The international musical elite in the Upper Town

In accordance with a well-rooted tradition of Zagreb, May is the month for the international festival of classical music: St. Mark's Festival. This annual event successfully unites the local and international musical heritages, which complement one another.

Between the 2nd and 26th of May, the churches in Zagreb's Upper Town will become stages for numerous classical music performances. Croatian and international musicians will gather in Zagreb for yet another traditional Festival of St. Mark. Each year, a dozen or so concerts are held during the festival period by either local or foreign ensembles, philharmonic orchestras, quarters, quintets and soloists. From the moment the festival was first established in 1998, it has operated according to very strict artistic criteria, which is why today, 13 years later, it is considered one of the most prestigious chamber festivals in this region of Europe.

The underlying idea of the festival is to open the concert halls and churches of Zagreb's Upper and Lower Towns to impressive gatherings of top-class artists. This is why St. Mark's Festival has become a recognizable place in which the Croatian musical tradition meets with the influences of European and world practices. During this year's festival edition, audiences will enjoy various popular pieces interpreted by professional musicians from all over Europe: Croatia, Poland, Germany, Sweden, and even from Israel.

The festival will kick off on May 2nd at the Church of St. Mark where the Celibidache Trio, with the Chamber Ensemble of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, will perform J.S. Bach's Goldberg variations. The second concert in the programme will take place on May 7th at the Church of St. Katherine where the Mixed Choir of the Karol Szymanovski Philharmonic from Krakow will perform B. Papandopulo’s “Croatian mass in d minor for soloists and mixed choir op. 86”.

The third concert will be held on May 9th at Zagreb's Cathedral where Górecki's and Szymanowski's music will be performed by the Festival Orchestra of the Krakow Philharmonic Choir. A solo concert by a pianist from Zagreb, Vladimir Krpan, will take place at the Illyrian Hall of the National House on May 11th. He will perform a selection of L. Van Beethoven's piano sonatas.

On May 13th, the audience at St. Mark's Church will hear the Chamber ensemble of the Herbert von Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra performing works by Mozart, Schumann and Brahms. Two days later, on May 15th, two large concerts will be held at the same church: one by the Zagreb Seminarians Men’s choir (Music in Zagreb Cathedral); and the other, an already-traditional festival titbit, entitled Swedish Organ Tradition at the St. Mark's Festival.

On May 20th, the organ will again be the instrument of the day when the audience will be able to enjoy a vocal and instrumental performance of Vivaldi and Händel accompanied by the new Eisenbarth organ. The pieces will be performed by renowned Croatian musicians: Radojka Šverko, alto; Ðani Maršan, tenor; Pavao Mašić on the new Eisenbarth organ, which will be additionally promoted on May 8th; and Dario Teskera on the trumpet. Five days later, on May 25th, the Beethoven and Mozart cycle will be performed by the famous duo from Israel, Guy Braunstein (violin) and Ohad Ben Avi (piano). The festival will be ceremoniously closed on May 26th by the Chamber ensemble West Divan orchestra (Israel – Palestine) playing pieces by Beethoven, C.M.Weber and Dvorak.