Summary of 2020
In one of the most difficult and unusual years, despite all the hardships, there has been a silver lining. For me, 2020 had the most beautiful moments of my life.
Even though I was perpetually ill for almost a quarter of the year, it brought me a lot of wisdom, as I learned yet again to be mindful about my life and loved ones first. I am grateful and overjoyed to have married the love of my life and hopeful that in 2021 we will be able to celebrate with our families and friends, enjoying and sharing the happiness.
Copenhagen, August 2020 © Iva & Vedran Weddings
Professionally, it was also a good year. It started with our traditional WISE New Year’s Concert, continued with leading MY Sounds Ensemble in a short tour in Switzerland with Yury Revich, enjoying the opening of Croatian Presidency of the EU Council in Vienna, preparing for Natasa Veljkovic’s Five Seasons concert cycle, as well as WISE Rebel 2020. Regular teaching activities have kept the schedule full to the limits of possible. With Josip Klima Days Masterclass and Festival and a solo violin recital in Alte Schmiede, a pre-pandemic time has ended.
Even though quite a few big tours got cancelled, as well as tenths of concerts and projects, I have found myself in a new place to create. I had to slow down, focus and reinvent, while some fantastic new people and projects came my way.
After months without playing concerts or rehearsing, in impossible circumstances and shortest period of time, WISE forces reunited and WISE Rebel CRO-ArT festival came to life. Self produced, live recorded and streamed, to a wonderful critical acclaim. We created three concerts and a panel discussion with some fantastic, for many completely newly discovered Croatian and Austrian contemporary music and literature. You can read a wonderful original review of the festival in Croatian, in the Cantus Magazine here. English and German versions soon on our WISE media.
Summer has passed in recordings and finishing some old projects and finally taking a proper vacation, for the first time in 10 years. And yes, the wedding elopement. :) All to prepare myself for the 2020 edition of VaClaF.
Held virtually and live with audience, we had concerts, opera and literature taking place in Austria, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Supported by the Austrian Cultural Forum, in collaboration with Austrian, Croatian and BH cultural institutions we managed to pull off a wonderful festival. In Exile.
Merker Online published a lovely article about the festival in German and more about everything is to be found here.
Postfestival projects, including five WISE in-season concerts and six world premieres, got canceled because of the second lockdown. Which brought me to playing more viola (actually pursuing a soloist diploma and learning a ton of repertoire :)). Also, improving my overall knowledge in tech, dedicating my time to new projects and luckily playing in some new interesting projects abroad. This lead to beautiful concerts in Rijeka - European Capital of Culture 2020 in November with Stipe Bilic and Zagreb in December with Domagoj Guscic and my new viola-clarinet-piano trio with young rising stars Klara Juricic and Suncica Hadas.
To end on a festive note, how it started, 2020 has forced me to a month of sick leave, from which I have finally recovered. I am refreshed, rested and motivated for all the new endeavours to come. I just hope they do not come all at the same time. :)
In the meantime, two new pieces are being written for me for viola, by Margareta Ferek Petric and Peter Seabourne, as I am writing articles and essays in English, German and Croatian to be published in 2021. As well preparing new concepts for the season, two CDs and two festivals. And more, but about that a bit later. :)
In the end, in these difficult times, especially for the artists, I wish us all not to give up. We have reinvented and developed before, we will succeed again. Although I truly hope we will collectively be more active, in every way, and contribute to creating better life and work conditions in the future for us all.
I wish us a lot of health, patience, strength, empathy and love in 2021. So that everything else resolves on the way.
