KotorArt is slowly approaching its end, and if we were to do a retrospective of the programs so far, the performance of the “Janoška” Ensemble would certainly stand out as the pinnacle of performing excellence. It was a concert where the ensemble brought the audience to their feet several times, and the ovations were stormy and long-lasting. In a co-production of KotorArt and the Tivat Music Festival, the artists held two concerts, in Luštica Bay on Sunday and in Kotor's Church of the Holy Spirit on Monday.
If anyone expected to hear the “real” Vivaldi, they were wrong: for the members of the “Janoška” Ensemble, Vivaldi is just a springboard for unbridled outpourings of musicality, virtuosity and inventive improvisations. Because this is not a typical concert of canonical classical music. Although the musicians are highly educated and inheritors of a family tradition of music-making, what they perform is an energetic fusion of eras - baroque and postmodern - and styles: jazz, Balkan folklore and popular music. However, something of Vivaldi remains: recognizable themes from the violin concertos “Four Seasons” which serve as the initial code for communication with the audience, some harmonic structures, as well as the baroque concept of concertant music making which is here transformed into a layered network of mutual relationships between performers. In other words, all the specifics of the baroque concerto have been recomposed by the artists from the perspective of a contemporary performer rather than a composer: the question is how Vivaldi, if he were alive today, would treat his themes under the pressure of the abundance of today's musical styles.
The ensemble "Janoška" came into the public spotlight ten years ago, when it released its debut album "Janoska Style" for the publishing house "Deutsche Gramofon", which reached gold circulation and opened the door to collaborations with famous names such as Anne Netrebko, Ala Džaroa i Juliana Rahlina. Last year's album "Four Seasons in the Style of Janoška" brings Vivaldi's concertos seen from the performer's perspective. Namely, the development of the musical idea in these interpretations does not stem from the composer's imagination, but from the performer's improvisational practice - baroque and contemporary. The arrangements were created by the ensemble members - brothers Ondrej, Roman i Frantisek Janoska from Bratislava, and their son-in-law from Konstanz, Julius Darvaš. Direct in their verbal communication and passionately magical in their musical communication, the ensemble members present their audience with instrumental bravura, explosive energy and inspiring musical talent. Their strength is particularly evident in the furious movements, while the elegiac sections are less challenging for the listener. Rather than becoming a space for reflection, they act as bridges and resting places between two more attractive points in the composition. This suggests that, despite their creativity, the ensemble members think primarily as performers, not as composers who could dramaturgically build the slow movements from within as a space for deeper contemplation.
On the occasion of the three centuries since the creation of Vivaldi's masterpieces, "Janoška", from the perspective of improvisation, gave its own view - each member of the ensemble arranged one concert, bringing a personal touch to the collectively conceived project that is not authorial in the classical sense, but the result of joint creation. They also gave each of the movements an original name, because, it is important to emphasize, it is not a simple arrangement, but a kind of fantasy on the theme. Thus, from "Spring" comes "Groovy Birds", from "Summer" "Caribbean Rhythms", from "Autumn" "Balkan Journey in the Seventh Eighth Time", and from "Winter" "Sweet Home". This is music, and interpretation, that goes beyond the framework of canonical art music, but draws its roots from it. Ecstatic and dynamic, she easily communicates with a wider audience through a clear musical language: through recognizable Vivaldi, exciting rhythms, pronounced interaction between performers, virtuosity that continues to fascinate the audience, improvisation that maintains constant tension of attention. If only one of these elements were present, the question of cliché or effective flattery would arise. However, in this case, all elements are in the function of high professionalism, superb interpretative range and layered expression.
This concert is framed by an opening number - an improvisation on the theme of the overture from the operetta "The Bat" Johan Strauss the Younger With two encores at the end, one of which was an arrangement of Oliver's "Cesarica", which the audience sang loudly, the concert marked the highlight of the festival for now.
Bonus video:
