Instead of a commemoration, the Philharmonic says goodbye to Tasovac - with a concert

Instead of a commemoration, the Philharmonic says goodbye to Tasovac - with a concert

Affected by the sudden loss of Ivan Tasovac, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra dedicates a concert under the direction of chief conductor Gabriel Felc to the beloved director, scheduled for Friday, October 1, 2021, at 8 pm at Kolarac.

Instead of commemorating, the Belgrade Philharmonic is saying goodbye to the great opponent of form and ordinary protocols with music he lived for.

The orchestra dedicates not only the concert on Friday, but also every next one that will be performed both at Kolarac and in the future hall of the Belgrade Philharmonic, for which Tasovac lived, to the legendary visionary, a friend of all musicians and the philharmonic audience. At the concert on Friday, the orchestra will play Shostakovich's music, and at the beginning of performance, the waltz of the same composer is especially dedicated to Tasa.

Tasovac was the Director of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra from March 2001 until September 2013. During this period, the orchestra grew into one of the leading European orchestras (The Independent), Serbia’s cult orchestra (The Financial Times), the most successful cultural institution in Serbia (Jutarnji list, Zagreb) and Serbia’s most powerful PR weapon (Kvällsposten, Malmö).

In this period, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra’s building was renovated, a large part of the orchestra received new instruments, the orchestra was rejuvenated by recruiting the best musicians who returned from abroad after completing their studies etc.

During his term at the office, the orchestra considerably enhanced institutional and regional cooperation. In addition to notable international guest appearances throughout Europe, at his initiative, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra went on its first-ever tour of the United States in its history, in the autumn of 2014. Mr Tasovac launched the Zubin Mehta Belgrade Philharmonic Foundation in 2004, which is considered as the pioneer and the main promoter of the model for financing culture based on public-private cooperation in Serbia. In the pursuit of many objectives and projects, this foundation is greatly supported by The American Friends of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra foundation, established in New York in 2012.

Mr Tasovac was Minister of Culture and Information in the Serbian Government from September 2013 to August 2016.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia reappointed Tasovac as the director of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra on January 24, 2017.

Recently, the tradition of open-air orchestra concerts has commenced, which have become the biggest events in the history of classical music in Serbia.

Significant progress has been made in the realization of the project of the new Concert Hall of the Belgrade Philharmonic, which will be an internationally recognized center for art of the highest quality, a regional hub for cultural dialogue and a new symbol of Belgrade and Serbia.

Here's the farewell letter of Belgrade Philharmonic to its beloved director, Ivan Tasovac:

IVAN TASOVAC, 1966-2021 AND FOR ETERNITY

Dear Taso,

You have woven the first and basic rule into the Belgrade Philharmonic and taught us to do everything differently. That is why we do not write commemorative texts, in memoriam reviews, or farewells, because you would reprimand us for that. Detesting form, politely disobedient and subtly brazen-faced to the extreme, you set the pace that we have followed together for more than twenty years and made many dreams come true – in spite of everyone and despite everything!

It is almost impossible to list everything you have given to this institution, because thanks to you we have achieved the essence – the faith of every one of us in the Belgrade Philharmonic. So we have kept increasing the level, constantly raising the bar, celebrating victories and immediately going on to higher and higher goals. If the walls of a dilapidated building had to be torn down first to make a better home for our music and our musicians, that was not the slightest problem for you. After smaller tours, we immediately went on to bigger ones. All the big names of the world’s music scene have fallen in love with the enthusiasm of the Belgrade Philharmonic that you spread so irresistibly and they have stayed with us, today very proud of everything we have achieved together. You remain in every brilliant instrument that comes to life in the hands of our musicians, in all our scores, in every support we deservedly received from all parts of the world.

A man is as big as his dreams and his ideas. And for you not even too much is enough. That is why you have built a dream team, strong, united and harmonious, which will not let you down and which will preserve what we have achieved. But, the most important thing is that we will go on and never forget that zany fun that you spread so contagiously. That is why at all the concerts we play, every note goes to you, to our enfant terrible who cannot hold back his happiness but jumps on his seat and delights over and over again at the superpowers of the Belgrade Philharmonic, as if hearing it for the very first time.

With your vision and unimaginable eccentricity, you have built what we are today; brave, irreconcilable, ready for fresh challenges and new successes. The past tense is not an option, because we have so much ahead of us.

The Belgrade Philharmonic does not say goodbye to you. We will finish our shared dream in our new building, and we will not give up, Taso, despite everything.

Yours forever,

The Belgrade Philharmonic