The 12th edition of the Youngmasters Festival in Samobor will take place August 22 – 31 2023.
The festival follows up on the activities of the 12th International Young Musicians’ Summer Class, which, in addition to masterclasses and a summer school for instrumentalists and singers, includes a series of concerts and entertainment-educational content.
Thanks to its previous concept with an abundance of cultural events, Youngmasters has established itself as the most attractive summer school in this area in its 12 years of existence. Proven to be interesting to students from many different countries, it brings together lecturers and young musicians of international reputation since 2011. As part of the Summer School, participants have the opportunity to learn from our long-standing lecturers, such as Marko Zupan, Marco Graziani, Mihael Paar, Nenad Merle and Lovro Merčep. Once again this year, the piano masterclass will be held by the undisputed Croatian pianist, Aljoša Jurinić, who held his first multi-day masterclass last year at Youngmasters. We are also honored to welcome three excellent lecturers who are joining our team this year. Guitarists will have an exciting opportunity to learn from Lovro Peretić, one of the world’s best respected guitarists of the younger generation. Cello students are offered an opportunity to learn from Gal Faganel, an acclaimed virtuoso and professor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, and pianists will learn from Ante Milić, a versatile musician and an associate professor at the Academy of Music in Zagreb.
The most festive of the Festival’s concerts, the Youngmasters Gala concert, will be the first festival event held outside the borders of Croatia. With its location, we want to celebrate the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the Schengen area, which is extremely important for Croatia, and especially for Samobor as a border town, both in practical and cultural sense. The concert takes place on Friday, August 25, in the Knight’s Hall of the Posavina Museum in Brežice (Slovenia). It will feature musicians of international repute, including Youngmasters lecturers. Te crown of the program will be the performance of the Festival Chamber Orchestra conducted by maestro Davor Kelić. Last year’s founding of this ensemble is the result of long-term dedicaton to ensemble music at the Youngmasters summer school. The members of the orchestra are excellent young string players, participants of the summer school. They will be joined by several professional musicians and two promising young soloists, selected for this occasion from our participants. The soloists are a young baritone, Martin Rogan from Samobor, and a piano student from Zagreb, Iskra Silvestri Valdevit.
Youngmasters Festival once again offers the stage to promising young soloists and chamber ensembles, who will perform four recitals. Recitals will be performed by: Sven Brajković in the Prica Gallery on August 22, Josipa Gvozdanić & Guitar Trio Escualo in the Atrium of Kavane Livadić on August 23 (in case of rain in the Chapel of St. Michael), Ravvivando Guitar Quartet in the Chapel of St. Michael on August 26 and Fabijan Košćak in Salon Šver on August 27. Concerts start at 8 p.m.
The Festival’s program also includes the traditional participants’ concerts: Twilight Concert, Concertino Classico, Tea Time Concert, Moment Musical, Le concert du salon. These are concerts are located in acoustically and scenically unique spaces of Samobor. Their charm provides an unforgettable musical experience for the audience, and a valuable concert experience for the participants themselves. Our participants will also perfrom at an authentic event called Tantz Platz, organized by the Samobor History Association. On Saturday, August 26, from 5 p.m., our chamber ensembles will take you back in time with a performance of 19th century ballroom and folk dances in Park Anindol.
Youngmasters organizes a music pub quiz, called “Quisando“, which is aimed at connoisseurs of classical music, pupils, students, and all other music fans. It will be held at Old Nick’s Pub on August 28, starting at 8 p.m.
The wider audience will also be interested in the conversation with Nikica Šver, multiple times Croatian and world champion in bridge. The event is called “Meeting the Bridge“, and will take place in the Atrium of Kavane Livadić on August 27 at 9 p.m.
In addition to all of the above, the participants’ stay in Samobor will be enriched by chamber music on the streets and in the parks, presentation of additional equipment for saxophone and clarinet (Woodwinds Only), enjoying a coffee on the sunny Samobor Square, evening gatherings, laughter and new friendships.
Entrance to the concerts and recitals of the participants is free. You can find information on concerts and instrucion on booking tickets for the Youngmasters Gala concert here.
