As part of the 70th Festival’s music programme, The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra performed last night, 12 August, with violinist Katarina Kutnar and maestro Ivo Lipanović in the Rector’s Palace atrium. The composition Cycle.mp3, for strings by the Dubrovnik pianist and composer Ivan Violić had its first performance while the rest of the evening's programme included the P.I. Tchaikovsky Concerto for violin and orchestra in D majorand Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major better known as ‘Eroica.’
The energetic and masterful performance of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra thrilled the crowd which gathered in large numbers in spite of the oppressive summer heat. The virtuoso musicians and choice repertoire prompted lengthy applause and ovations.
The Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra is an integral part of not only the Festival’s music programme, but also of the rich and diverse cultural heritage of both Dubrovnik and Croatia. Members of the Orchestra are classically trained musicians who honed their craft chiefly at the Zagreb Music Academy but also at esteemed international music institutions. The DSO has had numerous collaborations with renowned musicians, a good portion of which were a part of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. This Festival season they have performed with the marvellous trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger under the baton of esteemed mo. Franz Anton Krager and last evening the DSO were joined by talented violinist Katarina Kutnar. She won numerous awards and accolades, graduating in violin from the Zagreb Academy of Music in 2017 under Professor Leonid Sokorow. She received the Rector’s Award for the Tchaikovsky violin concerto which the Festival audience listened to last night. Maestro Ivo Lipanović was born in Dubrovnik, Croatia but hails from Lumbarda, Korčula. He studied conducting at the Zagreb Academy of Music under Igor Gjadrov and Lovro von Matačić. He was the winner of the Competition of Young Conductors in Zagreb in 1986 and was subsequently engaged by maestro Vjekoslav Šutej as choirmaster and conductor at the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre Split. Even though he currently lives and works in Zagreb, all throughout his professional career Lipanović has been tied to Split where he served as the Director of the Opera of the Croatian National Theatre (for the second time) from 2014 to 2018 when he was appointed its Acting Director. He has also achieved an enviable international career, collaborating with top musicians such as soprano Barbara Hendricks, conducting world’s leading orchestras on the prestigious stages of the Ankara State Opera, Teatro Verdi in Pisa, the Nice Opera in France, Deutsche Oper Berlin and countless others, being a darling Dubrovnik guest as well.
Tickets for the upcoming Croatian Baroque Ensemble and Hervé Niquet concert on 14 August at the Rector’s Palace atrium, along with others on the 70th Festival’s music programme, are available for purchase at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival website www.dubrovnik-festival.hr or via www.ulaznice.hr ticketing service and at the box office of the Festival Palace (Od Sigurate 1) every day from 9am to 9.30pm. All residents of Dubrovnik-neretva county are offered a 30% discount on all tickets. Purchases made with Mastercard® and Maestro® cards receive a 10% discount while all purchases and orders over 500 kuna receive a 30% discount voucher for Festival souvenirs.
