CARPE ARTEM STRING QUARTET (Slovenija)
Veronika Vilar Brecelj, violin
Miladin Batalović, violin
Nejc Mikolič, viola
Nikolaj Sajko, cello
Programme:
Judd Greenstein (1979), Four on the Floor (Slovenian premiere)
Dominik Jakšič (1995), Sonatina da camera
John Corigliano (1938), Snapshot Circa 1909
John Corigliano (1938), A Black November Turkey (Slovenian premiere)
Antonin Dvorak (1841—1904), String Quartet No. 12, “American”, Op. 96
The musicians of the Carpe Artem String Quartet have been playing together since their student years. They are spread across different countries, with Lana Trotovšek operating in London, Miha Haas in Ljubljana, Nejc Mikolič in Klagenfurt, and Miladin Batalović and Nikolaj Sajko in Maribor. Every year, they get together to perform the Cape Artem concert cycle organised by the Slovenian Amadeus Chamber Music Society in Slovenia. The theme of this year’s programme is music from the New World, featuring pieces by Greenstein, Corigliano, Jakšič, and Dvořak. The living contemporary composers are represented entirely through their melodious classical music which is not based on experimentation but rather on musicality and emotional expression.
Veronika Vilar Brecelj belongs to the golden generation of younger Slovenian violinists. She studied violin at the Universität der Künste in Berlin under the tutelage of Professor Tomasz Tomaszewski, and completed her postgraduate studies in 2019 with the guidance of Professor Silvija Marcovici at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. Vilar Brecelj has won several national and international competitions and is a regular at numerous European festivals. As a soloist, she has performed with the Slovenian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, and the The Symphony Orchestra of the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet. She also records for Radio Ars and Radio Koper. Additionally, Vilar Brecelj is a member of the highly-regarded international ensemble Oberton String Octet, which has released two albums, with their first album “Slavic Soul” being nominated for the prestigious Opus Klassik award. Their second album, “Tangabile,” featuring works by Astor Piazzolla, was released in March 2021. For her artistic achievements, Vilar Brecej has been awarded the Škerjanc Award (2012) and the Municipal Award for Young People from the Municipality of Šempeter-Vrtojba (2019). Since October 2020, she is a violin professor at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana.
Miladin Batalović graduated from the Kornelija Stanković Music High School in Belgrade, where his performance of the played Bruch’s Concerto in G minor earned him an award for outstanding achievement. He studied in Stuttgart under Gerhard Voss and Antonio Spiller, and completed his master’s degree in contemporary music with distinction under Professor Joachim Schall. In the 2005/06 season, he was a member of the Munich Radio Orchestra while simultaneously attending masterclasses with Wolfram König and Jorge Sutil. Since 2007, he has played first chair of the second violins in the Symphony Orchestra of the Slovenian National Theatre Maribor.
Violist Nejc Mikolič graduated from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana under the tutelage of professor Mile Kosi, and continued his education at the University of Vienna with professor H.P. Ochsenhofr. During his studies in Ljubljana, he received two Prešeren awards for his achievements as a soloist and chamber musician. He was a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and a solo violist at the Orchestre Akademie Ossiach and Orchestra PURPUR. At the Trenta seminar with the Vienna Philharmonic he was selected to perform solo and with a chamber ensemble at the concluding concert at the famous Musikverein in Vienna. He was employed by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, regularly played solo viola with the Ljubljana Opera Orchestra. Since March 2017, he has been employed as solo violist at the operatic orchestra of the Stadttheater Klagenfurt.
Nikolaj Sajko studied cello with Ciril Škerjanec at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana where he also completed his master’s degree. He further perfected his skills as a solo performer at the Anton Bruckner University in Linz. He is the recipient of the Klasinc diploma and the Antonio Tarsia award and has won significant placements at competitions for young musicians in Gorizia, Lienz, Zagreb, and Ljubljana. He was a member of the international Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and the World Orchestra of Youth Music. In 2006, he became the deputy solo cellist at the Symphony Orchestra of the Slovene National Theatre Maribor and professor at the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Maribor. Since 2012, he has also served as the program director of the Carpe Artem chamber music concert series.
Admission: 10 €
The purchase of tickets is possible one hour before the start of the concert. In case of bad weather, the concert will take place in the Cultural Center Deskle.
In collaboration with:
