topics on the intercultural and interdisciplinary context of Salomone Rossi`s work, his time, contemporaries, and successors) in its program. This year, we will have the opportunity to hear two lectures on the topics: "Jewish Musicians in Belgrade Between the Two World Wars", by Maja Vasiljević and "Aron Marko Rothmüller, composer and opera singer of Jewish origin" lecture by Dora Lovrečić. ​ Lecture by Maja Vasiljević National Theater Museum January 29, 2023, at 6:00 p.m ​ Jewish Musicians in Belgrade Between the Two World Wars After research experience for her latest study Jewish Musicians in Belgrade: From the Balfour Declaration to the Holocaust (Jevrejski muzičari u Beogradu: Od Balfurove deklaracije do Holokausta, 2021), an author of this lecture will open a music map of the "Jewish" interwar Belgrade. In line with that, in the opening part of the lecture, a special focus will be put on the constant migration processes of Jews. Then, an overview of the presence of Belgrade Jews in all types of musical practices - classical, i.e. artistic, popular, liturgical, i.e. synagogue, and finally, folk practices, will be given. In the second part of the lecture, following the map of urban Belgrade, an overview of musical institutions founded by Jews will be mapped. Along with the leading music institution with a Jewish presence, special focus will be put on the Serbian-Jewish Singing Society, as one of the oldest Jewish choirs in the world. The lecturer will also dedicate attention to the extremely important and so far neglected, role of Jews in the history of popular music in Belgrade and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Therefore, the dance school of Rihard Rosenberg and the Music House "Harmony" led by Isak Armidi, one of the first music impresarios in our country at a time when musical life was planned ad hoc will be accessed. The final part of the lecture will be focused on the leading musicians of Jewish origin in the field of artistic and popular music and the evocation of leading concert performances by audio and visual examples. Maja Vasiljević (1980) holds a Ph.D. in sociology and a master's degree in musicology and works as a Research Associate at the History Department at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. Since 2003, she has been engaged in music criticism on the Second Program of Radio Belgrade, in the programs Classics Please, Cultural Circles, and How to Listen to Music, and she also acted as an expert consultant for historical issues in the Cultural and Educational Program on the National Television of Serbia. She completed studies in musicology at the Department of Musicology, Faculty of Music, University of Arts in Belgrade in 2007 and sociology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. Permanently interested in the relationship between Nazism and music, after her master's thesis Treatment of degenerate music in the Third Reich, she obtained her doctorate in sociology on the related topic of the relationship between musical practice and discourse on biopolitics by Michel Foucault and Holocaust studies. Since 2012, she has been the secretary of the scientific journal Limes plus for social sciences and humanities and Acta historiae medicinae. She is consistently interested in the music of "problematic" and "excluded", i.e. minorities - Jews, Czechs, Russians, and others, as well as musical practices and musicians in dramatic periods of great social changes in European history - the Great War, the Cold War, and the Second World War. So far, the topics of her works have been musical practices at the border of sociology, musicology, and history with an emphasis on the relationship between music and politics. Recently, she has been expanding his interdisciplinary research through the research of populism in the territory of the former Yugoslavia as a researcher on the Horizon 2020 inter-consortium project about the populist rebellion in Central and Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall. She was also part of the digitization projects of Jewish heritage in Vojvodina from the 18th to the 19th century. She is the author of two studies Jewish Musicians in Belgrade: From the Balfour Declaration to the Holocaust (Jevrejski muzičari u Beogradu: Od Balfurove deklaracije do Holokausta, 2021) and Film Music in the SFRY: Between Politics and Poetics (Filmska muzika u SFRJ: Između politike i poetike, 2016). Lecture by Dora Lovrečić National Theater Museum January 29, 2023, at 7:30 p.m ​ Aron Marko Rothmüller, composer and opera singer of Jewish origin In the writings on Croatian music of the 20th century, Aron Marko Rothmüller (1908–1993) is frequently mentioned due to his international renown as a baritone singer. Nevertheless, his distinguished reputation completely overshadowed his efforts as a composer, despite the fact that he composed throughout his whole life. Although only a few writers have written about Rothmüller's works, two circumstances are never overlooked: on one side the fact that he was a student of Alban Berg and on the other that he composed „Jewish music“. In this lecture, coordinates that are relevant for his opus will be illustrated through the analysis of his music works and writings about music. Dora Lovrečić was born in Rijeka in 1993. She graduated piano in 2018 at the Zagreb Music Academy under the mentorship of Dalibor Cikojević and Filip Fak. In the year 2021, she finished musicology studies at the same institution under the mentorship of Dalibor Davidović. Her master thesis represents the first monography on Aron Marko Rothmüller as a composer. Currently, she is immersed in and occupied with the musical life of the city of Rijeka – through archival research, critiques, playing in ensembles, and pedagogy. ​ ​ ​ ​

Concert: Portraits and Remembrance Thursday, January 27th, 8 P.M. Belgrade National Museum ​ At the festival's opening concert, on January 27, the works of the five finalists of the fifth Competition for young composers "Portraits and Memories" will be presented - on January 27th, commemorating World Holocaust Remembrance Day. The pieces from this year's edition of the competition are mostly inspired by the story and letters of Hilda Deich, which give a new perspective on the general social situation at her time and her experience in the Sajmište camp. By putting the spotlight on this topic, Rossi Fest continues its cultural mission and makes a significant contribution to the world's cultural heritage in the field of preserving the culture of memory. The finalists of the Competition, selected by the Artistic Committee of the Festival, come from four countries, and the fantastic Aratos Trio will perform their pieces in the Atrium of the National Museum in Belgrade. ​ PROGRAM: Gavin Sol Goodrich (SAD): Hilda and Mirjana’s Last Encounter Lazar Marić (Srbija): The cry of Hilda Dajč Zach Gulaboff Davis (SAD, Makedonija) : Unfurl Lazar Đorđević (Srbija): Letters from Semlin Braha Bdil (Izrael) : Metamorphosis on the Theme of Hava Nagila Performers: Aratos trio: Katarina Popović, violina Mihailo Samoran, klarinet Vanja Šćepanović, klavir Hilda Dajč - Jelena Puzić, glumica Režija – Ana Grigorović ​ Aratos trio Aratos Trio was formed in 2014. by Katarina Popović (violin), Mihailo Samoran (clarinet) and Vanja Šćepanović (piano). As already individually accomplished professional musicians, trio members have enrolled in artistic doctoral studies at the Faculty of Music, University of Arts in Belgrade (Serbia) being gathered around the idea of promoting the clarinet trio as a full-fledged and, in a way, 'standard' chamber music ensemble, different but equal to the more traditional ensembles such as piano trio or string quartet. The trio has been engaged in the artistic research of clarinet trio repertoire with a special focus on music written in the late 20th and 21st centuries, especially music composed by Serbian authors. Their repertoire includes a number of pieces, including the most important early works written for clarinet trio by composers such as Bela Bartok, Igor Stravinsky, Aram Khachaturian, Gian Carlo Menotti, Darius Milhaud, Alexander Arutiunian, etc., some of which are considered to be the most significant pieces in chamber music history. Next to performing already existing pieces by Ivan Brkljačić, Vladimir Tošić, Milana Stojadinović Milić, Dragana Jovanović, Isidora Žebeljan, Ante Grgin (who dedicated his Trio for clarinet, violin, and piano to Aratos Trio) and other Serbian composers. Aratos Trio is investigating possibilities for the newest additions to the clarinet trio repertoire through collaboration with various contemporary composers. Since its inception, Aratos Trio has presented at least 15 clarinet trio pieces for the first time in front of a Serbian audience, thus positioning itself as a fresh and innovative ensemble on the Serbian classical music scene. The performances of the Aratos Trio were observed in concert podiums throughout Serbia and Italy. In August 2017, Aratos Trio participated at the International Music Festivals Nei Suoni dei Luoghi and Carniarmonie, both in Italy. Recognized as the best ensemble by the director of the festival and famous cellist, Mr. Enrico Bronzi, Aratos Trio was honored to close the Nei Suoni dei Luoghi Festival in Giuseppe Verdi Theatre in Trieste - Italy, in November 2018. Aratos Trio's projects are recognized and supported by SOKOJ and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia. Gavin Sol Goodrich - Hilda and Mirjana’s Last Encounter Gavin Sol Goodrich is a composer and concert pianist. Hailing from Washington State, his works have been performed by Ekmeles, International Contemporary Ensemble, and Vibraphone Project Inc. He graduated from Columbia University with honors with degrees in mathematics and music. Under the advisement of Georg Friedrich Haas, his senior thesis focused on writing 15th-century polyphony in microtonal systems. He is currently working in Spain on a Fulbright grant. Hilda and Mirjana’s Last Encounter I wrote this work when my mom was dying, after she lost her ability to speak, and all I could do was hold her hand in silence. This trio is my attempt at understanding Mirjana’s thoughts as she met Hilda for the last time, knowing she was meeting a dying loved one and doing her best to comfort her without words. This piece is me trying to glimpse into one of the saddest moments of a stranger’s life and attempting to see through my own grief by connecting with Mirjana’s wordless goodbye. Lazar Marić - The cry of Hilda Dajč Lazar Marić (2001) is a composition student at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. He received his primary musical education at the "Stevan Hristić" music school in Kruševac. After that, he enrolled in the "Stevan Mokranjac" high school of music in Kraljevo in the instrumental department - majoring in piano. He graduates high school as the best student of his generation and he enrolls in composition studies at the Faculty of Music in the class of professor Dragan Latinčić. His pieces were performed at concerts and festivals, such as KoMA'17, KoMA'18, and FESTUM. The cry of Hilda Dajč The cry of Hilde Dajč is an instrumental piece inspired by Hilda Dajč letters in which she described the suffering of innocent civilians in a Nazi concentration camp. Through the sound of the clarinet, violin, and piano, as well as in complex compositional and technical procedures, all the suffering, perseverance, and personal struggle of a young Jewish woman are depicted. The description of the struggle of a young Jewish woman is reflected, both in terms of form, as well as on the harmonic-melodic level, which is the result of deep research into the sound possibilities of instruments. Zach Gulaboff Davis - Unfurl Described as “beautiful, lyrical” and brimming with “unexpected harmonic shifts,” the music of Macedonian-American composer Zach Gulaboff Davis centers on the expressive and dramatic possibilities of compositional narrative. A 2023 MacDowell Fellow, Zach maintains an active schedule as a composer and collaborator across the globe. Zach has partnered with a plethora of organizations and performers ranging from NASA’s Space Science Telescope Institute, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, to NYC’s Apotheosis Opera, and has completed residencies at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Atlantic Center, Brevard Institute, Bowdoin International Music Festival, and Canada’s Arcady Ensemble, most recently serving as the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Creative Fellow for Composition at Millay Arts. Unfurl This work was penned as a homage, honoring the remembrance of World War II while providing a ray of hope and optimism for a brighter future. It is my dream that this work serves not only as a marker of the past but inspires some small spark of hope for a trajectory toward peace. As the work unfolds, listen for changes in texture and character, eventually returning to a climax reminiscent of the opening. Lazar Đorđević - Letters from Semlin Lazar Djordjevic was born in 1992 in Kragujevac. The compositions by Lazar Djordjevic were performed several times in the country and abroad. He was a participant in many festivals such as the International Review of Composers in Belgrade, Rossi fest, KOMA festival (for young authors), Festum, etc. For the composition Jednom sam negde čuo... for clarinet, accordion, and string quartet (2016) he received an international award for the best composition at the contest New Serbian Music for the Accordion at the International Festival of Accordions Eufonija. He is a prize-winner from the Stevan Hristic Foundation in 2015 and Josip Slavenski Foundation in 2017. He is the author of the first Serbian concerto for accordion and orchestra, which premiered in 2017. Lazar Đorđević is currently employed as an assistant at the Department of Music Theory at the Faculty of Music Arts in Belgrade. Letters from Semlin The piece Letters from Semlin for violin, clarinet, and piano was composed at the end of 2022 and is dedicated to the Aratos Trio and Rossi Fest. The main inspiration for the creation of the work was four letters written by Hilda Deich in December 1941. Letters assigned to friends Nada Novak and Mirjana Petrović are written evidence of the last months of the life of 20-year-old Hilda, who volunteered to work as a nurse in the camp at the Belgrade Sajmište. The musical narrative follows the content of the letters, therefore four larger units can be discerned when it comes to the musical form. The idea of ​​the piece is to present the courage and humanity of young Hilda Deich through musical means and to once again revive the memory of the innocent victims of the Holocaust. Brcaha Bdil - Metamorphosis on the Theme of Hava Nagila Composer, conductor, and pianist has a Master's degree in Music Education and Composition from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Bracha was awarded the 2019-2020 ACUM Award, in Israel, won the first prize in the Wolf Durmashkin Composition Award, Germany (2018), and the first prize in the Yardena Alotin Composition Competition, Bar-Ilan University, Israel (2016). Her repertoire includes orchestral music, chamber, vocal and electronic music, as well as music for dance and theater. Metamorphosis of "Hava Nagila" (Let's Rejoice) The work seems to follow the caricature of the writings of Hilda Dajč, a Jewish girl, born in Belgrade, who perished in the Holocaust. Her first letter to her friend was optimistic as it was written the day before her exile to Sajmište camp, as well as the presentation of the melody "Hava Nagila" in a dance klezmer style. The following letters, which are addressed to various friends, contain impressions of the difficult camp life, and in accordance with their content - the music also becomes more expressive and dramatic and sometimes sounds like a kind of prayer. During the war, Hilda Dajč volunteered for nursing services on her own initiative, served as a nurse in the Jewish hospital in Belgrade, and despite the despair and anxiety - continued her activities in the camp as well. Metamorphosis of "Hava Nagila" - as a tribute to Dajč - strives to paint a portrait of memory interwoven with the hope, to perpetuate the Jewish-Hebrew heritage in an optimistic tone. Through the expressive variations, the dance melody alternately floats and rises and even signs the composition. Despite the many attempts at "final solutions" to the destruction of the Jewish nation – it is still alive, exists, and continues to draw its historical portrait.

The premiere of the Opera Rinaldo Georg Friedrich Handel Belgrade, January 30, 2024, Jewish Cultural Center, 8:00 p.m Novi Sad, January 31, 2024, Synagogue, 8:00 p.m ​ ​ The seventh edition of Rossi Fest has the honor to announce the premiere of the famous baroque opera Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, produced by the New Belgrade Opera, which will be held in Belgrade at the Jewish Cultural Center on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, as well as in synagogue in Novi Sad on Wednesday, January 31, 202 4. This masterpiece is H andel's first opera for a London audience and represents one of the pinnacles of Baroque musical dramaturgy and art. Under the direction of Sreten Manojlović, conducted by Predrag Gosta, the ensemble New Trinity Baroque, and international soloists, participants of the Belgrade Baroque Academy will present themselves with a baroque orchestra on historical instruments. The vocal soloists are participants of the 22nd Belgrade Baroque Academy, who, accompanied by a baroque orchestra on historical instruments, will perform this opera between January 22 and 29, with the support of mentors recognized in the world of early music - vocal coach and countertenor Nicholas Clapton from Great Britain, our conductor and harpsichordist Predrag Gosta, our acclaimed bass-baritone Sreten Manojlović, who will be the director of the show for this occasion. The orchestral accompaniment, under the direction of Predrag Gosta, is entrusted to the participants of the Baroque workshop for instrumentalists, led by violinist Adrian Butterfield from Great Britain, with the support of the great ensemble "New Trinity Baroque", which recently celebrated its 25th year. The realization of the opera was helped by the Vojvodina Association for Early Music, Studio for Early Music Belgrade, New Belgrade Opera, Musical Youth of Novi Sad, Italian Institute in Belgrade, and Rossi-fest. ​ Tickets for the concert can be purchased via GIGS Tix-a . ​ ​ Participants: New Trinity Baroque Ensemble Belgrade Baroque Academy Rinaldo: Lia ng Yu (South Africa/Germany), Sofia Romanova (Russia) Goffredo: Leo Zappitelli (Italy/Germany), Alina Sivitskaya (Bielorussia/Italy) Almirena: Silvija Radjen Kumar (Croatia), Ida Magarašević (Serbia/Hungary) Armida: Veronica Ruello (Russia/Switzerland), Anja Papa Peranović (Croatia) Argante: Aleksa Jevtić (Serbia/Austria) ​ Conductor: Predrag Gosta Stage d director: Sreten Manojlović ​ Vocal Coaching: Nicholas Clapton (UK) and Predrag Gosta (Serbia/Croatia/USA/UK) Baroque Strings/Orchestra: Adrian Butterfield (UK) Predrag Gosta, conductor and harpsichordist Conductor and harpsichordist PREDRAG GOSTA studied in Great Britain, America, Russia, and Serbia. He has collaborated with many renowned artists and ensembles specializing in Baroque music. He has conducted with famous orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, the National Philharmonic in Washington, and opera houses in Switzerland, Germany, Bulgaria, the USA, and Serbia. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the UMUS Award for Best Concert in 2017 (for the opera "L'Orfeo"). In addition to the New Trinity Baroque and the Belgrade Baroque Academy, he is the artistic director of the New Belgrade Opera and the Early Music Festival. He has recorded around 20 compact discs. Currently, he is completing research on 18th-century English opera as a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford. Sreten Manojlović, bas-bariton He was born in Belgrade, and he gained his vocal education at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. His interest in early music initially developed through collaboration with the Belgrade Baroque Academy, further expanding through collaboration with early music centers such as the Royaumont Foundation, the Early Music Festival in Innsbruck, the Jardin des voix project of Les Arts Florissants ensemble, etc. His performances have taken him to stages of concert halls like the Paris Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, and Luxembourg Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, the Barbican Centre in London, as well as theater stages such as Theater an der Wien, theaters in Lille, Compiegne, Nantes, Aachen, Wiesbaden, etc. Last season, he appeared as Figaro in "The Marriage of Figaro", Delone in Cesti's "Orontea" at the theater in Aachen, Polifemo in the opera of the same name by Porpora at the Theater an der Wien, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and the theater in Wiesbaden, and Euthyphron in "The Stone of Wisdom" — an opera written by a group of composers including Mozart, at the Mozart Festival in Würzburg. At the Baroque Music Festival in Bayreuth, he performed as Lotario in Handel's opera "Flavio", and with Les Arts Florissants, he interpreted the role of Simon in Joseph Haydn's "The Seasons". With this production, he also presents himself as a director. New Trinity Baroque ensemble Hailed by the critics as “Atlanta’s most adventurous early music ensemble” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), NEW TRINITY BAROQUE is recognized as one of the leading early music ensembles today. Founded by Predrag Gosta in London in 1998, NTB was initially established as an ensemble of international musicians, and they continue to maintain this presence through collaborations with U.S. and international artists: past soloists include soprano Evelyn Tubb, recorder player Marion Verbruggen, violinists Ingrid Matthews, Florian Deuter, Bojan Cicic and John Holloway, harpsichordist Steven Devine, and others. Each season, the ensemble presents over thirty concerts and educational events in Atlanta and other cities throughout the U.S. and in Europe, performing on period instruments of the 17th and 18th centuries. The group’s repertoire ranges from chamber to orchestral, from cantatas to operas, and its styles from Renaissance to Classical. Belgrade Baroque academy It was founded in 2013. To date, it has organized twenty-two master workshops for the interpretation of 17th and 18th-century music, to educate young solo singers and instrumentalists in Belgrade under the mentorship of recognized foreign and domestic experts in the historical interpretation of Baroque music. In addition to harpsichordist, baritone, and conductor Predrag Gosta, who is the conceptual founder and artistic director of the Belgrade Baroque Academy, previous mentors have included soprano Evelyn Tubb (UK), countertenor Marijana Mijanović (Switzerland), baritone Christian Hilz (Germany), Baroque violinists Adrian Butterfield (UK), Florian Deuter (Germany), Ilia Korol (Austria), Bojan Čičić (UK), Simone Pirri (Italy), Christi Park (USA), Zoran Kostadinović, and Katarina Đorđević; Baroque violist William Bauer (USA), Baroque cellists and gambists André Laurent O'Neil (USA) and Srđan Stanić, lutenist Darko Karajić, cornettists Jeremy West (England) and David Brutti (Italy), Baroque trumpeter Siegfried Koch (Austria), flutists Rachel Brown (UK), Karolina Bäter (Germany), and Meila Tomé (Brazil), oboist Isabella Mercuri (Italy), and many others. Joining this academy is countertenor Nicholas Clapton (UK).