Modern music encyclopedia

Accordion is one of the most famous music instrument, that belongs to the group of instruments with keys. The accordion is played by compressing or expanding the bellows, while pressing buttons or keys, causing palletes to open, which allow air to flow across strips of steel, called reeds. This instrument was invented in 1822. by Fridrih Buchman, who also invented the harmonica, in which the tone is obtained as in the wind instruments, by the player blowing into the instrument !

In addition to classic accordion and harmonica, there are other types of this instrument. One of them is the chromatic button accordion, that has buttons insted of keys. Besides this type, there is also the bandeneon, which is played in Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil, and it is especially characteristic for orchestras that perform tango music.

The accordion is most often used in folk and popular music, but there are also artists on concert podiums, who perform art music on it. We will get to know this instrument through the sound of tradition. Led by Vlada Pantovic, RTS Folk orchestra will perform „Jonje,Jonje“.

Get to know the sound of tradition through the Modern music encyclopedia of RTS Music production. We are presenting a rich musical heritage on our official Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as on our website. Give yourself the opportunity, as our follower, to be the first to hear the new pieces we have prepared for you.

Today marks the beginning of our March musical research. Following the letters of the alphabet, our map takes us to the letter A, and it is here that we discover our first musical term – aria! Arias are the most beautiful sections of the opera, sections by which we often remember an operatic piece. They are predominantly performed by main characters, but some of them are also intended for supporting characters. In an aria a singer can demonstrate his or her complete vocal skills and they are generally extremely difficult to perform. They can be lyric or dramatic in character, which also depends on the role of the performer. In an opera, the aria is performed by a male or female opera soloist, accompanied by an orchestra or a smaller musical ensemble. In concerts arias can also be heard accompanied by just a piano.

Identify what you’ve just read in an aria that we have chosen for you. It is an excerpt from the opera “Tosca” by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini. Listen to its concert performance. It is interpreted by soprano Irina Rubtsova, alongside the RTS Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Bojan Sudjic is conducting.

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Today, step on to the letter B. It takes us inside musical history, to the end of the 16th century, into the unparalleled baroque epoch, which would last until the first half of the 18th century. Researching the epoch, we can discover that it is during this period that opera emerged, that music for various instruments as well characteristic vocal instrumental forms was in development – oratorios, cantatas, passions and masses. If we were to delve into the workshops of prominent luthiers from the Italian city of Cremona – Amati and Guarneri, and later Stradivarius, we would see violins of exceptional worth and beauty. World famous violin players have been known to perform on some of the instruments which have been preserved until this very day.

And when you say to musicians – baroque, the immediate thought for almost all of them is Johan Sebastian Bach, one of the most significant representatives of this style. And so be it, for us as well, from this day forward! The oeuvre of this composer, who was the court’s organist, harpsichordist, and played violin and viola excellently, is exceptionally vast and inside it we can find almost all of the characteristic baroque forms. Among the most notable ones are the “Brandenburg Concertos”, the collection “Well-Tempered Clavier”, written for keyboard instruments, the “Coffee cantata”, “Mass in b-minor” and “Christmas Oratorio”.

Today we will encounter the world of Bach’s music listening to an excerpt from his “Christmas Oratorio”, whose beauty to this day has not been tarnished by time over the period from its creation in year 1734. While listening, take notice of the motoric rhythm of baroque music, the polyphony which Bach had brought to perfection in his works, recognize the homophony, and more than anything listen to the style of his music. You are listening to the opening choir number as performed by the Choir and Symphony Orchestra of RTS. Maestro Bojan Sudjic is conducting.

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Today we present to you the ballet, beautiful art that combines music and dance. It is a complex musical and stage work that uses movement as an expressive tool. The name “ballet” comes from the Italian word “balleto”, which is derived from the word “ballare”, which means “to play”.

Ballet consists of acts, pictures, and dance numbers, similar to opera. In some parts, one or two players participate, and in some parts, several main characters appear, which depends on the dramatic action. Particularly interesting are the parts in which a large number of players perform because the coordination of their movements and symmetry in space often amazes the audience. A ballet is created by a composer and choreographer and performed by dancers, an orchestra, and a conductor. The music of each ballet is closely related to the story, and the steps and movement are coordinated with meter, rhythm, and tempo.

Although ballet performances are seen most often in the theater today, ballet music is often performed on the concert stage, and sometimes, precisely on the concert stage, the orchestra is joined by the dancers. You will have the opportunity to experience that today.

You will listen to “Trepak” from the ballet “The Nutcracker” by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, performed by the RTS Symphony Orchestra and maestro Bojan Sudjic. Students of the “Lujo Davičo” Ballet School from Belgrade will share the stage with them.

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Baroque era will take you into music history, at the end of 16th, through the whole 17th and the beginning of the 18th century. Throug this period, we can follow the development of opera, and other instrumental and vocal-instrumental forms of this epoche. Since 1880, art of the greatest representatives of this style, composers Johan Sebastian Bach and Georg Fridrih Hendl, reaches its peak.

In the Baroque era, the concert style of music was also developing, and with it virtuosity. This is the time when the workshops of famous instrument builders from the Italian city Cremona-Amati and Gvarneria appeared, and then Stradivarius, who made violins of exepctional beauty and value. Some of them, which have been preserved to this day, are played by world-famous violinists.

You will get to know the baroque music and the magnificence of the sound of this epoche by listening a passage from Johan Sebastian Bach’s „Christmas Oratorio“. It is the opening choral song, which will be performed by the RTS Choir and Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Bojan Sudjic will be the conductor.

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When the name of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven is mentioned today, there is almost no person who has not heard of this composer who was not only one of the most respected and famous German composers, but also outlived his time, and his works are still current on concert stages. The artist who composed nine symphonies, of which the Third – “Eroica”, Fifth and Ninth – with the “Ode to Joy” are the most famous, piano sonatas, famous piano concertos and a vitruous violin concerto, marked the era with classics, but he also went a step further , hinting at a new time – romantic romanticism.

Nonchalant in his style of dress, with hair longer than was prescribed, without a wig, which was, as it were, obligatory, this gifted composer, and for his friends a witty lover of games and drinks, unkind but loyal, grumpy and sensitive, he was to many a thorne in the side. But he was also a favorite of rich art lovers, who introduced him to the influential circles of the aristocracy of the time, for which he acquired modern elegant clothes and even a horse.

There is no season without his music, an orchestra, a soloist who did not play Beethoven’s pieces. That is why today we present to you a trace of that magnificent sound of the composer, who wrote some of his greatest pieces completely deaf. Today you will have the opportunity to listen the “Coriolan Overture” by this composer. Played by the RTS Symphony Orchestra, and conducted by maestro Srba Dinić.

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Bebop is a style of modern jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. It is characterised by a fast tempo, so it is the first style intened for listening, and not dancing. Compositions written in this style vary from light dance rhytmes, for example, to large swing orchestras. Bebop is usually performed by a small jazz band, and the musicians who made it famous were saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie and pianist Telonious Monk.

Be ready to get to know the bebop. You will be listening the famous piece, Fascinating rhythm, in the performance of RTS Big Band.

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If you like musicals, today is the right opportunity to meet the composer Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990).

That creator is considered one of the most successful artistic figures of American music of the 20th century. He was also a prominent conductor and pianist. He did educational shows on television in the field of music to promote artistic music.
Bernstein’s oeuvre is diverse. He wrote symphonies, choral and chamber music, and piano pieces, among which the most important are: the musical “West Side Story”, the symphony “Kaddish” and the operetta “Candide”.

Today you will be listening to one of the most attractive excerpts from the Broadway hit West Side Story. “Mambo” will be performed by the RTS Choir and Symphony Orchestra, and the conductor will be Bojan Suđić.

This is an opportunity to recall the most beautiful excerpts from musicals in our repertoire. Let the official Facebook and Instagram pages of Music Production help you with that. Let the official YouTube channel of RTS Music Production be the place for your research. It’s enough just to become our follower and the world of music opens up to you like in the palm of your hand!

Georges Bizet is one of the most significant representatives of French music of the Romantic era, in whose oeuvre the central place belongs to opera. At an early age he showed the talent for music. During a brilliant student career at the Conservatoire de Paris, he won the prestigious award Prix de Rome, which enabled him to stay in Italy where he studied opera music.

Operas represent the peak of his creative work, from which the most famous are La Jolie Fille de Perth, Les Pecheures de Perles, and certanly the Carmen. In addition to these pieces, he was also known as a composer of music for the theater pieces, such as L‘Arlesienne, a piece which was wrote by a famous french writer Alphonse Daudet. Fascineted by the beauty of music, Bizet himself transformed selected parts into twosuites for orchestra, which are often on the concert programs of many symphony orchestras today.

Today we‘ll be listening the movement Farandole, from the second suite of L‘Arlesienne. It will be performed by the RTS Symphony Orchestra and the conductor will be maestro Bojan Sudjic.

Get to know the music inspired by the south of France, through the Modern music encyclopedia. If you arent already, today you can become a follower of official Facebook and Instagram pages of RTS Music production and discover the music from all around the world.

In the crowd of instruments it is not easy to discern how each instrument sounds. That we can best hear at the beginning of a concert, when the musicians who play in the symphony orchestra go on stage and, waiting for the start of the concert, they play “in voice” some part of the composition that will be performed or warm their fingers . playing faster passages or some difficult parts in order to play them as well as possible at the concert. In that mixture of sounds, you will surely notice that the brass instruments are the loudest, so let’s get to know this powerful group!

The group of brass instruments consists of trumpet, horn, trombone and tuba. They are made of metal. At one end they have a mouthpiece that serves to blow air into the tube, and at the other end there is a funnel ending. Brass instruments have a tone with a large dynamic range. They are mainly used in an orchestra, but they also appear as solo instruments or as part of a chamber ensemble called a brass quintet.

Brass instruments have a significant place in jazz music. Trumpet and trombone are indespensible part of every Big Band, and these instruments are played by well-known domestic and international jazzers. And today we will get to know their sound thanks to the RTS Big Band. We are listening to the track “Quo vadis samba” by Duško Gojković.

While playing the samba, listen to the sound of the Big Band, and pay special attention to the trumpets and trombones. Follow us on the official Facebook and Instagram pages of the RTS Music Production and in the music that we listen recognize everything we have encountered so far on our journey through music.

Johanes Brahms, german composer, is one of the most famous representatives of late romanticsm in music. Born in musical family in Hamburg, he showed his musical talent at a very young age. He learned to play several orchestral instruments: horn, viola, cello and flute. He was a virtouse on a piano. On a tour with the famous Hungarian violinist Remenyi he got acquianted to the folklore of that country, and during the trip he met composers Franz Liszt and Robert Schuman, with whom he will remaun a close friend for the rest of his life.

He lived in Vienna, where he worked as a composer, conductor and pianist. In the year 1877, he recived an honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge.

Brahms opus is wide and it covers many different genres of music. His chamber pieces and compositions for piano are of great significance. He wrote four symphonies and a large number of solo songs. His vocal-instrumental piece „German Requiem“ is one of the most popular with the „Hungarian Dances“, which was inspired by the folklore of that people.

You will get to know Brahms’s world of music through listening the first movement of his „Conerto for Violin and Orchestra, D major, op. 77“. Violinst Dragan Sredojevic will be performing with the RTS Symphony Orchestra and maestro Bojan Sudjic.

Get to know the composers of the romanticism epoche as a follower of official Facebook and Instagram pages of RTS Music production or through our official website.

The cello stands out among string instruments with the warmth of its sound. Significantly larger than the violin and violal, and smaller than the double bass, it has a large tonal range, a pleasent color of the sound and a great technical possibilities. It is one of the most important instruments of orchestral, chamber and solo music.

The cello originated from an old instrument called the viola de gamba. The oldest speciemens of this instrument were made in the 16th century, in the Amati family.

The solo literature for cello is very diverse, and the concerts especially stand out. They were written by the most famous composeres – from the Baroque era to the present day, and some of the most significant is Cello Concerto No.2, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich. Today you will be listening this concert in the performance of the cellist Vuk Ovaskainen along with the RTS Symphony Orchestra. The conductor will be maestro Bojan Sudjic.

Get to know other beautiful concerts for different instruments. Official Facebook and Instagram pages of Rts Music production will give you this opportunity. Follow us!

The word „concert“ has several meanings. We use it when we want to go to a concert hall and listen to a performer or orchestra. In that situation, when we invite someone to come with us, we say „Lets go to a concert!“. We use that same word no matter what genre of music it refers to.

In this sense the word „concert“ is used as the name of the event that we want to go to. That is why it says on the posters, and you can hear in the commercials „The concert will be held by a prominent artist…“.

In musical terminology the word „concert“ refers to a composition written for a solo instrument accompanied by an orchestra. In the baroque era there were two types of concerts: solo and orchestral, also known as „concerto grosso“(ital.). It is a concert that had a group of soloists, an orchestra and a cotinuo. In the pieces written in the epoche of classicism, the concerts were composed in three-movements, with the fast-easy-fast tempo schedule. In romanticism this form was sometimes expanded to more than three movements, and one-piece concertos also started to appear.

In artistic music concerts are composed for almost every instrument of the symphony orchestra, and even some non-standard ones might appear, such as the fiddle, and there are pieces written in this form where the soloist „plays“, for example, on a typewriter.
Today we are presenting to you the first movement of the concerto for piano and orchectra by Edward Grieg, and the soloist will be our renowed pianist Aleksandar Madzar. We will listen to him with the RTS Symphony orchestra, and maestro Bojan Sudjic will be the conductor.

Listen to the other movements of this concert, and find your favorite pieces of this genre on the official Facebook and Instagram pages of RTS Music production. Modern music encyclopedia answers all of
your questions!

Spend your day with dixieland, a musical style that combines elments of blues and ragtime. This is the style with which the word jazz itself appeared for the first time.

Dixieland originated in New Orleans, and from there it spread across Amercia. Typical dixieland, which was also known as New Orleans Jazz, was performed by a small group of 5 to 8 musicians. The main characteristic of the style is group improvisation, for which the
musicians used the melodies of famous marches, church songs, ragtime or blues.

And here is how ixieland sounds, when played by masters of art. You will listen „Mood Indigo“, i the performance of the RTS Big band and Samuel Blazer.

Become a follower of our official Facebook and Instagram pages or follow us through our official website. The Modern Music encyclopedia of RTS Music production takes you through the history of jazz.

When you set off from folk tradition and follow the trail of art music, you will discover an entire world of wonderful compositions inspired by melodies which are a part of folklore. Today’s letter D takes us into the romantic epoch, into the 19th century, to a time when composers found their inspiration in the beautiful sound of music created by the people and strived to reach those listeners which had not been familiar with it.

The letter D uncovers the world of Czech composer Antonin Dvorak, whose compositions are characterized by the sound of melodies belonging to this country’s folklore. But the creator inspired by tradition also finds beauty in the folklore of other nations. For example, his infamous Symphony no. 9, created during his stay in America, was written under the inspiration of the music of Native Americans and African-Americans. And that is why this piece is known by the name “From the New World”, since that is what the American continent was called at the time of his stay in America. It is important to add that from this creator we also need to hear the pieces Concerto for cello and orchestra in B-minor, op. 104, Dumky trio and the miniature for piano Humoresque, and first and foremost the Slavonic Dances, which represent his most popular pieces. There are 16 in total and they are divided into two sets. They are the best example of the composer’s attitude towards tradition, and we can recognize the folklore of different Slavic nations in their sound.

So, let us hear it at once! The RTS Symphony Orchestra and maestro Bojan Sudjic will be performing the Slavonic Dance no. 8, op. 46. And while the rhythm is still in your feet, become a permanent follower of the RTS Music Production official Facebook page and Instagram profile.

Breathe in and fill up your lungs! Today the letter E introduces us to a wind instrument, the English horn. You may not have noticed it in the orchestra, because it is similar to the oboe, but this should not concern you. From today you are the expert for this instrument. How will you be able to recognize it? Easy! It is somewhat bigger than an oboe and that it why it produces lower tones characterized by a soft, nasal and sorrowful sound. But in appearance, it is distinguishable from the oboe not only in length but also by the pear-like widening at the bottom, as well as the bent metal tube at the top of the instrument. You should also know that most oboists can also play the English horn since the fingering is completely identical.

And here’s a little bit of history for you. At the beginning, the English horn did not look like its contemporary cousin. It was constructed like a hunting horn. In the 19th century that curvature transformed into a sharper angle and presumably that is where the secret of its name lies, because in French the word angle means angular, and anglais – English.

Now that we have all this information, it’s time to hear the sound of the instrument. One of the most beautiful melodies brought to us by the English horn was written by Antonin Dvorak, the composer which we met the other day thorough our research. It’s the theme of the second act of his Symphony no. 9, known by the name “From the New World”. We are hearing it as performed by the RTS Symphony Orchestra and maestro Bojan Sudjic. While you’re listening, notice the wonderful colour of this instrument, and observe throughout the act as the theme, brough by the English horn, is taken over by other wind instruments.

From one letter to another – we’re learning and having fun through music. And before we get to our next letter tomorrow, do a little bit of research yourself. You’ll find this even simpler, and also more inspiring, if you become a permanent follower of the official RTS Music Production Facebook page and Instagram profile.

Get to know George Gershwin, one of the most significant American composers and an excellent pianist. In addition to his numerous pieces, of which the titles are certanly familiar to you, he is also known as one of the composers who introduced jazz, elements of popular music and spiritual music of African Americans into clasicc music. He gained a lot of popularity as an autor of film music and symphonic jazz music, where he is also mentioned as the creator of a new style in this genre, which is called „symphonic jazz“. His music was used in many films, and jazz pieces that he composed have undergone a
numerous of different arrangements.

Among the most significant works of Gershwin are Ameican in Paris, Rhapsody In Blue, Cuban Overuture and a large number of musicals. The last piece that he wrote is also very popular , and it is the opera „Porgy And Bess“, from which we will be listening the famous piece „Summertime“ in the performance of RTS Symphony Orchestra and the soloist on
trumpet Mladen Djordjevic.

And we are inviting you as a follower of official Facebook and Instagram pages of RTS Music production to discover different styles of jazz, which our Big band plays, and all the terms of our Modern Music Encyclopedia you can find on our official website.

In order to be able to research music, we need to keep up with its tempo. It is sometimes slower, sometimes faster, and often moderate. And once we have caught up with the tempo which the composer has envisioned, then we can say that it is the right one, i.e., for this tempo we will use the Italian term which leads us to the letter Đ/G – đusto (giusto)! The Italian language is the language of music and regardless of where the composer is from – all designations in the notes are understood by musicians around the world. The word giusto is used along with the designation for the speed at which the composition is played, and the speed at which a piece is played is called tempo. That is why the term tempo giusto, as it is also spelled in Italian, means that we are supposed to play at the right speed. How do we know which is the right one? Easy, because the composer has written it at the beginning of the piece, above the partiture. It’s important that we know the appropriate designations for faster, slower, more moderate and various other tempos.

Next to the designation for the right tempo, such as Allegro (fast tempo), Largo (slow tempo), Moderato (moderate tempo), there are also those which show performers which character they should play in. Therefore, if it also giocoso next to the tempo – you should read it as giocoso and you should also know that the composition in question should sound playful and lively!

And here is what it sounds like when played. Listen to the third act of Johannes Brahms’ “Concerto for violin and orchestra”. It is composed in the tempo Allegro giocoso – which means that it should be played quickly, playfully and lively, just as you can hear! The soloist is Dragan Sredojevic and he is performing alongside the RTS Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Bojan Sudjic is conducting.

And in the same tempo, Allegro giocoso, become a permanent follower of the official RTS Music Production Facebook page and Instagram profile!

Just a short step from V we have the letter G, our musical trail that carries us straight to the sound of one of the most popular instruments of traditional Serbian folk music. Today is the day to meet gusle, an instrument not only used for playing music, not only played so that people could dance, but rather used for accompanying the most important epic poems told by guslars. Just like shepherds usually make their own flutes, guslars craft their own instruments, from a single piece of wood, usually from a dry compressed maple or walnut tree, and occasionally from oak or other types of wood, and sometimes even from pumpkins.

Skilled guslars are very respectable. And while their art is most often associated with folk tradition, we can also find them in art music. Listen to the first act of the “Symphony 1804” for gusle and symphony orchestra, composed by Ivan Jevtic. The soloist playing gusle is Bojana Pekovic, and she is performing alongside RTS Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Bojan Sudjic is conducting.

Pay attention to the sound of this instrument. Notice how art is created on a single wire with the help of this unusual bow. Learn how to sing along to the gusle, but also what this instrument sounds like together with a symphony orchestra. These are some of the findings which the letter G uncovers for us today. And tomorrow we’ll be moving on, eager to find out what novelties will be brought to us by music. Join us, as a regular follower of RTS Music Production official Facebook page and Instagram profile.

Composer Stevan Hristić (1885–1958) is one of the most important representatives of Serbian music of the 20th century. He is the creator of distinct musical individuality, in whose works different musical styles permeate, but most of his compositions are nevertheless inspired by national motifs. It is not surprising if it is known that he was a student of Stevan Stojanovic Mokranjac, whose work in a unique way brought the national tradition to the music scene.

The oeuvre of this composer, who was also one of the founders of the Belgrade Philharmonic in 1923, is not extensive, but it includes excellent pieces, such as the opera “Suton”, the ballet “Legend of Ohrid”, the oratorio “Resurrection”. Among the solo songs, „Lastavica“ and „Elegija“ stand out, and his choral pieces are also significant. He also wrote concert music, of which “Symphonic Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra” and “Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra” stand out, which we present to you today. You will listen to that piece performed by pianist Natalija Mladenovic and the RTS Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Bojan Sudjic will be the conductor.

Get to know other works by Stevan Hristic, which are in the repertoire of the RTS Symphony Orchestra. It is enough just to become a follower of our official Facebook and Instagram pages or to follow us through the official Youtube channel of Music Production.

Composer Petar Konjovic (1883–1970) belongs to the generation of creators that also includes Miloje Milojevic and Stevan Hristic. Like Hristic, he also nurtured the national musical style, which was founded by Stevan Stojanovic Mokranjac. In his works, he used late romantic means of expression, enriched with the elements of expressionism and impressionism.

Opera plays an important role in Konjovic’s oeuvre. He wrote the first work of that genre, „Ženidba Miloševa“ (Marriage of Milos) („Vilin veo“ (Fairy’s Veil)), in 1917. Then “Knez od Zeta” (based on the play by Laza Kostic) and “Koštana” (based on the play of the same name by Bora Stankovic) were created. The last two operas, “Seljaci”(Peasants) and “Otadžbina”(Fatherland), were created after the Second World War. Konjovic also wrote music for stage plays, among which “Pera Segedinac” stands out.

Opera „Koštana“, the best-known work of that creator, has all the elements of Slovenian musical drama in which the symphony orchestra plays a significant role. The orchestra assumes the role of interpreter of the characters’ dramatic states, their deep inner experiences and psychological tensions.

Three orchestral movements stand out in this piece, among which the most attractive is the last one, known as the “The Great Chochek Dance”. You will have the opportunity to listen to this movement performed by the RTS Symphony Orchestra and the conductor will be maestro Bojan Suđić.

Get to know Serbian music history through the official Facebook and Instagram pages of the RTS Music Production and our official YouTube channel. It will be easier for you if you become our follower.

Mass is the main church rite of the Catholic Church, which is a counterpart to the liturgy in the Orthodox Church. Unlike the Orthodox Church, where instruments are not used in worship, in the Catholic Church masses are served accompanied by the organ.

As a musical form the mass got its final form in the music of Renaissance, and then it developed in the following epochs. It consists of five permanent sections: „Kyrie eleison“ (God have mercy), „Gloria“ (Glory), „Credo“ (I Believe), „Sanctus and Benedictus“ (Holy and Blessed), and „Agnus dei“ (Lamb of God), and other section change according to the holidays during the year. All Masses, regardless of whether they were written for liturgical ceremonies or for concert podiums, have unchanged movements and texts from the Middle Ages to the present day.

Among the most famous musical works written in the form of Mass are the Mass of Pope Marcello Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, the Mass in B minor by Johan Sebastian Bach, as well as the famous Mass Solemnis by Ludwig van Beethoven. Among them is also Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Coronation Mass, composed in 1779, which we will be in the performance of the RTS Choir and Symphony Orchestra. The conductor will be maestro Bojan Sudjic.

Get to know music history through the Modern music encyclopedia of RTS Music production. Follow us on our official Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as through our website.

Lets get to know today, one of the greats of Serbian music, composer Stevan Stojanovic Mokranjac, creator, who in addition to his oeuvre left a significant mark in other social activities, as the founder of the first Music School in Belgrade,Serbia, in 1889. , which today bears his name and as the founder of the first string quartet in our country, where he played himself.

His entire oeuvre stems from the folklore tradition. Music that originated from people, the composer stylised in the spirit of his own creative principles that did not change its original form. Almost entirely his oeuvre belongs to choral, church and and secular music, where among the spiritual pieces stand out The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, „Akhatist Bogorodici“ and Opelo (Requiem), while among the most significant secular pieces are his Garlands. Mokranjac wrote fiftheen Garland. He shaped them as choral rhapsodies, composed of a series of songs from same region, which he himself recorded in the field.

We will get to know his music by listening the second rukovet, which is one of the most famous choral pieces of this composer, in the performance of the RTS Choir  and maestro Bojan Sudjic.

Get to know the other pieces of this composer through the Modern Music encyclopedia. It will be a lot easier if you become a follower of official Facebook and Instagram pages of RTS Music production.

By the power of his invention, Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) is one of the most original creators of the “Russian Five”, and he lived the shortest of the other creators of this group. As a child, he was in the world of music, which was introduced to him by his mother, who taught him piano lessons. Growing up in the countryside, he met a rich folk music tradition very early, the sound of which he does not forget even when he goes to Petrograd to study at a military school. He quickly met Alexander Dargomyzhsky, then Balakirev and Cui, with whom he continued his musical training.

As a creator, Mussorgsky is a realist. For him, music was a means of expression by which he wanted to present the themes that inspired him in the most realistic way possible. That is why in his oeuvre, the most important place is occupied by those pieces in which the text has an important role, and those are operas and solo songs. The most significant achievements of the opera genre are Boris Godunov, Khovanshchina, and The Fair at Sorochyntsi. He also wrote three cycles of songs: Children’s Room, Without Sun, and Songs and Dances of Death.

A special place belongs to his piece Pictures at an Exhibition, which was originally written for piano and later orchestrated by Maurice Ravel. And today we give you the opportunity to listen to the Wind Ensemble of the RTS Symphony Orchestra performing this piece in the arrangement by David Walter, who will also be the conductor.

Get to know the music of world composers through the Modern Music Encyclopedia. Let the official Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as the Youtube channel of the RTS Music Production, help you with that.

Opera is one of the most popular genres of art music. Among the opera lovers, there are individuals who know every detail from almost every opera piece: arias, duets, choral scenes, orchestral passages, know all the plots of librettos, the names of the best singers and historical performances. There are also those who do not know all those details, but they gladly go to the theater and look forward to every opera premiere.

The opera originates from the Baroque era. The first opera Daphne was composed by Jacopo Perry in 1597. From that time until today, music history remembers many great pieces, especially those composed by Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Verdi, Wagner and other composers from different epoques. Many contemporary composers have also composed
interesting operas, but today famous operas in various arrangements also appear on the music scene.

We will get to know the world of opera music by listening to the famous opera “Tosca” by Giacomo Puccini, in a jazz arrangement made by Peter Reiter Schaub. The Big Band RTS and the soloist Franesco Santuci will perform the famous aria „E lucevan le stelle“.

Listen to other excerpts from Puccini’s opera, by following the You Tube channel of RTS Music production. Follow us on our official Facebook and Instagram pages and indulge in music.

If you look better, percussion instruments are all around us. You can hit with a pencil on a pencil, stone on stone, hit lid with lid or with you hands on your body – all this and much more can become an instrument belonging to this group. It is precisely by this random testing of sounds, throughout the history of mankind, that percussion instruments were created, which have been developing to the present day and we can see them within the symphony orchestra. But to this day, some of the traditional percussion instruments have remained in their original form and they are played by usual folk and by groups of musicians who nurture folklore tradition and ethno sound. To this day, a whole range of modern percussion instruments has developed, which we can see in contemporary compositions of music of popular genres.

However, no matter in what genre of musicthey are used, all percussion instrument can be divided into percussion with definite and percussion with indefinite pitch. Both gropus have their place and they give the music sometnihg special, and before all the rhythm.

Get to know some of the percussion instruments through RTS Big Band. We will be listening El Junior in the performance RTS Big Band with Karlheinz Miklin.

If you dont have anthing by ypur hans, you can crack your finger or slap your hands while listening the performances of the RTS Music production ensambles. Follow the Modern music encclopedia at our official Facebook and Instagram pages.

The piano is one of the most popular insruments in general, and certainly the most popular instrument with keys. It is played using a keybord, which is a row of keys that the performer presses down with his fingers to cause the hammers to strike the strings, and that creates the tone. The piano has two or three pedals that serve to prolong the tone or to silence it completly.

This instrument has 228 strings, 88 black and white keys and a range of seven and a half octaves. There is also a smaller version that is called pianino (small piano). This version is mostly used in households, and it is not for concerts.

The oldest predecessor of the piano is called the monochord, but perhaps the closest to the modern piano is the clavichord. During the 16. and 17. centuries virginal and spinet were used, and in the baroque era the hapriscord was played. Predecessor of todays piano was constructed in the 18th century, and since the 19th century it has been the main concert instrument.

When we say „piano“ we primarly mean the solo instrument, which it is. However it is also used in chamber music. Oftentimes it is a part of a symphony orchestra, but it is also used in popular and jazz music. That is why we decided to present this instrument to you in the sound of jazz. You will have the opportunity to listen to the famous jazz pianist Denny Grissett and RTS Big band who will perform the composition „Nearness of you“.

The modern music encyclopedia of RTS Music production expands the knowledge, but also the boundaries of music. This is more than enough for you to become a regular follower on our official Facebook and Instagram pages or to follow us through our official site.

Along with Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) is one of the most important representatives of Impressionism. Although he was not originally French, his music was typically French. He graduated from the Conservatory in Paris and already pointed out the specificity of his style during his studies, with which he broke the established rules of composing at the time. In addition to writing, he also conducted and was an excellent pianist.

In his works, Ravel only followed Debussy to some extent, but he very quickly defined his own style, moving towards neoclassicism, a musical language that revived the forms of previous eras with new, original, modern solutions.

His pieces belong to piano, chamber, orchestral, vocal, and theater music. Among the piano compositions, Pavana for a Dead Princess and the virtuoso miniatures Miroirs and Water Games. In the composition of Alborada del Gracioso, he was inspired by Spanish folklore, and he achieved a mystical atmosphere in the piece Gaspard de la nuit. He wrote two piano concertos, the second of which was written for the left hand only. The ballet Daphnis and Chloe stands out from Ravel’s oeuvre, from which the orchestral suite is often performed today, and his most famous work is Bolero.

And for today, we suggest you listen to the composition La Valse. Although Ravel composed this piece with the idea of being a ballet, it is often found in the repertoires of symphony orchestras. Listen to it performed by the RTS Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bojan Suđić.

Get to know the excellent interpretations of the RTS Symphony Orchestra. Look for your favorite compositions performed by this ensemble on the official Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as the RTS Music Production YouTube channel. Follow us and stay up to date with the latest posts we have prepared for you!

Rhythm can be one of the key factors in our decision whether we like the composition or not. This is especially noticeable in the compositions of music of popular genres, in which we could talk about the slow rhythm, rhythm of rock, rhythm of dance music…If we want to professionally define the rhythm then we could say that the sequence of tones or sounds of different durations creates the „rhythm“.

There are rhythms that are simple, but there are as well those that are much more dynamic and complex. We can also differentiate rhythms according to different games, such as the rhythm of waltz, samba or tcha-tcha-tcha. However, there are also jazz rhyhtms such as swing or bebop, that can be very interesting.

You will get to know the rhythm thanks to the RTS Big Band. In the interpretation of this ensamble you will be listening the composition „Brasilian Dance of the Flugelhorn“ with famous flugelhorn player Chuck Findley.

Get to know more musical terms with RTS Modern music encyclopedia, which you can use as a follower of official Facebook and Instagram pages of RTS Music production or through our official
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Today we present to you Dmitri Shostakovich, the greatest shymphonist of the 20th century, who along with his compatriots- Igor Stravinski and Sergei Prokofijev – is one of the most significant Russian composer of that time. His life path was extremly difficult, full of ups and downs in his professional life, due to political pressures he suffered during Stalin.

None of this stood in the way of his creativity, which stylisticly belonged to both expressionism and neoclassicism. He wrote fifteen symphonies, of which the Seventh also known as „Leningrads“, is probably the most famous one. He wrote concertos for piano and violin, string quartets and chamber music, pieces for piano, chamber music. He wrote the ballets „The Golden Age“ and „The Limpid Stream“, as well as the operas „The Nose“ and „Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk“, which is alspo known as „Katerina Ismailova“.

You will meet his world of music through one of his most famous pieces – The Second Waltz from Jazz Suite number 2, which Shostakovich composed in 1938th for the National Jazz orchestra of Viktor. In the same year, the listeners of Radio Moscow had the opportunity to hear it for the first time. Today we are listening it in the performance of RTS Big Band and Symphony orchestra. The conductor will be maestro Bojan Sudjic.

If you are in the mood for sad music, theres your chance to check Modern music encyclopedia, and becoe follower ofofficial Facebook and Instagram pages of RTS Music production and chose yourself your favorite pieces.

Czech composer Bedrich Smetena (1824-1884) is one of the most significant representatives of the romanticism epoche. With his opus he left a mark in the Czech national school, and he aslo contributed to the development of music in his country. That is why he gathered around him talented artist, which were interested in the affirmation of the Czech people culture, (organizing evening with the piano, which he himself played exceptionaly).

In addition to being a composer, he was also a very talented conductor. He advocated that the public at the time get to know important pieces of music literature, especially the program compositions of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. His opus is rich and diverse. He was also interested in vocal and instrumental music. For the opera „The Bartered Bride“, which is the first natinal Czech opera, he won an award in 1866., and after that he wrote two more pieces from this genre „Libuse“ and „Dalibor“. He was also a famous master of symphonic poem, among which the cycle „From the homeland“ stands out.

And from this cycle today we will single out the most famous poem „Vltava“, for which the composer was inspired by the river of the same name. The music follows the flow of this poem from the source all the way until it gets the powerful strenght of the water flow. You will be listening this piece in the performance of the RTS Symphony Orchestra. The conductor will be maestro Bojan Sudjic.

Explore the sound of program music. Get to know the musical imagination of their creators with the help of the Modern music encyclopedia of RTS Music production. Follow us on official Facebook and Instagram pages , as well as on our official website.

When we say the name Strauss, the first thought takes us in to the world of waltz and polka, and the music introduces us to a famous family that has given many composers. Some were more famous than the others, but certainly the most significant one among them was Johan Strauss Jr.. It is interesting that Johan Strauss gave himself a nickname „Junior“, because his father, who was also a great composer, had the same name. Strauss performed his compositions with orchestra, and their performances and the repertoaire that they played, were in that time very popular.

He composed more than 400 waltzes, and some of the most famous ones are „The Blue Danube“, „Wiener Blut“, „Tales from the Vienna woods“, „Voices of spring“ and many others. He also wrote operettas, among which the most popular are „Die Fledermaus“ and „The Gypsy Baron“. Also his polkas „Annen-Polka“, „Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka“ are very popular, but also the„Thunder and Lightning Polka“, which you will have the opportunity to listen to today. You will listen to it in the performance of RTS Symphony Orchestra and maestro Bojan Sudjic.

Take a step into the new year with the Modern music encyclopedia of RTS Music production! Follow us on our official Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as on our official website, and let the music we prepared for you fulfill your free time!

We believe that not many of you have had the experience that we’ll be getting today. Today, we’ve decided to teach you to walk on a string thanks to our new letter S. Your “vocal strings” can take a rest, because we will not be singing. We’ll be using our fingers to make music. We are taking you into the world of plucked string instruments! It’s a group of instruments which produce sound when the strings are plucked (picked) using fingers or a plectrum, unlike other string instruments which require the use of a bow to make sounds. When we think about plucking strings the first instrument that we think of is, naturally, the guitar. Those with more affinity for folk music will think of the tambura, the balalaika or the mandolin, depending on the country where the composition which they are listening to originates from. Looking through history, the number one spot is held by the lute, while the first lady among the symphony orchestra instruments is most definitely the harp.

Today, we present to you the bouzouki, a plucked string instrument whose sound instantly brings Greece to mind! And certainly not by accident, since numerous familiar beautiful Greek folk melodies and songs have been played on this exact instrument. That is why we’ve made the decision to get to know it by listening to sirtaki. Sirtaki is a dance considered to be the traditional Greek dance, even though this is not the case. It was created as a combination of various Greek dances, blended to music composed by Mikis Teodorakis, for the ballet “Zorba the Greek”. It is identifiable by its bouzouki sound. And it is precisely this number from the ballet, called “Sirtaki” that we’ll be listening to today, as performed by Bane Kljajic, playing the bouzouki and the RTS Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Bojan Sudjic is conducting.

Today, with the help of music, we’re on a sound trail of bouzouki strings. Have a listen, and also take a look at how it’s played. Get to know other string instruments with the help of RTS Music Production! Become a follower of our official Facebook page and Instagram profile!

Improve your mood with good music and the rhythm of swing! Swing is a form of jazz that developed in the first half of the 20th century. It is characterised by a solid rhytmic section, moderate or fast tempo and syncopated rhythm, by which we recognise it.

Swing music was most often played by a large band called big band, and thanks to this genre the saxophone got one of the leading roles. Some of the most famous representatives of this genre are pianist Duke Elinghton, trumpet player Glen Miller and the king of swing-clarinetist Benny Goodman. In the 1930s and 1940s their orchestras were as famous as the rock bands in the 1950s. Lets also mention the most famous singers who marked this era – Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.

And today we have the opportunity to listen the RTS Big Band with the famous Chuck Findley, who will perform the piece „On Green Dolphin Street“.

Would you like to listen more of good jazz ? Nothing easier ! Just follow us on official Facebook and Instagram pages of RTS Music production, and additional informations about swing you can find on our official website.

From the month of October, with the beginning of our music sesaon, we are turning new pages of our Modern music encyclopedia of RTS Music production. Get to know one of the greats of Russian romantism Pyotir Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893).

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk, a small town in Vyatka Governorate (present-day Udmurtia). It is interesting that he first studied at the Imperial School of Jurisprudence in Petrograd (present-day Saint Petersburg), where he enrolled at St. Petesrburg Conservatory, where he gained a thorough knowledge of music. After graduating, he moved to Moscow, where he became professor of harmony at newly founded Moscow Conservatory, which today bears his name.

Today, Tchaikovsky is considered the founder of symphonic and concert music in Russia. He wrote six symphonies, famous concerts for piano and violin, three balets „Swans Lake“, „Sleeping Beauty“ and „The Nutcracker“, and some of his most significant operas are „Queen of Spades“ and „Eugene Onegin“.

The opera „Eugene Onegin“ represents one of the peaks in this composeres opera works. The opera was created based on the plot of Alexandar Pushkin’s vers novel „Eugene Onegin“. In this piece, Tchaikovsky’s distinct talent for creating melodies that carry emotional characteristics is recognised. It is also interesting that „Eugene Onegin“ was the first show that was performed at The National Opera Theatre after the liberation of Belgrade on Feburary 17, 1945. At the time, young director of opera, Oscar Danone presented himself at the conductors desk and in the years that follow he will conduct this piece with special dedication.

And today we present to you one of the famous segments from the opera „Eugene Onegin“. You will have the oppurtunity to listen to a „Waltz“ performed by the Radio Television of Serbia Choir and Symphony orchestra under the conduct of Maestro Bojan Sudjic.

Lets play waltz, while looking forward to new music encounters. Folow us on official Facebook and Instagram pages of RTS Music producion.

The trumpet belongs to the group of brass instruments. Out of all the instrumnents from that group, it has the highest register. It has a penetrating sound and composeres often use it to present the festive or combative nature of their music. It is predominantly an orchestral instrument, but it can also be soloistic.

The trumpet has three valves and the tone is obtaiend by pressing or realising these while blowing air into a cup-shaped mouthpiece. In the music literature this instrument is used for getting different, specific tones. The device that is called a mute (sordino), is used for this. Mutes are typically inserted into the flared end of the instrument (bell), and it muffles or softens the tone of the instrument.

The trumpet is also very much associated with jazz music. Many trumpet players left a significant mark, in this genre of music. You will get to know the sound of this instrument thanks to the RTS Big Band. In the interpretation of this ensamble you will be listening the composition, by Astor Piazzolla „Oblivion“, and also the famous jazz trumpet player Bobby Shew will share the stage with the Big band.

Get to know the trumpet today, and through jazz music the other instruments of the Big Band. Let the music encyclopedia help you with that, which you can use as a follower of official Facebook and Instagram pages of RTS Music production or through our official website. We are waiting for you!

When you set off from baroque towards the 21st century, through the opera, from one epoch to another, from composer to composer, from music theatres and performances, premieres, you can see for yourself that throughout musical history to this very day there has been no opera composer as popular and beloved by audiences as Giuseppe Verdi! This creator lived and composed in the 19th century, when opera was at its pinnacle, so high that we can even say that it overpowered other musical forms. What made it so popular? For one, the audience was excited to listen to opera singers who nurtured bel canto, a style characterised by beautiful singing, which had been developing for two centuries. Opera singers were the true stars, and the appearance of some of theme generated great excitement.

It is this environment that Giuseppe Verdi, a noble Italian whose name was even a symbol for political ideas of that time, created in. The cry “Viva Verdi!” was at the same time an abbreviation for “Viva V(ittorio) E(manuele) r(e) d’I(talia)!”, which meant “Long Live Victor Emmanuel, King of Italy.” But let’s get back to composing. Verdi has composed twenty-six operas, but not all of them stayed on the repertoires of opera houses. The opera Nabucco was the first to achieve great success, followed by Rigoletto, The Troubadour, La traviata, A Masked Ball, The Power of Fate, Don Carlos, Aida, Otello and Falstaff. And remember this: Verdi reached quite the old age. He died when he was eighty-eight, celebrated and respected, and his artistic personality has an unbreakable bond with Italy’s cultural life of the second half of 19th century.

And now, along the trail of letter V, which has taken us to Verdi, we are listening to the famous “Drinking Song” from the opera “Traviata”. We are listening to it as performed by soloists, sopranos Ivana Srbijan and Dragana Radakovic, tenor Stevan Karanac and baritone Nikola Mijailovic. They are performing alongside RTS Choir and Symphony Orchestra. Maestro Bojan Sudjic is conducting.

All you need to do is bring your exploratory spirit and as a regular follower of RTS Music Production Facebook page and Instagram profile join us on our musical letters trail.

Meet the composer Antonio Vivaldi also known as „Il Prete Rosso“ or „The Red Priest“ who was called that due to his red hair. Get to know the famous composer and virtouse violinist of the Baroque era, who composed a large number of instrumental pieces. He wrote around 220 concertos for the violin and is considered the creator of the three-movement violin concert that has a fast-easy-fast tempo schedule. Fast movements are characterized by the machie-like rythm of baroque, while others are most often lyrical in character.

In addition to composing, Antonio Vivaldi was also a pedagogue. He coducted the famous girls choir in Venice. He knew the theatre very well, of which he was the director for some time. Besides for the music, he had a perfect sense for poetry as well. At the age of 35 he composed the piece „Harmonius imagination“ on his own lyrics. He wrote 46 operas of which only sixteen are perserved in fragments.

We will get to know this composers music trough the famous cycle „Four Seasons“, one of the most popular pieces in the calssical music repertoire. It consists of four violin concertos composed in 1723., and each concerto resembeling its respective season „Spring“, „Summer“, „Autumn“, „Winter“ . Since it is a piece of programmatic nature, the sound of the solo violin evokes sounds from nature, such as the chirping of birds or the flowing creek. The concerts are technically extremly demanding, which is not unusual if we know that Vivavaldi was one of the first virtouse on the violin, even a century before the famous Nicolo Paganini.

And today we are listening to a young violinist Una Stanic. Along with the RTS Symphonic orchestra she will performe „Spring“ concerto. Maestro Bojan Sudjic will be the conductor.

Listen to the music of the Baroque era on the official Facebook and Instagram pages of the RTS Music Production.

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) is one of the most important German opera composers of the 19th century and a reformer of opera. The central place in his opus belongs to that genre. His first pieces, “The Fairies”, “The Ban on Love” and “Rienzi”, were written under the influence of the opera music of that era. Already in his next work, “The Flying Dutchman”, he defined the principles of his reform, in accordance with which he composed the next two operas – “Tannhäuser” and “Lohengrin”. The “Ring of the Nibelung” tetralogy consists of four operas: “The Rhinegold”, “Valkyries”, “Siegfried” and “Twilight of the Gods”. The composer worked on it for more than two decades, and his idea was to perform these works four nights in a row in order to give the audience continuity in listening. During the writing of the tetralogy, other opera works were also created: “Tristan and Isolde”, based on the motifs of the medieval story of the same name, and “The Master Singers of Nurnberg”, the subject of which, quite unusually for Wagner, is related to historical figures and customs, and describes the events of a singing competition in Nuremberg. The last opera he wrote was “Parsifal”.

Wagner uses romantic themes for his operas. He explored old Germanic lore, the legend of the Holy Grail, the Nibelungen, ancient love stories and medieval themes. The dramaturgy of his works is based on the dualism of good and evil. Wagner cultivates a specific aria style that ranges from recitatives to sung melodic phrases. That is why his operas are extremely demanding to sing.

Today we present Wagner to you through his music. We will listen to the Chorus of Sailors from the opera The Flying Dutchman , performed by the RTS Choir and Symphony Orchestra with maestro Bojan Sudjić.

Let the world of opera music become your world. Explore it through the official Facebook and Instagram pages of RTS Music Production and our YouTube channel. Look for interesting things from the Modern Music Encyclopedia on our official website.