SELECT WINNERS OF THE TEMSIG COMPETITION: Opifex String Quartet (Slovenia)
Nikola Pajanović, violin
Laura de Wolff, violin
Rebeka Skok, viola
Sara Čano, cello
Programme:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770—1827), String Quartet in F major No. 1, Op. 18
Jani Golob (1948), String Quartet no. 3
Claude Debussy (1862—1918), String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10
After its establishment in 2021, Opifex String Quartet has operated under the artistic direction of Prof. Aleksandra Čano Muharemović, who was joined in 2022/23 by Prof. Emile Cantor who is the members’ supervisor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. The quartet first performed together at the Baroque Hall of the Radovljica Castle, which they followed up with a full-length concert at Portorož Auditorium with Pianist Peter Bubola, who often joins them in a piano quintet. They were selected to participate in Glasbena mladina ljubljanska’s Ob Klavirju (At the Piano) concert series and performed Schumann’s Piano Quintet in the Slovenian Philharmonic Slavko Osterc Hall. In March 2023, they won the Slovenian national TEMSIG competitionn and received special recognition for their interpretation of K. Penderecki’s String Quartet No. 3. In the same year, they also won the 15th international competition “Giovani Musicisti- Citta di Treviso”.
Nikola Pajanović studies violin at the Ljubljana Academy of Music in the class of Prof. Gorjan Košuta. Already at the tender age of eight, he won the International “Euritmia” competition in Povoletto. Since then, he successfully participated in numerous international competitions winning the highest accolades. At the 2016 Jaroslav Kocian competition in Czechia, he not only won in his category, but also the title of overall laureate of the entire competition. In 2018, he was invited to attend the prestigious Menuhin violin competition in Geneva, where he qualified for the final, or in other words, made it among the world’s nine best violinists. He won second place at the Eurovision Young Musicians competition in Edinburgh with his final performance with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. He took part in the TEMSIG competition four times and won gold every time. He performed twice in the context of Festival Ljubljana’s Young Virtuosi concert series and played all 24 Paganninni’s Caprices. He performed solo with the Slovenian Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the SNG Opera and Ballet Maribor Symphony, the RTV Slovenia Symphony, and the Czech Pardubice Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2015, he received the Škerjanc Prize for his exceptionally successful artistic promotion of the Conservatorium of Music and Ballet Ljubljana.
Laura de Wolff studies violin with Prof. Gorjan Košuta at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. She regularly attends masterclasses with established professors, such as Prof. Tatjana Špragar, Prof. Žiga Brank, Prof. Violeta Smajlović Huart, Prof. Raphael Kasprian, Prof. Wonji-Kim Ozim, Prof. Sandor Javorkai, Prof. Stefan Milenkovich and Prof. Lisa Jacobs. She competes at national and international competitions. As a solo violinist she won first place at the Leon Pfeifer, Svirel, and Ars Nova Trieste competitions. She won second place at Ars Nova Trieste and gold and silver plaques at the Slovenian national TEMSIG competition. She also participates in chamber ensemble competitions. In 2020, her string quartet won second place at the same competition, a mere year after she had won the Akkordeon Art competition in Sarajevo with Camerata Laibach under the artistic direction of Aleksandra Čano Muharemović and became the overall competition laureate. She also ranked high at numerous international online competitions.
Rebeka Skok delved into the art of viola under the tutelage of Professor Andrej Feguš at the Conservatory of Music in Maribor. In March of 2022 she graduated with honours in the class of Professor Emil Cantor at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, where she is currently attending the first year of her master’s programme. She has been actively pursuing further education, attending international classes in viola and chamber music in France, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia, led by renowned and established musicians such as Atar Arad, Garth Knox, Geneviève Strasser, Nobuko Imai, Gerhard Marschner, and Vlatka Peljhan. As a member of the Opifex string quartet, she regularly performs at various festivals and concerts within the framework of Glasbena mladina ljubljanska and consistently ranks high at international competitions. She regularly substitutes in the Slovenian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.
Twenty-two-year-old cellist Sara Čano studied with Professor Julian Steckel at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and is currently continuing her studies with Professor Miloš Mlejnik at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. She won top prizes at numerous international competitions in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, and Norway. At the 10th International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in Astana, Kazakhstan, she was the first Slovenian representative to earn the coveted title of overall Laureate with her final performance of Édouard Lalo’s Cello Concerto in the accompaniment of the Eurasian Symphony Orchestra. She also won the 44th TEMSIG Competition with a perfect score of one hundred points. She was awarded the “Škerjanc Award” and received the Triglav Insurance Company Foundation’s “Young Hope” scholarship. She performed on prestigious stages in Moscow and St. Petersburg including a solo performance with the Russian Presidential Symphony Orchestra at the Kremlin. She has presented numerous recitals and concerts in Italy, Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, North Macedonia, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Norway.
Complimentary tickets, courtesy of Adria Media Ljubljana, GenLan, and Essai & Acai, can be collected an hour before the concert at the venue. Reservations are not possible.
In collaboration with:
