Sunday, October 2
St.Florian Church, 11.00 a.m.
ChiaroScuro ensemble
Josipa Bilić, soprano
Silvio Richter, violin
Ivan Jakšeković, violin
Hiwote Tadesse, viola
Lea Sušanj Lujo, cello
Katarina Javora, organ, harpsichord
Programme:
Vita Aeterna
Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco
Concerto in G minor op.2 no.5
Largo
Allegro e Spiritoso
Grave
Allegro
Vinko Jelić
Occuli tui Deus (Parnassia Militia)
Dietrich Buxtehude
O Gottes Stadt, cantata BuxWV 87
Georg Philipp Telemann
Concerto for 2 violins, viola and b.c. TWV 43: d2
Largo
Allegro
Andante
Allegro
Christoph Graupner
Kantata Furcht und zagen, a 5: GWV 1102/11b
Furcht und Zagen
Die Zeit ist dat
Ach, bereue deine Sunden
Durch Reu’ und Glauben
Aria da capo: Furcht und Zage
Ich will mich auch deswegen
O Jesu, hifl zur selben Zeit
Ich hoff’ es wird geschehn
Verstosse doch dein Erbteil nicht
About the programme:
ChiaroScuro is an ensemble of musicians with many years of experience performing early music. By combining different horizons, musicians create innovative programs and form full-length rounded musical stories. So far, their concerts have marked important events, among others, for Croatian literary history, such as the 500th anniversary of the first translations of the Bible into the Croatian language and the 500th anniversary of Marulić’s Judith. Their program includes instrumental and vocal music of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Josipa Bilić made her professional opera debut as a scholarship holder of the Croatian Nation Theatre in Zagreb, where she performed, since 2019, the role of Papagena in Mozart’s Magic Flute, Cupid in Gluck’s Orpheus and Eurydice, Ines in Verdi’s Troubadour, Voice from Heaven in Verdi’s Don Carlos and as Shepherd in Gotovč’s opera Ero s onoga svijeta. For the role of Marica from Humperdinck’s fairy tale opera Hansel and Gretel, conducted by Dawid Runtz, directed by Petra Radin and produced by the Zagreb Philharmonic, in 2021 she won the Croatian Theater Award for outstanding performance by young artists under 30 in opera. With the Symphony Orchestra of the Croatian Radio and Television, she performed as a soloist on the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven as part of the Kanconijer cycle. For her debut at the 51st Varaždin Baroque Evenings, when she performed with the Camerata Garestin ensemble, she received the Ivan Werner Award to a young musical artist for high artistic achievement at the festival. She won the Diploma of the 55th Tribune Darko Lukić for her recital with the artistic accompaniment of pianist Jan Niković. This year, she performed as a soloist with the Philharmonic Orchestra in Graz under the direction of maestro Marius Burkert at the Graz Opera House as part of the concert of the winner of the 26th International Singing Competition Ferruccio Tagliavini, where she won the third prize and the audience prize. She made her debut at summer festivals: the 73rd Dubrovnik Summer Games in the role of Lucrezia in the Dubrovnik comedy Ljubovnica, the 47th Osor music evenings with the Trio Eusebius, the 14th Opera selecta classical music festival in Trogir with pianist Julija Gubajdulina, and at the opening of the 62nd International Children’s Festival in Šibenik with the orchestra of the Zagreb Philharmonic in the play Finally the Orchestra.
She graduated summa cum laude in singing in 2021 at the Academy of Music in Zagreb in the class of Lidija Horvat Dunjko, and she began her singing education in 2014 at the Vatroslav Lisinski Primary School in Zagreb in the class of Kristina Beck–Kukavčić. Even as a student, she particularly stood out in academic productions in the role of Despina from Mozart’s opera Cosi fan tutte at Zagreb’s HNK and in the title role of Massenet’s opera Cendrillon, for which she also won the Croatian Theater Award. She had a notable performance as a soloist with the Zagreb Soloists on the occasion of the Day of the Music Academy in Zagreb. She is the winner of the Dean’s Award for the academic year 2017/2018. year and two Rector’s awards: in 2020 for individual artistic work – solo concert with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra – and for special competitive success at the XI. József Simándy International Singing Competition, where in 2021 she won the III. category. During her studies, she won international and national competitions, the most notable of which are: Vera Kovač Vitkai (2015), Lav Mirski (2016), Competition of music students and students of the Republic of Croatia (HDGPP 2017 and 2019), Lions grand prix (2018), Zoltán Kodály (ISA 2019) and Jozsef Simandy (2018 and 2021). Throughout Croatia, she performed in the production of Opera b.b., in Lehar’s operetta Vesela udovica (in the role of Valencienne) and in Strauss’s operetta Šišmiš (in the role of Adele). In addition to opera and concert performances, her great passion is lied and sacred and early works. She is a member of the Chiaroscuro ensemble, and with the Orchestra and Choir of the Music Academy of the University of Zagreb, she performed as a soloist in Bach’s Passion for Mark and in Rossini’s oratorio Petite Messe Solennelle. She sang solo parts at the Croatian Music Institute with the Choir and Orchestra of the Medical University in Vienna in Mozart’s Requiem, with the Szeged Symphony Orchestra in Rossini’s oratorio Stabat Mater, with the Orchestra of Young Musicians in Charpentier’s oratorio Te Deum, and with the Choir and Orchestra of the Church of St. Blaža in Mozart’s Coronation Mass. She attended seminars by musical artists and pedagogues such as Tomislav Mužek, Krešimir Stražanac, Alexei Tanovitski, Matjaž Robavs, Rebeka Lokar, Rainer Trost, Michael Schade, Florian Boesch, Claudia Visca, and members of the international singing seminar CANTO! Vocal program: Lucy Arner, Liora Maurer, Sharon Mohar, Hans Peter Herman and Ira Siff. She collaborated with renowned artists, such as conductors Mladen Tarbuk, Tomislav Fačini, Loris Voltolini, Josip Šego, Ivan Josip Skender, Srboljub Dinić, Dawid Runtz, Marius Burkert, Marcello Mottadelli, Gyüdi Sándor, Pavle Zajcev, and directors Krešimir Dolenčić, Dora Ruždjak Podolski, Saša Anočić, Petra Radin, Mathias Behrends and Arnaud Bernard.
Silvio Richter graduated violin at the Academy of Music in Zagreb in 2008 in the class of Anđelko Krpan. In the same year, he passed the entrance exam at the Royal Academy of Music in London to study baroque violin, where he was awarded an Entrance Scholarship. He received his master’s degree in June 2010 in the class of Pavle Beznosiuk. He received the Levrhulme award for both years of study. He continued his further studies at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in the class of Rya Terakad, where he graduated in 2013. His recent work includes concerts with the ensembles New London Consort, Bach Collegium Japan, Saraband Consort, Corelli Ensemble, Little Baroque Company, New Dutch Academy, Antiphonus, Camerata Garestin, Responsorium, Himalayian Handel Orchestra, Ars Eloquentiae, then concert collaboration with Christopher Stembridge, Krešimir Hasom and a performance of Bach’s concerto for two violins with Rachel Podger at the Wigmore Hall in London.
Ivan Jakšeković completed his violin studies at the Academy of Music in Zagreb in the class of Silvan Kuzmin. He studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz in the class of Eszter Haffner. During his studies, he attended master classes by numerous distinguished pedagogues and performed as a soloist and chamber musician. He has a special interest in performing early music and is actively improving himself at master classes and collaborations with some of the leading names of the early music scene, such as E. Gatti, E. Onofri, C. Mackintosh and A. Butterfield. He is a member of the orchestra of the Opera of the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb.
Hiwote Tadesse is a Croatian violist of Ethiopian origin. She began her musical education at the Elly Bašić School of Music, in the class of Andreja Halužan-Bratković, and continued at the Royal Conservatory in Ghent (Belgium) and the Conservatory in Maastricht (Netherlands) in the class of Michael Kugel, where she graduated in 2016 as the best student of her generation. She is currently studying at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. In the 2016/17 season. she led the violas in the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, and since 2017 she has been acting as deputy viola leader in the Zagreb Philharmonic. She is the winner of many national and international awards: Grand Prix at the International Competition of Young Musicians in Moscow (2014), first prize at the Citta di Barletta International Competition in Italy (2013), first prizes at the 46th and 48th Croatian Music Students Competition and dance (2008, 2010). During her studies in Belgium, she won a soloist competition and performed with the Orchestra of the Royal Conservatory in Ghent under the baton of Dirk Brosse. As a soloist, she performed with La Chapelle Sauvage, Croatian Chamber Orchestra, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, and collaborated with A. Zemtsova, T. Samouil, G. Hoffman, A. Dumay. In 2013, she became a member of the Hulencourt Soloists Chamber Orchestra, then under the direction of Guy Braunstein. As a soloist and chamber musician, she performed throughout Croatia and abroad (Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Israel and Benelux). As a lecturer and chamber musician, she participated in the Winter Festival of Chamber Music in Florida (USA) and held seminars in Croatia and Ethiopia. In 2015, she passed a demanding audition and represented Croatia on the summer tour of the European Union Youth Orchestra. As a soloist, she got the opportunity to perform at the Grafenegg Festival and the Spazio Klassik Festival. She improved her music skills at the seminars of A. Arad, G. Karni, W. Kossjanenko, W. Strehle. She is currently playing on a modern instrument built by O. Erdesz that the Erdesz family kindly gave her to use.
Lea Sušanj Lujo graduated in cello in Rijeka in the class of Mauro Šestan and graduated from the Academy of Music in Zagreb in the class of Krešimir Lazar. She attended prestige seminars led by Valter Dešpalj, Erich Oskar Huetter, Nikola Ružević, Alexander Bailie, Gustavo Neiva-Tavares and Pavel Zajcev. She is the winner of several awards at HDGPP competitions. Since 2010, she has been a permanent member of the Croatian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra. Ever since her early student days, she has been extremely interested in the baroque cello and as a member of the Croatian Baroque Ensemble, she had the opportunity to collaborate with numerous prominent names on the European scene. She played basso continuo in many productions, of which Bach’s St. John’s Passion and Magnificat, Monteverdi’s Orpheus at the Croatian National Theater in Zagreb, Galuppi’s Adam’s Fall and Handel’s Orlando at Lokrum as part of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival are worth mentioning. In 2019, with the support of the Caboga Stiftung and under the artistic direction of Tomislav Fačini, along with Bojan Čičić and Dmitri Sinkovski, he participated in the recording of a CD with all the symphonies of Luka Sorkočević. She is a member of the early music ensembles Ars Longa, Minstrel, ChiaroScuro and Trio Corrente and regularly collaborates with the Antiphonus ensemble. She plays on a masterful baroque cello by the Hungarian builder Viktor Koos from 2019.
Katarina Javora graduated piano at the Blagoje Bersa School of Music in Zagreb in Renata Strojin Richter’s class. At the Academy of Music in Zagreb, she graduated in organ in the class of Ljerka Očić. She studied harpsichord in the class of Pavle Mašić and graduated in Višnja Mažuran’s class. She also completed studies in music theory at the Academy in Zagreb. She won several awards at the HDGPP competition and the Janka Šanjek Fund award. As a soloist and in chamber ensembles, she performed at various festivals in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany and France and at the Ferdo Livadić, Petr Eben, mo. Vinko Lesić and Tribini Darko Lukić. She completed her graduate studies in organ (concert major) at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna in the class of Piero Damian Peretti, while she studied harpsichord in the class of Emanuel Schmelzer Ziringer. She attended seminars for the interpretation of organ and harpsichord literature in Croatia and abroad (Theo Jellema, Martin Sander, Bernhard Klapprott, Nathan Laube, Hans Fagius, Lorenzo Ghielmi, Luigi F. Tagliavini, Christoph Bossert, Aline Zylberajch, Jean Baptiste Robin and many others). She completed a training program in the French city of Toulouse, where she studied the organ in the class of Michel Bouvard and Jan Willem Jansen, while she studied the harpsichord in the class of Yasuko Bouvard. She teaches music theory subjects at the Franje Lučić Art School, and for many years she has been an organist in the parish church of St. Little Teresa of the Child Jesus and the Church of Mary Help of Christians in Zagreb.