A proven master of the art of composing, Zoran Erić will open the series For Connoisseurs with his The List No. 2, the penultimate of five pieces commissioned by the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra in this season, on Friday, 14 October (Kolarac, 8pm). Under the celebrated Maestro Michail Jurowski, young laureate of the Tchaikovsky Competition Alexander Ramm will play Shostakovich’s Concerto for violoncello and orchestra No 2, and the programme will be rounded off with Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No 3.
 
Erić’s The List No 2 was written as one of the five pieces commissioned by the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra in the concert season 2016/17, in line with its thematic series. According to the composer, The List No. 2, in addition to the new images, reminisces parts of already known images of chaos from his earlier works Helium in a Small Box for strings, Six scenes – Comments for three violins and strings and Who shot the Seagull? for twelve cellos.
 
“The Belgrade Philharmonic’s five commissions are an excellent idea, through which our leading orchestra stimulates contemporary music-making. A particularly interesting aspect of it is the generational spectrum of the introduced active composers fostering various styles. The orchestra sounds excellent already from the first rehearsal, led by a true connoisseur, which makes me quite relaxed ahead of the premiere of the piece that is based on quotations from my earlier works, which are now put in the right context”, said Zoran Erić, a distinguished member of the Serbian musical scene. He works as a full professor at the Compsition Department of the Belgrade Faculty of Music and, since 2015, he has been the Rector of the University of Arts in Belgrade.
 
Conductor Michail Jurowski is the oldest living member of the famous musical family, whose contribution to music performance is immeasurable. Raised in the circle of internationally acclaimed artists from the former Soviet Union, Muchail Jurowski was a close family friend with Dmitri Shostakovich, and is nowadays considered one of the best performers of Shostakovich’s music. In his third appearance with our orchestra, Jurowski will be conducting young Russian artist Alexander Ramm’s performance of his friend and famous composer’s less known Concerto for violoncello No 2. Thus, the two proven masters of the trade will be accompanied by one of the most gifted and sought-after cellists of the younger generation, whose style is a combination of virtuosity, emotional intensity and artistic distinctiveness.
 
The first of a series of concerts For Connoisseurs will be closed by Prokofiev’s sharp, expressionistic language in his Symphony No 3, whose bold sound effects relate it not only to theatre music, but to film music, as well. In the season 2016/17, the series For Connoisseurs continues to pose real challenges for the seasoned concertgoers, and the next concert is scheduled for 13 January 2017, under the baton of the orchestra’s old friend Cristian Mandeal.