R I TAM GRADA / RHYTHM OF THE CI TY 76 | Beograd » Belgrade The Guitar Art Festival and Dom Omladine Beograda, the Belgrade youth centre, present the 22nd instalment of this international festival, which will be held from 1st to 5th June under the slogan “Digital Revolution”, while Belgrade will celebrate the guitar through eight concerts of classical, pop and rockmusic. The long-awaited concert of guitar super-group 40 Fingers opens this year’s Guitar Art Festival, while Vlatko Stefanovski is also arriving, and the cherry on top of this delectable guitar cake will appear on the stage of Kolarac Endowment Hall. That’s where German composer Joaquín Clerch’s “Recuerdos de Belgrado” concert will have its world premiere, and there will also be performances of the RTS Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Bojan Suđić, and soloists Marco Tamayo fromAustria, and DavidMartinez and Rafael Aguirre from Spain. Inspired by the authenticity of the Serbian capital, as well as the special energy of the festival that brings together the best guitarists from all over the world, Clerch composed a work dedicated to Belgrade. We asked him why he decided to describe our city in particular through music… You were born in Cuba, are considered a German composer, while the name of this symphony is in Spanish and it is dedicated to Belgrade... How do you find your way in all these cultures? J OAQU I N C L E RCH While blood flows in me, I’ll keep returning to Belgrade This isn’t a city where I can choose between nostalgia and joy. I only know that I will tell the world the story of its strength and tenderness throughmusic… “I spent half my life living between Austria and Germany, and at least 50 per cent of my feelings and thoughts belong to Germany. This means that my harmonious musical language is imbued with artistic and personal experiences, as well as the love and respect I feel towards German art, but all of that unfolds without losing the rhythmic strength, feeling and tone that’s specific to the music and people of Cuba. Love knows neither races nor borders, and music is the most sublime form of love.” Why have you dedicated this symphony to Belgrade? What does your music say to our beautiful city? “I don’t have the proper words to answer this question. The only feeling I have is that I really adore Belgrade. I first encountered it in 1985. And when I left your beautiful city, I felt a strong sense of sadness, like when you leave behind something you love in your youth. That was another life lesson, thanks to which I realised that you’re not always followed by what you want in life.” Is Belgrade allegro or adagio? Does it resonate in major or minor? “Belgrade isn’t a city where I can choose between nostalgia and joy. I only know that I will tell the world the story of its strength and tenderness…” If I’m not mistaken, you’ve combined several very famous Balkan themes. Could you tell us more about that? Dirigent Bojan Suđić zajedno sa Simfonijskim orkestromRTS-a tradicionalno je deo festivalske produkcije / Conductor Bojan Suđić with the RTS Symphony Orchestra is traditionally part of this festival’s production
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