Heading into the 66th Musical Evenings in St. Donatus
Ahead of us is a new edition of the Musical Evenings at St Donatus - a festival that has been growing alongside its city for 66 years. I am particularly pleased that this year’s program confirms that tradition is best preserved when it is not afraid to make bold strides forward.
First and foremost, I would like to thank Artistic Director Ivana Kuljerić Bilić for her thoughtful artistic vision and a program that blends a superb international repertoire and contemporary productions with opportunities for young artists. My gratitude also goes to musicologist Katarina Livljanić, whose expertise and international reputation have, for years, shaped the early music cycle - making the Musical Evenings recognizable far beyond Croatia.
I am especially delighted by the programs that reaffirm the festival's deep connection to Zadar's identity, as well as its international openness. Among them is the UNESCO concert, which connects cities and sites of shared world heritage, as well as the collaboration with the International Competition in Palmanova, which offers young musicians the opportunity to perform on one of Croatia's most prestigious festival stages.
The Zadar Chamber Orchestra holds a special place in the program, having grown with the Evenings from the very beginning. It was Pavle Dešpalj who assembled the orchestra for the festival's first edition, realizing his vision of Zadar once again having its own ensemble. Therefore, the performance of Mahler’s Fourth Symphony under the baton of Maestro Ivan Repušić will be much more than a world-class concert. It is a symbol of a journey built over decades by generations of musicians, artistic directors, producers, and all those who believed that Zadar deserved such artistic achievements.
I am also looking forward, with special emotion, to the concert dedicated to marking 300 years of the Arbanasi in Zadar. This program will bring together the works of Pavle Dešpalj and the traditional musical heritage of the Arbanasi, performed by the outstanding young Croatian tenor Filip Filipović alongside the Zadar Chamber Orchestra. Programs like this remind us that culture is not only art of the highest quality, but also a space where a community recognizes and preserves its own identity.
The Musical Evenings have always been a story about people and togetherness. From the Dešpalj family to today's generations of collaborators and artists, this festival has come to life thanks to dedication, trust, and a love for music. That is precisely why I see this year’s program as a fantastic blend of heritage and modernity, local and international, tradition and new artistic perspectives - the very values that have made the Musical Evenings in St. Donatus unique for more than six decades.
Dina Bušić
President of the Governing Board of the Musical Evenings at St Donatus