Sounds of the harpsichord in the Art Centre Guarnerius
SMILJKA ISAKOVIĆ
Tuesday, 25th June 2019. at 19h
Program: W. Byrd, W. Croft, L. Couperin, J. P. Rameau, M. Theodorakis, S. Xarhakos
Free entrance.
“She plays, as she dresses, with both panache and elegance. Her fingerwork is nimble, and brilliant, her use of rubato a form of elasticity which creates maximum tension and vitality.”
(London Times)
Smiljka Isakovic, who was called by critics “The First Lady of the Harpsichord” and “Queen of the harpsichord”, took Master’ s degree in two instruments: piano at the Music Academy of Belgrade and “Tschaikovsky” Conservatory in Moscow, and harpsichord at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Madrid. She performed all over Yugoslavia (at all important music festivals), also in Europe (Italy, Greece, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, France, Great Britain, Tchech Republic, Russia, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus), in the USA, South America and Cuba.
She recorded several LPs and CD for the editing houses of Yugoslavia and abroad. She also broadcasted a lot for the Radio and Television of Yugoslavia and abroad. She gives Master Classes and writes musicological texts.
In 1997. she was awarded the international prestigious Masaryk Award for arts, which Masaryk Academy (Prague) awards to artists who connect people and races of the world through their art. This award was given for music, before Smiljka Isakovic, to Luciano Pavarotti.
Smiljka Isakovic was included in the “International Who is Who in Music” (Cambridge, American Biographical Institute), as well as in the international Encyclopedia of harpsichordists and organists (St. Petersburgh). ABI included her in the “5000 personalities of the world” as the “First Lady of the harpsichord”, and nominated her for the “Woman of the Year”.
Rewiews
Queen of the harpsichord: “A wonder of the fresh, unusually talented, creative and interpretative discovery”.
(Ostrava, “Janacek” Festival)
Virtuoso has world at her fingertips: “Smiljka Isakovic, Yugoslavia’ s First Lady of the harpsichord, is now ranked alongside the greatest players of the world”.
(Edinburgh, “Scotsman”)
“We were privileged to attend the concert of Smiljka Isakovic.”
(Cuba, “Granma”)