In the 2011/12 season, three national philharmonic orchestras - Slovenian, Zagreb and Belgrade - will embark on a joint project titled Pika-Točka-Tačka (Point in all three languages).
This cultural project, the first one of such scale, has been initiated by the directors of the three national orchestras from the region, and formally endorsed by the presidents and prime ministers of all three states and the USA embassies. Implementation starts in September, and will continue for at least five years.
From next year, the Slovenian, Zagreb and Belgrade philharmonic orchestras will have a special subscription programme within their regular concert season - Pika-Točka-Tačka, as part of which they will hold five concerts with the same conductors, soloists and programs.
Within the subscription program, each orchestra will perform in its home city with its chief conductor, and also have guest performances in the other two cities in the region. At guest performances, the Belgrade Philharmonic will be directed by Muhai Tang, the Zagreb Philharmonic by Dmitri Kitayenko, and the Slovenian Philharmonic by Emmanuel Villaume. At the remaining two concerts, with the same soloists and program, the Slovenian, Zagreb and Belgrade philharmonic orchestras, will be directed by the American conductors Andrew Grams and Jonathan Schiffman.
Based on an analysis of subscribers' preferences and experiences of all three orchestras, a unique program has been selected for the Ljubljana, Zagreb and Belgrade audience. The three national philharmonic orchestras will "cross swords" or, rather, bows, at fifteen concerts, performing the works of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Mendelssohn, Stravinsky, Saint-Saëns, Copland, Glass, Hanson and Schoenfield.
Four world-class pianists - Andrei Gavrilov, Alexei Volodin, Andrew von Oeyen and Andreas Boyde - and violoncellist Monika Leskovar, will participate in the project as soloists.
The cycle opens in Ljubljana, with the Slovenian Philharmonic concert on September 8, 2011, and closes in the same city on May 27, 2012, with a guest performance by the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra.
