Saturday, September 19
Croatian National Theatre in Varaždin, Great Concert Hall, 8.00 p.m.
Varaždin Chamber Orchestra
Stefan Milenković, violin solo and artistic leadership
Eight Seasons
Antonio Vivaldi
La Primavera (Spring) – Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, RV 269
Allegro
Largo e pianissimo sempre
Allegro pastorale
Ástor Piazzolla
Verano porteño (Summer in Buenos Aires) – from the cycle Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas
Antonio Vivaldi
L´Estate (Summer) – Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 8, RV 315
Allegro non molto
Adagio e piano – Presto e forte
Presto
Ástor Piazzolla
Otoño porteño (Autumn in Buenos Aires) – from the cycle Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas
Antonio Vivaldi
L´Autunno (Autumn) – Concerto No. 3 in F major, Op. 8, RV 293
Allegro
Adagio molto
Allegro
Ástor Piazzolla
Invierno porteño (Winter in Buenos Aires) – from the cycle Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas
Antonio Vivaldi
L´Inverno (Winter) – Concerto No. 4 in F minor, Op. 8, RV 297
Allegro non molto
Largo
Allegro
Ástor Piazzolla
Primavera porteña (Spring in Buenos Aires) – from the cycle Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas
Stefan Milenković is one of the leading violinists of his generation, enjoying a distinguished international career that began in early childhood and has spanned more than four decades. He has appeared in many of the world's most prestigious concert venues, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Cadogan Hall in London, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, as well as the opera houses La Fenice in Venice, San Carlo in Naples and Petruzzelli in Bari. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with numerous distinguished orchestras, including the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, the Mexico City Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. He has performed under the baton of such eminent conductors as Sir Neville Marriner, Lorin Maazel, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Daniel Oren, Oksana Lyniv and Eivind Gullberg Jensen. Milenković has performed before Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev and Pope John Paul II. He is a prizewinner of some of the world's most prestigious international violin competitions, including the Indianapolis International Violin Competition (USA), the Queen Elisabeth Competition (Belgium), the International Violin Competition Hannover (Germany), the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition (Italy) and the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition (UK). Highlights of the 2025/26 season include a tour with the Dutch Noord Nederlands Orkest, featuring a performance at Amsterdam's renowned Concertgebouw, concerto appearances with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, I Pomeriggi Musicali and the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, as well as a collaboration with the Profundis Chamber Orchestra (North Macedonia). He is also a regular guest at festivals including the Round Top Festival (USA), the Osor Musical Evenings and the Samobor Musical Autumn, to which he returns after an extended absence. His discography includes acclaimed recordings of Bach and Paganini for the Dynamic label, as well as numerous releases for PGP and RTV SLO-Klasika. A musician of wide-ranging artistic interests, he has also collaborated with the rock band Gorillaz and with artists such as Vlatko Stefanovski and Edin Karamazov. Following many years of teaching at the prestigious Juilliard School, where he served as assistant to Itzhak Perlman, and at the University of Illinois, Milenković is currently Artistic Director of the new concert hall in Novi Sad and Associate Professor at the Academy of Arts of the University of Novi Sad. He performs on a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin made in 1783.
Founded in 1994, the Varaždin Chamber Orchestra continues the tradition of chamber and orchestral music that flourished in Varaždin during the 1950s and 1960s. In addition to its regular season of five concerts, the Orchestra is a frequent participant in the Varaždin Baroque Evenings and appears throughout Croatia, with guest performances in Slovenia, Germany, Austria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Orchestra has collaborated with many distinguished conductors including Pavle Dešpalj, Milan Horvat, Kazushi Ono, Marko Letonja, Vjekoslav Šutej, Uroš Lajovic, Vladimir Kranjčević, Mladen Tarbuk, Ivo Lipanović, Zoran Juranić, Ivan Repušić and Valentin Egel as well as renowned soloists such as Ruža Pospiš-Baldani, Dubravka Tomšič-Srebotnjak, Dunja Vejzović, Višnja Mažuran, Monika Leskovar, Karmen Pečar, Renata Pokupić, Radovan Vlatković, David Geringas, Valter Dešpalj, Dora Schwarzberg, Branimir Slokar, Peter Soave, Stanko Arnold, Ištvan Römer, Lovro Pogorelić, Božo Paradžik, Inva Mula. Alongside its permanent concertmaster, Ivana Penić Defar, the Orchestra regularly performs with guest concertmasters including Leon Spierer, Catherine Mackintosh, Taras Pečeny, Tamara Smirnova, Aleksandar Ivić, Boro Martinić, Mario Korunić, Latica Honda-Rosenberg, Stefan Milenković, and Roman Simović. The orchestra has made several recordings, the latest, Varaždin Chamber Orchestra… Plays Igrec, was released in 2025 to mark the ensemble's 30th anniversary. The Orchestra has received numerous awards, including the Ivan Lukačić and Jurica Murai Awards of the Varaždin Baroque Evenings, the Milka Trnina Award of the Croatian Association of Musical Artists (HDGU), the Plaque of the City of Varaždin, the Judita Award of the Split Summer Festival and the Orlando Award of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival.