The 51st Samobor Autumn was opened with a ceremony in front of a full St. Ana’s Church. The opening evening was dedicated to Johannes Brahms, with sopranist Martina Zadro, mezzo-soprano Martina Gojčeta Silić, tenor Roko Radovan, and baritone Leon Košvić taking the stage. Accompanying the vocal soloists were pianists Lana Bradić and Mario Čop.
The audience greeted the performance with ovations and prolonged applause, bringing the performers back to the stage. The festival’s artistic director, Srećko Bradić, highlighted artistic freedom as one of the festival’s core values in his address. He noted that for 51 years, performers, visitors, composers, and organisers have been taking part in this unique artistic journey.
The mayor of Samobor, Petra Škrobot, welcomed the artists and the audience. She highlighted the festival’s connection to Samobor and its importance as a place where the public meets established artists and young performers through the Ferde Livadić competition. She stated that in Samobor, the first sound of autumn is not the rustling of leaves, but the sound of the Samobor Autumn.
The 51st Samobor Autumn was officially opened by state secretary Mladen Pavić, on behalf of Minister of Culture Nina Obuljen Koržinek. Pavić highlighted the festival’s long tradition and its place on the Croatian musical map.
The four vocal soloists, accompanied by piano, performed Brahms’s Liebeslieder, Op. 52, Neue Liebeslieder, Op. 65, and Zigeunerlieder, Op. 103. The first two cycles are linked by the poetry of Georg Friedrich Daumer. Zigeunerlieder is among Brahms’s final cycles written for vocal quartet with piano accompaniment.
Leon Košvić was a previous laureate of the ‘Ferde Livadić’ International Competition for Young Musicians, winning the award in 2014. Due to overseas commitments, he was unable to attend the next edition of the festival. He stated that this year they had gathered as a fine group of five university professors, including himself, to perform a programme that had not been performed for a long time. He added that the Ferde Livadić Prize was one of his first awards and had greatly helped him.
The festival programme featuring young musicians continues on Sunday, 20 September, when the 23rd edition of the ‘Ferde Livadić’ International Competition for Young Musicians begins. On the first day, starting at 16:00, public recitals will take place. Young musicians will present programmes of their own choice to the public and the judging panel, lasting up to 45 minutes, with the mandatory inclusion of at least one work by a Croatian composer. The competition is open to musicians of all disciplines under the age of 28.
The six finalists this year are pianists Sven Brajković, Andrija Bošković, and Arsen Dalbaltayan; cellists Luka Galuf and Hana Rabad; and oboist Ema Jančić. The competition continues on Monday, 21 September, with the winners to be announced on Tuesday, 22 September.
The Sunday programme will conclude with the Croatian Baroque Ensemble. Under the artistic direction of Mauro Colangelo, and featuring mezzo-soprano Lucia Varš, they will perform Rosso Veneziano in the Franciscan Church, a programme dedicated to Antonio Vivaldi. The organiser of the Samobor Autumn is the Samobor People’s Open University.
