This year’s "Zagreb Musical Spring" festival was themed "Music – Poetry." At the opening concert, the Zagreb Philharmonic—under the baton of its chief conductor and the festival’s artistic director, Dawid Runtz—presented a diverse program that bridged the human voice (and text) with orchestral music.
In the first part of the program, mezzo-soprano Ivana Srbljan performed the concert aria "Utjeha kose" ("Consolation of Hair") by Ivana Lang, accompanied by the orchestra. She also gave the premiere of "Zavjet" ("Vow"), a piece composed by Tomislav Uhlik based on verses by Vesna Parun—a work that won a special festival competition.
The orchestral suite "Komendrijaši" by Ivo Lhotka-Kalinski concluded the first half, featuring actor Fabijan Komljenović, who recited verses from Miroslav Krleža’s seminal collection, "Balade Petrice Kerempuha" ("The Ballads of Petrica Kerempuh").
The second part of the program featured a selection of six songs from Gustav Mahler’s collection "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" ("The Boy’s Magic Horn"), performed with German soloist Ludwig Mittelhammer.
The concert was recorded by music producer Margareta Mihalić and sound engineer Robert Tanasković; the program was curated and prepared for broadcast by editor Iva Lovrec Štefanović.

 

The broadcast concludes with a selection of works by Tomislav Uhlik—who celebrated his 70th birthday on October 24th: "Varijacije boje jeseni" ("Variations on the Colors of Autumn"), "Notturno," and "Igra školjki" ("Dance of the Seashells").

 

Photo: Tomislav Jagar