Violin Maestro Jovan Kolundzija in Belgrade

By Valentina Radulovic
Belgrade, Dec.10th (Serbia Today) – Maestro Jovan Kolundzija, the same Serbian violinist that amazed Belgrade audiences with his concert in the 2007-2008 winter season with ‘Do you love Beethoven’, will perform ‘Bravissimo Maestro Mozart’, devoted to Mozart’s extraordinary opus.
In his last concert Maestro Kolundzija performed integral versions of all Beethoven’s sonatas for violin and piano. This exceptionally ambitious choice of music is rarely seen on the great concert podiums of the world. It requires a violinist to have great experience and to put hours and hours of hard work, because the performance of such a technically program is extremely demanding for a musician.
On December 10th, 13th, 15th and 17th, at Kolarac Concert Hall, Kolundzija will perform four concerts, together with his sister Nada Kolundzija and Eugene Choi from South Korea accompanying. Natalija Lavrik Mladenovic from Serbia will also perform. For the first time in Serbia, Marianna Hametska from Canada will be performing related pieces on the piano. They will be playing 15 of Mozart’s sonatas. Mozart’s composed and performed over two centuries ago, but this selection of his work is unequalled in its inspiration and the challenge it provides to the performers.
Kolundzija is the leading Serbian violinist graduate from the Belgrade Academy of Music under Professor Peter Toskov. He continued his post-graduate studies with Professor Henryk Szeryng. During his early career he became professor Szeryng’s favorite disciple and one of the most praised young violinists in the world. Szeryng commented in the past that “Kolundzia has the inborn qualities which cannot be learnt or taught. He has the quality of the sound, the warmth, the human approach to music, the feeling for style. He is a happy combination of heart and spirit, and a unique jewel among violinists.”
Kolundzija also participated in special concerts organized by UNESCO in Belgrade and Paris, and has made recordings for numerous radio and TV programs (he appeared twice in France’s world famous Jacques Chancel’s show on French television. The Maestro is a member of FIAN-UNESCO and he has numerous recordings to his credit, including the recently realized CD of Complete Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin by J.S. Bach.