News & Highlights 2023
Photos by Weronika Strugala / WISE
Entering the final quarter of this exceptional year, I decided to activate my writing regularly. To share my thoughts, travels, personal and musical encounters, and all that leaves a strong, positive or negative, mark on my (not only) musical journey.
Paris 2023, New Year´s Concert, WISE & Ensemble Vienne - Paris, performing as a Soloist - Leader - conductor.
2023 started in Paris with two special New Year Concerts with exceptional people who became friends and longtime musical partners. It was a perfect introduction to this celebratory 10th WISE: Wien International Soloists Ensemble anniversary.
Festivities began with a Birthday concert I will never forget, my first viola-only recital, in our (within a few days!) booked-out hall, with dearest friends and audience. It is hard to express in words all the feelings, compress all the years of work, life, and dreams, all that it takes to be here where I am today, surrounded by the people I love, doing what I do with unwavering passion, always searching for new exciting endeavors, meaning, purpose… Grateful and humbled beyond words.
Birthday Concert 2023, booked-out Bank Austria Salon im Alten Rathaus, Vienna, with dear Stipe Bilić
The day after, we had a debut concert with my marvelous IWA TRIO at the Austrian Parliament, then began preparing for Ivana’s Magic Oboe recital, G. Bacewicz Trio recording, a tour of Germany, several other concerts, events, meetings, teaching, etc… Time flew by while working with such inspiring, amazing women!
IWA Trio: Ivana Nikolić - Oboe, Weronika Strugala - Violoncello, Andrea Nikolić - Violin
One extraordinary encounter lifted my spirits during the period in which I had to take a break and slow down to keep my health in check. Barbara Scales. A power woman behind the amazing Latitude 45 Arts (manager, business owner, intellectual, trailblazer, and so much more!), a mentor and a friend, who showed me for the first time in 2017, as I was her mentee at CLASSICAL: NEXT, what a true mentor is and how one can thrive in this field, always growing in dedication and love to music. And just like that, I was back on track. And, of course, we are preparing more exciting things together, both overworked but enthusiastic as ever. :)
With Barbara Scales, in Vienna, during the IAMA Conference at the Wiener Konzerthaus, April 2023.
In the months that followed, I spent auditioning musicians for WISE and my newly grown CIPRA String Quartet. I recorded two documentaries for HRT (Croatian National Television - Thank you, Silvija Trnčević) about my work, ideals, and Dora Pejačević, did a lot of practising, learning new repertoire, and my fair share of cultural diplomacy, and festival organization. Events in Vienna and Salzburg for 50 years Austria Culture International were a wonderful reminder of how proud I am of my extended teams for all we have done in the past years and all the new partnerships and collaborations we are bringing in the future!
In addition, I spent some quality time traveling with my brilliant husband, which was also documented in one of the documentaries. :)
In Graz with Hessam, after a successful filming for HRT.
So here we are, the CIPRA Quartet, joining the holy grail of chamber ensembles with flying colours, with a debut concert presented in collaboration with the ExilArte Center Vienna. We decided to focus on new, neglected, and undiscovered repertoire, which set free our creative energy and passion from the beginning. Thank you to the media, our friends, and our supporters for the beautiful reviews and strong wind to our backs!
CIPRA QUARTET: Angela Chi Chen Lin Violin II, Weronika Anna Izert - Viola, Weronika Izabela Strugala - Violoncello, Andrea Nikolić - Violin I.
Another very special debut for me was my first official keynote speech at the Contemporary Women Festival in Tuzla, BiH. “Music for all!” was my ideal when I was starting out in this business, and speaking about it, and my journey, was once again so deeply life-changing. Music does have the power to change the world. ❤️
Keynote Speech “Music for All! - Muzika za sve!” at the Contemporary Women - Festival savremene žene, in Tuzla, BiH.
Very intricate and unique collaborations always happen with one of my favourite musicians and human beings: composer, conductor, and organ player Andjelko Igrec. Together with Chorus Angelicus and Pavao Mašić, we recorded his Missa Hortus Croatiae for Viola, Choir, and Organ, based on themes of traditional songs of the Medjimurje region in the beautiful Varaždin Cathedral, Croatia—food for soul.
With Croatian organ player Pavao Mašić (left) and composer and conductor Anđelko Igrec, in Varaždin, Croatia.
Then, some more concerts played and travels made, and it was already August. Our WISE & Napredak Summer Concert marked the beginning of a new collaboration: this year I took over the cultural department of the Napredak Society Vienna, and we are working on many more projects to come!
Invitation to our Summer Concert with some exclusive announcements. :)
Furthermore, I was inspired by a project created and curated by a singer, Kristina Gorke, MA, who invited me as a guest to her excellent interdisciplinary concert series in Club Hybrid in Graz. Connecting music, poetry, philosophy, photography, design, and architecture, she & Accomplices Entertainment are making waves! Among solo pieces on viola, I finally played the wonderful Brahms Lieder for trio… With our dearest Stipe Bilić. A dream!
Brahms Lieder with Kristina Gorke & Stipe Bilić at the Club Hybrid, Graz, Austria.
August being the month of announcements, an interview in the Ladies-In Magazine was published, and I was happy to present some of the many things that are to come this autumn. VaClaF news with Belma Bešlić Gàl & new “band” with Boško Jović are the ones that I am particularly proud of. Diving deeper into the contemporary and world music worlds is another dream come true.
Cover for the Ladies In Magazine interview, photo by Hessamedin Fana.
And here comes September:
Our very first tour of China with WISE, in formation of a piano quintet, playing some of my favourite programme- from Mozart, Schumann, Kreisler, to new music written specially for the tour by Meinhard Rüdenauer, and a quintet by Gabriele Proy, both WISE composers in residence 2023. 11 cities and up to 18 concerts within 28 days! Join us if around!
Poster for the WISE Quintet China Tour, 07 September - 05 October 2023. Courtesy of the Youbei Beijing Culture and Technology Agency.
As soon as we return from the many metropolises, CIPRA Quartet is opening the 11th edition of one and only VaClaF: Vareš Classic Festival | Academy | Residencies | On Tour, happening from 13 - 21 October. Back to the Roots is this year’s theme, and I look forward to the new decade of my favourite festival.
VaClaF 2023 visual inspiration by Vareš artist Davorka Terzić.
After the festival being before the festival, on the 30th of October in Ehrbar Saal, we are opening the 4th WISE Rebel! CRO-ArT Festival, with the final concert on the 16th of December, following into the rest of the 11th WISE Season.
November will take me on a much-needed, rehabilitating vacation while WISE, under the leadership of the brilliant Ivana Nikolić, collaborates with the German-based Ensemble Fantastique within our season and festival. Then back on tour with the IWAs, plus some concerts as a soloist on violin and viola, some conducting (yay!) before we end the year on a festive note in December with WISE and yet another new collaboration! #staytunedforsurprise
So, follow this space, social media, and all the WISE & VaClaF pages for more details on artists, programmes, and engaging projects my team, and I have prepared for you. So, so much is coming soon! Going strong in the last quarter of 2023!
P.S. Here is my newly activated TikTok to follow me through China. :)
Love to you all,
Andrea
Hugs from Vienna!
