May 28, 2018 - This year the Tivat Cultural Center, in cooperation with NGO "Harmonica of Montenegro", has organized the international festival of accordions – “HARMONIKA FEST”.
The festival consists of a competition part which will be held today and tomorrow in the big hall of the Tivat Cultural Center and the Gallery of “Ljetnikovac Buća.” The winner's concert is scheduled for May 30, 2018 at 2:00 pm, also in the big hall of the TCC.
In addition to the competition, there will be three concerts. At the opening ceremony of the festival at the Atrium of the “Ljetnikovac Buća”, the concert of the "TANGO PASSION" ensemble SOLISTI DI SUD from Niš will be held tonight at 21:00. The second day of the festival (May 29th), is reserved for the CONCERT OF THE YOUTH SCENE OF MONTENEGRIN ACCORDIONS, also in the Atrium Buća at 18:00. The third concert will be held on May 29th at the Museum of Maritime Heritage for the famous Russian accordionist Sergey Osokin at 21:00. All shows are free.
The Harmonika Fest is the first International Music Festival for Accordion in Montenegro. It was founded in 2010 in Cetinje, where it was held until 2014. The festival is a professional manifestation that affirms accordions of all profiles and fosters playing the accordion. The festival is organized by the NGO "Harmonika Montenegrina" from Podgorica.
The festival has featured the world's most prominent names from classical accordion including Jurij Šiškin, Renzo Ruđeri, Pavel Fenjuk, Vladimir Murza, Petar Marić, Nikola Peković, Semjon Šmeljkov, Roman Žbanov, Dominik Emorin, Stjepan Hauser (violoncello) and many others.
The festival particularly emphasizes the participation of one of the most successful cellists of today, Stjepan Hauser, who performed in 2010. Stjepan Hauser performs worldwide today as a planetary music star and often plays with Elton John with his 2Cellos. Within the festival, apart from the all-time concerts by prominent world artists and master workshops for students of lower and middle music schools, as well as for students from the Academy of Music with the accordion cutter. The lecturers at the seminars are very distinguished professors working at the most prestigious Academy of Music in Europe and the world.
Since 2014, a new segment in the festival has been included, which is the International Competition in Disciplines: solo accordion, chamber music, and orchestras. It is also the first international competition for the classic accordion in Montenegro. Exchange of knowledge, practice, and experience, as well as familiarization with domestic and world trends in contemporary concert and pedagogic practices for accordion, is the primary goal of this project. Unlike many Western European countries where the accordion experiences a real expansion, in our area, its treatment is unfairly neglected concerning some other instruments with a more celebrated musical tradition.
Consequently, this project will bring the most significant musical, technical and technological potential of modern accordions in all musical genres by bringing together the most famous creators from the world of harmonics art. This way, it will undoubtedly contribute to a better presentation of the instrument.
The great cultural, educational and psychosocial significance of the festival is the basis for ideas to become real and to promote classical music on harmonics. The author of this project is professor Predrag Janković.
