On January 5, 2019, the Zagreb Soloists marked the 65th anniversary of their first concert. The legendary chamber music ensemble, which in the 1980s had the best-selling classical music album in the world, will devote this whole year to the citizens and streets of Zagreb and other parts of Croatia, reports Večernji List on January 8, 2019.
“Just as the name suggests, we belong to Zagreb, not just to its lavish concert halls, and those in Vienna, Rome, Madrid, Berlin, London, New York, Sydney…, to kings, diplomats, elites that have been following us for years. Although we are proud to receive many acknowledgments and recognition on a worldwide scale, on the other hand, that gives the impression that the music is something distant and expensive. On the contrary, it is here, available to everybody, and we want to show that to our fellow citizens,” said Krunoslav Marić, the chairman of the ensemble’s management council.
The Zagreb Soloists will soon surprise the citizens at some of the famous locations in Zagreb, such as the Dolac farmers’ market and the Cibona basketball hall since the team was also at its best in the 1980s. They will perform at locations where today’s citizens of Zagreb spend a lot of their time, such as at shopping malls. It is also possible you will hear them perform a part of a string concert in your local cafe.
Each of the activities and locations, depending on the weather conditions, will be announced on time by the Zagreb Soloists, so that the citizens can come and listen to some of the best classical music of all genres. The first “street” performance will take place at Dolac on Saturday morning. The musicians are especially looking forward to the concert of “The Carnival of the Animals”, but the location itself will for now remain a secret.
According to the official website, “the Zagreb Soloists ensemble was founded in 1953 as a Radio Zagreb ensemble under the artistic leadership of the renowned cellist Antonio Janigro. They gained a reputation as one of the world’s most outstanding chamber orchestras. The Zagreb Soloists have given over 4,000 concerts on all continents and in many prestigious venues such as the Musikverein (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Royal Festival Hall (London), Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Tchaikowski Hall (Moscow), Santa Cecilia (Rome), Carnegie Hall (New York), Opera House (Sydney), Victoria Hall (Geneva), Teatro Real (Madrid), Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires), etc.
They have regularly performed at the major music festivals such as those in Salzburg, Prague, Edinburgh, Berlin, Bergen, Barcelona, Istanbul, Prades Ossiach, Dubrovnik and elsewhere, playing with numerous distinguished soloists, for example – Henryk Szeryng, Alfred Brendel, Christian Ferras, Pierre Fournier, Leonard Rose, James Galway, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Aldo Ciccolini, Katia Ricciarelli, Lily Laskin, Zuzana Růžičková, Mario Brunello, Isabelle Moretti, Guy Touvron and many others.
Zagreb Soloists’ performing repertoire entails baroque, classicist, romantic and contemporary music, with particular attention given to Croatian composers – both of those who represent the musical heritage and those of the younger generation.”
More news about the music in Croatia can be found in our Lifestyle section.
Translated from Večernji List.
