In the continuation of the music program of the XXXVIII Grad Teatar festival, the famous violinist Roman Simović, together with the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra, held a concert on the stage between the churches in Budva's Old Town.
During the two-hour concert, the audience enjoyed the works of the composer Antonio Vivaldi, "Four Seasons" and Astor Piaccola, "Four Seasons in Buenos Aires".
Simović said after the concert that he was glad to be back in Budva.
"I haven't played here for many years. This very church of Santa Maria in punta is the place where, already long ago in 1998, I had my first presentation at the Gradu Teatr. It is a special feeling to return to this festival, I see that it continues and that it has a very good program. I saw the name of Simon Trpčeski, my good friend with whom I often play, he is a great world pianist. Everything takes place in its own way and I am very happy that Montenegro has such festivals and programs, and I am also very happy that I am a guest at these festivals more often and that I am returning home again", said Simović, and he pointed out that the audience on the stage between the churches was wonderful.
"Like this orchestra that I love so much, they really did their best. As for the conditions, considering that the scene is outdoors and there is a lot of heat and humidity, a friend of mine who is a world-famous violinist once told me that the conditions are never good, something is always missing. The humidity is there, but that's the price you pay to get this kind of ambiance that is truly unique. Tonight is a full moon, you can hear the waves together with Pjacola. In the end, the audience realizes that this is not a concert hall where you immediately get acoustics, where you can do things with the sound, but I think we made a good sound and the audience had a good time tonight. I think that is the point of the story," added Simović.
Asked to comment on the comparison between Vivaldi and Piaccola, Simović said:
"Vivaldi has been a big rock star for over 300 years, from the tunes on the phones, to airports, cafes and department stores, you can hear his seasons. And it's been like that since he wrote it, he was a big star and a big violinist. To this day, it is accessible to everyone. Even people who don't know what it's about know the tune and everything is familiar. I think the music is genius, and he is certainly one of the leading, if not one of the three greatest Baroque composers. There is, of course, Handel and Bach. There are a lot of them, but I adore Vivaldi and I always find something new in it. And Pjacola is, of course, inspired by Vivaldi. You hear Vivaldi through his version of the seasons, exactly 250 years later. There are elements of tango because he is the king of tango, and in addition there are elements of jazz. There is jazz, tango and classical. When I first heard it, I was blown away by how good that music is, it's so clear to me. Of course, there are people who are not fans of Pjacola, but those are the ones who are hard classics. I, on the other hand, think that some new things must be done, the same thing cannot be done all the time. I love this program, 'eight seasons' let's call it. It's almost like in London, it rains in the morning, then it's terribly hot and then the wind blows and it's terribly cold in one day."
The concert by Roman Simović and the Montenegrin Symphony Orchestra was realized in cooperation with the Music Center of Montenegro.
Bonus video:
