Welcome 2024!
With the wonderful Boško Jović in HGM, 📸Albin Melez
2023 was quite a good year. Busy, diverse, and full of new beginnings, encounters, and experiences. As promised, before I delve into 2024 full speed, here is my highlights - summary of the final third of this decade anniversary year, of both WISE and VaClaF projects - representing the independent artistic path I chose. 2023 will forever have a special place in my heart, as I continue reinventing my dreams.❤️
This special year ended in the best way possible, with such a spectacular concert in the Viennese War Museum - Heeresgeschichtliches Museum - with amazing friends and colleagues: Boško Jović, Nataša Mirković, and Borut Zagoranski. And for a good cause: Caritas Gruft Vienna. “Bosnian Classics: Geschichten aus Bosnien” - also supported by FMSLU. We all met at VaClaF, so this was the first one of the full circles happening.
Boško Jović, AN, Nataša Mirković, Borut Zagoranski, HGM, standing ovation. 📸 Richie Ramic
Playing in this space with some of today's best musicians was a dream. Beautiful music and even more beautiful people! It never ceases to amaze me how music effects one’s life and soul… Playing some of my favourite music in new arrangements and good old deep emotion felt like somehow finally belonging. Not (only) to the place, but fully to the music. It was the next full circle; Music I Call Home.
I am grateful to all who made it happen, primarily Bosko Jovic and Kemal Smajic and the HGM team, together with us in WISE & VaClaF. We collected some money for the ones in need, but do donate if you can. Every one of us counts!
We continue our collaboration with the HGM, so see you all very soon! Something even more spectacular is cooking, and yes - it is possible!
Photos below by Albin Melez, HGM, WISE & the audience. :)
Just a couple of days before the HGM concert, we closed this year’s CRO-ArT Festival, “I Dream a World” with my lifetime friends from Croatia: Chorus Angelicus, maestro Andjelko Igrec, mezzo-soprano Martina Menegoni, and my Viennese colleagues: CIPRA Quartet, organ player Bertalan Ablonczy and oboists Ivana Nikolic and Irem Massé. WISE love! Thank you so much to the Prior of the marvelous Dominican Church Vienna for making this special Christmas concert possible in his beautiful church. It was also the final concert for 2023 in our new collaboration with the Kulturverein NAPREDAK Vienna, whose cultural section I have been leading since the beginning of 2023, too, and we are preparing many new things in the years to come, so stay tuned for these updates as well. The concert stood out among many others at Christmas time in Vienna, as the music of Andjelko Igrec created such an incomparable serenity.
Thematically, I chose to continue the mission of 2022 into this year‘s festival, as we need far more humanity in this world and the art cannot stay silent. L. Hughes’ poem, as timely as ever. Stop the wars!
Final Concert of the CRO-ArT 2023: Chorus Angelicus, Andjelko Igrec, CIPRAs, Ivana Nikolic & Irem Masse
Led by this mission of connecting humanity, this year's CRO-ArT program ended up being quite extraordinary; I am very proud. Three concerts in three beautiful venues and a panel discussion, with many new collaborations, strengthening the bonds with old friends too. Our Composers in Residence, Gabriele Proy and Meinhard Rüdenauer, created some beautiful pieces; we had three world premieres and many Austrian premieres on the programme, with the majority of other composers present too. We sent our mess of the heart into the world. Hope they were able to be heard.
CRO-ArT 2024 will happen by the end of Spring, with Belma Beslic Gal being our WISE Composer in Residence for 2024. And it will all be a special celebration for the fifth Festival anniversary, so - follow for more!
Below are photos of the truly fantastic Ensemble Fantastique in BASiAR, our guests from Germany for the second CRO-ArT 2023 concert on 14th of November, and our Viennese resident WISE team for the Opening Concert in the freshly renewed, historic Ehrbar Saal on 30th of October 2023. © WISE
CIPRA Quartet & Martina Menegoni
In the meantime, my plans and schedule changed drastically, as I had to postpone my long awaited vacation for February. Always true for me: I make plans and my life laughs… But, among other work related things that regained position, I had a great time with my IWA Trio, again in Germany, having a very beautiful concert in the incredible Marmorsaal of the Kurhaus Bad Ems. Clara Schumann played here even! And we are coming back, thank you very much for such an heartwarming reception. 🍀
Trio IWA in Bad Ems, Marmorsaal.
Writing this in retrospect, Autumn was indeed incredibly busy… As one of the highlights, Before Bad Ems, I performed at the BiH National Day Celebration in Vienna, also celebrating the International Day against Violence against Women. All organized by the beautiful Women´s Forum and Choir Mimoze. Such an important cause in these turbulent times, when femicide is globally on the rise. None of us is safe until every one of us is safe! And we should talk about these issues more, daily.
I don’t think I will repeat this 2023 schedule again, because it seems I could not catch a break! Just a couple of weeks before we began the CRO-ArT Festival, VaClaF was on the menu, with eight concerts in 7 days in Vareš and throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. But with a great team everything is possible!
CIPRA Quartet and Ivana Nikolić were the ultimate superstars of this year´s Festival, together with our VaClaF 2023 Composer in Residence Belma Beslic Gal and her new piece “Gorje - a Journey Through the Unknown Mountain.” It was an absolute hit in every performance; whoever says that new music doesn’t speak to the audience must attend some of our next concerts. ;) We are preparing for an exciting year, and you can read Belma´s recent interview to learn more about her work. Further links for longer versions in German are also there. :)
World premiere of Belma Beslic Gal: Gorje [a journey through the unknown mountain], VaCLaF 2023
With the outstanding performances of our guests, Vedrana Šimić, Belma Šarančić, Stipe Bilić, Boško Jović, Azmir Halilović, and many more of the next generation, and my best team working across the world to prepare everything - THANK YOU Tonkica Klancevic and Sanjin Babovic for leading the way! - nothing could diminish our happiness. It was most definitely not easy, but it was worth it, maybe even more than ever.
CIPRA Quartet, Vedrana Šimić & Ivana Nikolić. Standing ovation after the opening of VaClaF 2023.
Below: VaClaF Academy & Next generation concert; VaClaF On Tour team with Belma Sarancic; with Bosko Jovic and Azmir Halilovic after the amazing, another standing ovation concert in Vares.
Standing ovation after every Vares concert, reinvites in all the cities of the tour, new collaborations, invitations, and amazing performances with the best audience… My heart was full; I could not have imagined this support. Tears were pouring down my eyes in the end. VaClaF 2023 “Back to the Roots” is forever in my heart. ❤️
With my dear Stipe Bilić, recital before the screening of the BHRT documentary on VaClaF “Music I Call Home,” closing of VaClaF 2023
And finally, since this was one of the news highlights of the 2023, here it came this once-in-a-lifetime, one-month-long, incredible tour of China in September. What a beautiful experience! Beyond words, really… 10 cities, amazing audiences (with our growing fan club!), perfect organization, and great fun on stage. Also, a big thank you to the Austrian Cultural Forum Beijing for the wonderful reception, many valuable encounters, and support. We are coming back soon! This journey and experience could not fit in several posts, so here are just a few photos. :)
WISE Quintet on stage in Jinan, China, above. Below is a random collection of 16 photos from concerts and on the road in China. Eternal love for this country and the experience these fantastic people - women of the Agency!- organized for us! Thank you!
Now, since the remaining 2/3 of the 2023 highlights are in the previous post, and 2024 is already here, I will soon keep you updated on the amazing new things coming up.
My WISE Team has already started, check it out!
I am, however, finishing my first proper rest in the last 12 years. Feels like the ultimate reinvention.
So, stay tuned! I promise you, it will be worth the wait.
Many greetings from Salzkammergut!
Lots of love,
A.
