„Either playing as a soloist, with his ensamble Metamorphosis or, traditionally for three years now, with an excellent musician Vladimir Blagojević, Saša Mirković, with his performances, sets an artistic benchmark over and over again…“

Ana Ćirica, music editor and the speaker for Radio Belgrade 2 (Radio Belgrade 2, Cultural Circles, November  2016)

„Saša Mirković managed to transform his viola into suggestive emotional apparatus with emphasised rhetorical function…”

Srđan Teparić, music critic (Radio Belgrade 2, Ars Sonora)

“His intonation was perfect, phrasing was logical and precise, and special quality was versatility of tone colours, tone production and numerous virtuoso agogic gestures by means of which he invoked Time of Bach, on one hand, and sounded as contemporary artist, on the other. Bach never wrote suites for solo viola, but judging by what we heard last night – there is someone who would know to play it.”

Zorica Premate, music critic (Radio Belgrade 2, Cultural circles, October 2016)

“This artist always let himself very freely to the interpretation, skillfully capturing different registers, playing confidently and virtuously”

Radoš Mitrović, music critic (Radio Belgrade 2, Ars sonora, December 2016)

Saša Mirković, who was called by critics ‘The best Serbian Violist’ and ‘Charismatic Artist Full of Enthusiasm’, is active as a soloist, chamber and orchestra musician, as well as educator and concert organizer. His repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary music. Either when performing solo or with his Ensemble Metamorphosis, he offers exciting concerts that occasionaly include world, jazz and pop music elements, and the use of audio-visual technology.

Born in Čačak in 1980, he attended the School for Music Talents in Ćuprija, after which he graduated from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. His professors were artists and educators Petar Ivanović, Panta Veličković, Đerđ Zazrović, Tomislav Milošević and Dejan Mlađenović. As a soloist and chamber musician, he attended master classes with  Ognyan Stanchev, Ivo-Jan van der Werff, members of the New Helsinki Quartet and The Medici Quartet. He was a member and principal viola of the Norwegian Youth Orchestra (Elverum), the German-Scandinevian Orchestra (Berlin) and the World Youth Peace Orchestra (Stockholm). During the studies, he won many first and special prizes, including special awards for performing contemporary music. Among the awards is also the premium in competition Talents for the 21^st century, in Slovakia, thanks to which he performed as a soloist with the Slovak Chamber Orchestra under the direction of the violinist Bogdan Varhala.

Extensive concert activity of Saša Mirković includes performing at all the most important classical music festivals in Serbia (Bemus, International Review of composers, KoMA …), but also performing at prestigious halls throughout Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong (Carnegie Hall, New York Philharmonic, Walt Disney Hall, Sydney Opera House, Santa Cecilia, Palau de la Música, Barbican, Pleyel…). As a soloist and principal violist he performed with ARTE Ensemble, Belgrade Chamber Orchestra “Ljubica Marić”, Belgrade Strings Orchestra “Dušan Skovran”, Schlesinger Chamber Orchestra, Serbian Army Symphony Orchestra “Stanislav Binički”, the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Southeast Europe, Chamber Orchestra of the University of Kragujevac, No Borders Orchestra, and collaborated with Žebeljan Orchestra and Belgrade Philharmonic. He also was a member of Kontradance and Kon-trast quartets. In 2005 he founded and ever since is an artistic director of the Ensemble Metamorphosis, with which he had numerous impressive performances.

He made various recordings for national and international broadcasting networks. The publication of his solo compact disk La Follia Nuova is planned for the year 2018, as well as two CD with Serbian contemporary music. Mirković is professor of viola at the Faculty of Philology and Arts in Kragujevac.

Dedicated to the study and interpretation of the music of contemporary authors, Mirković premiered over 60 solo, chamber and concerto works for viola. Among the authors who dedicated their works to Saša Mirković are: Aleksandra Vrebalov, Peter Mahajdik, Airat Ichmouratov, Svetlana Savić, Dragana Jovanović, Zoran Erić, Nataša Bogojević, Ana Gnjatović, , Branka Popović, Draško Adžić, Ivana Stefanović, Milorad Marinković, Stevan Kovach Tickmayer, Vuk Kulenović, Aleksandar Sedlar, Jasna Veljanović, Vladimir Korać, Marko Aleksić, Vladimir Trmčić…

“Performances of violist Saša Mirković in recent years have become synonym with great selected program and quality performance of global and Serbian contemporary music. Whether performing with Ensemble Metamorphosis or in other music composition, this excellent musician and enthusiast gives to audience and grateful composers superb interpretation of new works. This kind of musicians are precious to contemporary composers, because they represent the best proof that there are people who can make new music to be attractive for the audiance.”

Srđan Teparić, music critic (Radio Belgrade 2, Ars sonora, May, 2014)

“Nowadays, freely and without a shred of exaggeration we can claim Saša Mirković is our best violist. But not only that – this charismatic artist full of enthusiasm, along with members of the Ensemble Metamorphosis, which always stands out as an inseparable parameter of his own success, realizes performances which are more and more better and always refreshed, receptive and full of quality programs. This allows artistic pursuit and perseverance, in the time we live and atmosphere that many people use as an excuse for their own failures, to take on a whole extra dimension”

Ana Ćirica, music editor and the speaker for Radio Belgrade 2 (Radio Belgrade 2, Ars sonora, December, 2014)

2016/2017

The end of year 2016 was particulary exciting and successful for Saša Mirković. As musicologist and editor of Radio Belgrade 2, Ksenija Stevanović, stated in her review of the concert season (Politika, Culture supplement, December, 2016): “Last year was marked in our great and tireless performing enthusiasm of violist Saša Mirković who has in collaboration with accordionist Vladimir Blagojević or with his own Ensamble Metamorphosis, almost “alone against all”, contributed the work of local authors to live in concert stages, by playing twenty four premieres and orders of our most active contemporary composers, such as Svetlana Savić, Branka Popović and others.”

In just over a month, Mirković is at the highest level held three diverse and challenging projects. Concert of music for solo violu Nach Bach +1 gathered works of contemporary authors inspired by Bach’s suite for solo cello. Just a few days later, through the New concert music for viola and accordion, co-operation between Mirković and Vladimir Bogojević and promotion of acheivements written for this particular duo went successfully on. Concert Premieres and dedications has brought a new orchestral works inspired by the activity of the Ensamble Metamorphosis and its “spiritus movens”, Saša Mirković.

Last in a series of valuable recognitions for the work came in January, 2017. Saša Mirković was declared the winner of “Music Classics” rewards for 2016, in category of Male soloist for the year, same year Sasa received award by Serbian Assotiation of Composers “Aleksandar Pavlovic” for the best performing and presentation of Serbian Contemporary music.

Duo Saša Mirković – Vladimir Blagojević

Even since their first joint appearance, in May 2014 in the Hall of the Student Cultural Centre in Belgrade, an unusual duo Saša Mirković, violist, and a European renowned accordionist Vladimir Blagojević, is defined itself to perform local authors contemporary music, but, as a rule, those dedicated, written just for them. The commitment and openness of two virtuoso inspires composers for several years to explore very specific sonoristic and expressive possibilities of unusual ensamble. Duo Mirković – Blagojević has so far ordered and premiered more than twenty new works.

 „Performing new music written for viola and accordion Saša Mirković and Vladimir Blagojević showed that they are the great musicians who truly know how to enjoy playing what was written for them. All played compositions, to the delight of the audiance, were really experienced and in the most impressive possible way  transferred. This kind of musicians are precious to contemporary composers, because they represent the best proof that there are people who can make new music to be attractive for the audiance.“

Srđan Teparić, music critic (Radio Belgrade 2, Ars sonora, May, 2014)