The concert opened with Sophus Elmark (2007), who performed the first movement of Mozart’s Sonata in C minor, KV 457 (“Molto allegro”) and Liszt’s Transcendental Etude, infusing the evening with virtuosity and energy.

He was followed by Josip Nikola Garić, a thirteen-year-old pianist of Croatian heritage residing in Switzerland, performing the first movement of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor. Aljoša Jurinić humorously introduced him as “a big Hajduk fan,” adding that for the young pianist, performing this concerto was “like Hajduk playing in the Champions League”.

Next came Emil Dalgaard (2008), who delivered a compelling rendition of the final two movements of Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2, including the famous Marche funèbre.

Marija Topić (2003) followed with the first and third movements of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 in A major, KV 41, displaying a refined sense of phrasing and musical maturity.

Emil Nabe then performed Chopin’s Nocturne in B major and the finale of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 31 No. 3, blending lyricism with strength.

The culmination of the evening was Mara Spiz, whose rendition of the second and third movements of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 demanded both technical precision and deep emotional expression—qualities that earned her heartfelt applause from the audience.

Announcing the Danish pianists with wit, Jurinić described them as “the best Danish pianists among their peers,” emphasizing that, as he put it, a successful musician must learn to handle expectations and pressure well. Their appearance concluded with an unexpected encore by Emil Dalgaard and Emil Nabe, much to the audience’s delight.

The Grand Concert reaffirmed the significance of Aljoša Jurinić’s masterclass in nurturing young talents, providing them a platform for growth through challenging performances and direct audience engagement. This year’s masterclass brought together nine young pianists from various European countries, all of whom demonstrated an impressive level of performance.

For readers who would like to learn more about the performers—including their biographies and personal reflections on the pieces they performed—visit: Grand Concert – piano marathon in the heart of Zagreb.

Objava Grand Concert at the Academy of Music in Zagreb pojavila se prvi puta na Youngmasters.

Today in the Samobor Museum prof. Morana Pešutić started with guitar lessons!

• In MMA conductor Davor Kelić continued working with string orchestra.

• As can be seen from the enclosed, this year’s Summer School is already working full steam. We can hardly wait for the concerts so we can hear what this year’s young musicians have prepared for us!
• Take a look at the Program of this years Festival at Festival> Programs.

Objava Prof. Morana Pešutić today started with guitar lessons! pojavila se prvi puta na Youngmasters.

Dušan Sretović is going to play in Youngmasters Excellent cycle on Wednesday, August 24th in the Concert Hall of Ferdo Livadić Music School at 8 pm.

Dušan Sretović (Belgrade, 1995) is a piano student at the University of Music and Performing Art in Vienna. He completed primary and secondary music school ‘Josip Slavenski’ in the class of the professor Maja Vuković. Dušan completed both instrumental and theoretical departments. He participated in many competitions where he received numerous awards among which the main award at the international competitions the Memorial Dr. V.Vučković (2011) and Davorin Jenko (2014). He was also pronounced the laureate of the competition ‘Josip Slavenski’ in Novi Sad (2009, 2010) and at the homonymous competition in Belgrade (2012). He perfected his knowledge attending the master courses by the professors A. Valdma, Đ. Milojković, I. Lasko, M. Popović and N. Veljković. He performed in every hall of Belgrade’s music school, in Novi Sad’s music schools ‘Josip Slavenski’ and ‘Isidor Bajić’ and in the halls of Student Cultural Centre (SKC), Belgrade Philharmonic, Kolarac Foundation and the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SANU). He performed in Ub, Smederevo and Kragujevac as a participant of the concert cycle entitled Chopin Fest Echoes, a part of Belgrade Chopin Fest which presents awarded young pianists. He performed solo recitals in the Gallery of Ilija M. Kolarac the Gallery of SANU and in Geneve in 2014 organised by Serbian Cultural Society. He also performed at the annual assembly of the Organisation of Serbian Students Abroad (OSSI) in the White Palace and at the closing of BUNT festival. As one of the youngest participants he played at the promotion of talented students of the University of Music and Performing Art in Vienna. Dušan is also a member of the piano duo Mozartkugeln which was pronounced laureate of all categories at the National ‘Competition for Piano Duos’ in 2010.

Objava Dušan Sretović’s recital in the Concert Hall of Ferdo Livadić Music School pojavila se prvi puta na Youngmasters.

Youngmasters Excellent cycles opens guitarist Antun Iveković on Tuesday, August 23rd in the Atrium of Livadić Café at 8.30 pm.

Antun Iveković graduated guitar at the Academy of Music in Zagreb in 2016. with István Römer. His musical education began at Elementary School Rudolf Matz with Predrag Krajnović and he graduated guitar at Music School Pavao Markovac with Danko Jukić. He has won the third (2005.), second (2009.) and first (2011.) prize at the State Competition of Music Students. He has won first prizes at international competitions Nikšić Guitar Festival in Montenegro and Fernardo Sor in Rome, where he also received a special prize Carla Minen for the best interpretation of a Fernardo Sor composition. He had won the Dean’s prize of the Academy of Music in Zagreb twice and for the performance of Boris Papandopulo’s Three Games, within the 49. Darko Lukić Award, he had won the Croatian Composers’ Society Award for the best performed piece by a Croatian author. He held many solo recitals through Croatia and abroad and as a member of the Zagreb Guitar Quartet he is active in chamber music, with which he had won the first prize at the International Guitar Competition Mercatali of Gorizia, in the category of chamber ensembles. He participated in guitar masterclasses with well respected pedagogues such as Zoran Dukić, Paolo Pegoraro, Dejan Ivanović and Álvaro Pierri.

Programme:
J. S. Bach, B. Papandopulo, I. Albéniz &Antonio José

Objava Antun Iveković plays in the Atrium of Livadić Café pojavila se prvi puta na Youngmasters.