Harpist Milana Zarić and violist Saša Mirković will give a concert at the Belgrade Philharmonic Hall on 24 March, 8pm. They will perform a diverse repertoire that includes works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Aleksandra Vrebalov, Ana Gnjatović, Richard Barrett and Dmitri Shostakovich. Milana Zarić, the solo harpist of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and a founder of the Studio 6 ensemble, and Saša Mirković, founder of the Metamorphosis ensemble and Associate Professor at the FILUM Kragujevac, have collaborated many years, but this will be their first appearance as a duo.
 
“The chamber programme for viola and harp spans several eras in the history of music and connects seemingly opposite styles through a brand-new interpretation of the scores. The significance of this concept is in bringing the contemporary trends of classical music closer to our audience, while at the same time demonstrating its ties with the periods of the High Baroque of J. S. Bach and the late, neoclassical Shostakovich”, said harpist Milana Zarić.
 
The programme opens with one of Bach’s three sonatas, originally for viola da gamba and harpsichord, BWV1029 in G minor. Next up is Aleksandra Vrebalov’s Spell No. 7 for solo viola, which consists of fragments of the fantasies on and memories of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 5. The composer dedicated this distinctive contemporary fantasy on Bach’s themes to Saša Mirković, who gave its first performance. The first part of the programme will be concluded by a piece by Ana Gnjatović with a complicated title Orthostasis/excitotoxicity for viola and harp. According to its composer, the inspiration for the piece lies in “difficult, unstable, dingy and not exactly promising awakenings”, caused by unusual physiological processes.
 
The solo piece for harp titled Cyme, by the Belgrade-based British composer Richard Barrett, is dedicated to Milana Zarić. Barrett was inspired by the way some plants grow and branch out; accordingly, the score covers the harp’s full range, which evolves into complex forms. The piece is also a part of the close-up instrumental series, dedicated to the Studio 6 ensemble. On Friday, the piece will be premiered in its solo version.
 
The last part of the programme is reserved for Shostakovich’s monumental Sonata Op. 147 in three movements. Originally scored for viola and piano, this is the composer’s last piece, written only a month before his death. The piece abounds with reminiscences, citations from his music and from the works of composers from earlier periods, one of the most conspicuous examples being the quote from Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
 
The concert is supported by the Secretariat for Culture of the City of Belgrade and the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra.