-Interview with violinist Bojan Ilkoski
-Интервју со виолинистот Бојан Илкоски
(19.09.2015)
"I have always felt music in myself.."
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ENGLISH - МАКЕДОНСКИ
ENGLISH - МАКЕДОНСКИ
Dear readers, we have the honor and pleasure to present to you a new interview at Musical Journeys. Our interviewee is one of the most perspective young violinists, one of the most active young Macedonian musicians and, of course, a violinist who makes a strong impression on the audience and critical public with his performances. A winner of several prestigious awards - among which the First Prize at the International Competition for Strings in Nish, Serbia - today we're talking to Bojan Ilkoski.
He has begun his musical journey at an early age, working with prof. Rumen Dimitriev, prof. Zoran Dzorlev and prof. Oleg Kondratenko. Soon, many successes follow - his first recital, numerous performances, performances with the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the state and international competitions. Conquering capital works from the violin literature, his talent and work ethics take him to several European countries - a winner of the prestigious Third prize at the International Young Artists competition "Nedyalka Simeonova" in Haskovo, Bulgaria - he was invited to play recitals organized by the Cultural Informative Center in Skopje, the European concert - Skopje, a concert dedicated to Spanish music - organized by the Spanish Embassy in Macedonia, Opening concert of the International Competition for young musicians "Ohrid Pearls", A-FEST Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia and other events.
In 2013, Bojan and myself formed the Duo Ilkoski-Imeri and since then we've successfully performed in several European countries as well as in Macedonia. Together, we've embarked on a challenging project - recording monumental works from the violin and piano literature, and on the 23rd of September, Wednesday, we're going to perform an exclusive recital at the Museum of City Skopje in 8 pm. More than one reason to talk with Bojan bout his future plans, his upcoming recital as well as his thoughts on music.
Dino: Bojan, welcome. Thank you for sparing your time to do this interview in spite of your preparations for your upcoming concert.
Bojan: Thank you for your invitation, Dino. Thank you for giving me the tremendous privilege and honor to become a part of Musical Journeys.
D: In our style, I would like to begin this interview with the age-old question - Bojan, what is Music?
B: The phenomenon called music, according to some theoretical definition, is an auditory art, but in no case can we define music with small theoretical definitions. For me, music is religion - believing in the absolute truth and in the One who has created it, so through music and vibration it can illuminate our souls and help us find heaven even in hell.
D: Tell us more about your beginnings. Why the violin?
B: I've always felt music in myself. But, I began working on music when I was 7 years old. Why violin? Because through the violin, I can find a way to express my love towards music which is unlimited. The violin is a special and unique voice.
D: Wednesday night, we'll be performing a recital in Skopje with an interesting and ambitious program. What, in your opinion, is the difficulty of preparing a recital?
B: This recital, which will take place on the 23rd of September, has a special meaning for me for several reasons. I'm especially happy for our collaboration as a duo that continuously develops and moves in the right direction with every following performance, and it always shows honesty, respect and love towards music but also towards the audience as well. In any case, recitals are difficult because of the different musical pieces, from different periods and different composers. Every piece has its own beauty, content, story, essence and life. The difficulty, and beauty at the same time is to try to capture all these segments in every piece.
D: You're absolutely right, of course I'm eagerly awaiting for our upcoming recital. Tell us more about your thoughts concerning the works we are to perform on Wednesday.
B: The program contains several monumental works, the pearls in the violin-piano literature. Brahms' Scherzo, an extract from the F.A.E. Sonata (written by three composers: R. Schumann, J. Brahms and A. Ditrich, dedicated to the famous violinist Joseph Joachim) a piece often performed as a single work. Sonata no.2 by Maurice Ravel - a masterpiece where the composer in a very original way shows his mastery, musicality, creativity. Ravel brings to the score a lot of jazzy and blues elements maintaining the excellent knowledge of the two instruments. The Rhapsody for violin and piano by composer Tomislav Zografski - a piece that I've performed many times, and a piece that I'm very fond of because it contains Macedonian folklore which makes this piece very original. At the end, the wonderful Sonata for violin and piano by Cezar Franck.
D: How important is good communication and collaboration with a pianist-accompanist?
B: Of course, Dino, you and I have performed many concerts.. many recordings.. Every event for represented and still represents a special occasion. I understand our each collaboration as an exchange of ideas and views about music. I remember our first performance together and I see how it has developed today, and I believe will continue to develop in the future. Today, our duo works as one core. Our collaboration develops because of our communication which must always exist. Together, we have reached many musical ideas, compromises that, for me personally, have opened new horizons for all the works that we've worked on.
D: You are in the process of recording several capital works from your instrument's literature. Why is the recording as a document important for you and what's the difference between the studio and the live performance?
B: My experiences recording began recently on my initiative, because I have to admit that when I'm with the violin sometimes I have some intuition which turns into habit. I try to avoid habits and I had the opportunity to listen to my bad habits the first time I've entered in the studio. Facing the microphone and the studio is so much different than the usual surroundings. In the beginning, it was very difficult for me. I couldn't find myself in the situation, I couldn't find my playing. The studio became a tremendously important lesson for me, because it helped me to get to know myself and my playing objectively and with that, it helped me develop a new and entirely different way of practicing. Every following studio recording session became easier and easier.. still, the studio can never bring you to the atmosphere in a concert. If music for me is a religion, then the concert is a ritual and the beauty of every concert is the magic that cannot be described in words, because music speaks directly to all of us in a concert experience.
D: We can see several prestigious competitions in your biography. What's your stand on this subject? Do you think that competitions are a valid way to discover the talent, or they are events for individuals (when you think about the tremendous financial expenses that the participant must carry)?
B: Well, so far I've had the opportunity to participate in several state and international competitions. I've faced tremendous numbers.. a lot of competitors coming from different countries. To be honest, I was impressed to see so many talented young violinists, both my age, older but also younger participants. They were a great lesson for me, to see where I am in regards to them. It helped me to find an even greater motivation. Today, the attention of the musical world is directed at the competitions and the audience follows them with immense interest. This is probably the case because more and more artists today try to find their way at the competitions. Competitions have positive and negative sides, I've tried to learn from them. However, I've come to the conclusion that music is not, cannot be and shouldn't be a competition.
D: Bojan, what are your criteria when you judge whether a performance is top quality or not? What are the most important things you seek for in your performances but also when you listen to other musicians?
B: There is no ideal performance. It's a highly individual thing that knows no limits. I try to listen to performance in an objective way without giving judgement whether it's good or bad. I think that an original idea should come to the surface through our inner voice. This is what I try to find in my playing, in other words, how to reach the fulfillment of an idea in a natural way in the same time trying to leave my own stamp, my spirit, sensibility and my experiences in music.
D: Bojan, thank you for your time - of course, another reminder for you, our readers - you can listen to Bojan's playing on Wednesday (23.09.2015) at the Museum of City Skopje in 8 pm. The entrance is free.
The Musical Journeys team wishes Bojan Ilkoski a spectacular future!
He has begun his musical journey at an early age, working with prof. Rumen Dimitriev, prof. Zoran Dzorlev and prof. Oleg Kondratenko. Soon, many successes follow - his first recital, numerous performances, performances with the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the state and international competitions. Conquering capital works from the violin literature, his talent and work ethics take him to several European countries - a winner of the prestigious Third prize at the International Young Artists competition "Nedyalka Simeonova" in Haskovo, Bulgaria - he was invited to play recitals organized by the Cultural Informative Center in Skopje, the European concert - Skopje, a concert dedicated to Spanish music - organized by the Spanish Embassy in Macedonia, Opening concert of the International Competition for young musicians "Ohrid Pearls", A-FEST Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia and other events.
In 2013, Bojan and myself formed the Duo Ilkoski-Imeri and since then we've successfully performed in several European countries as well as in Macedonia. Together, we've embarked on a challenging project - recording monumental works from the violin and piano literature, and on the 23rd of September, Wednesday, we're going to perform an exclusive recital at the Museum of City Skopje in 8 pm. More than one reason to talk with Bojan bout his future plans, his upcoming recital as well as his thoughts on music.
Dino: Bojan, welcome. Thank you for sparing your time to do this interview in spite of your preparations for your upcoming concert.
Bojan: Thank you for your invitation, Dino. Thank you for giving me the tremendous privilege and honor to become a part of Musical Journeys.
D: In our style, I would like to begin this interview with the age-old question - Bojan, what is Music?
B: The phenomenon called music, according to some theoretical definition, is an auditory art, but in no case can we define music with small theoretical definitions. For me, music is religion - believing in the absolute truth and in the One who has created it, so through music and vibration it can illuminate our souls and help us find heaven even in hell.
D: Tell us more about your beginnings. Why the violin?
B: I've always felt music in myself. But, I began working on music when I was 7 years old. Why violin? Because through the violin, I can find a way to express my love towards music which is unlimited. The violin is a special and unique voice.
D: Wednesday night, we'll be performing a recital in Skopje with an interesting and ambitious program. What, in your opinion, is the difficulty of preparing a recital?
B: This recital, which will take place on the 23rd of September, has a special meaning for me for several reasons. I'm especially happy for our collaboration as a duo that continuously develops and moves in the right direction with every following performance, and it always shows honesty, respect and love towards music but also towards the audience as well. In any case, recitals are difficult because of the different musical pieces, from different periods and different composers. Every piece has its own beauty, content, story, essence and life. The difficulty, and beauty at the same time is to try to capture all these segments in every piece.
D: You're absolutely right, of course I'm eagerly awaiting for our upcoming recital. Tell us more about your thoughts concerning the works we are to perform on Wednesday.
B: The program contains several monumental works, the pearls in the violin-piano literature. Brahms' Scherzo, an extract from the F.A.E. Sonata (written by three composers: R. Schumann, J. Brahms and A. Ditrich, dedicated to the famous violinist Joseph Joachim) a piece often performed as a single work. Sonata no.2 by Maurice Ravel - a masterpiece where the composer in a very original way shows his mastery, musicality, creativity. Ravel brings to the score a lot of jazzy and blues elements maintaining the excellent knowledge of the two instruments. The Rhapsody for violin and piano by composer Tomislav Zografski - a piece that I've performed many times, and a piece that I'm very fond of because it contains Macedonian folklore which makes this piece very original. At the end, the wonderful Sonata for violin and piano by Cezar Franck.
D: How important is good communication and collaboration with a pianist-accompanist?
B: Of course, Dino, you and I have performed many concerts.. many recordings.. Every event for represented and still represents a special occasion. I understand our each collaboration as an exchange of ideas and views about music. I remember our first performance together and I see how it has developed today, and I believe will continue to develop in the future. Today, our duo works as one core. Our collaboration develops because of our communication which must always exist. Together, we have reached many musical ideas, compromises that, for me personally, have opened new horizons for all the works that we've worked on.
D: You are in the process of recording several capital works from your instrument's literature. Why is the recording as a document important for you and what's the difference between the studio and the live performance?
B: My experiences recording began recently on my initiative, because I have to admit that when I'm with the violin sometimes I have some intuition which turns into habit. I try to avoid habits and I had the opportunity to listen to my bad habits the first time I've entered in the studio. Facing the microphone and the studio is so much different than the usual surroundings. In the beginning, it was very difficult for me. I couldn't find myself in the situation, I couldn't find my playing. The studio became a tremendously important lesson for me, because it helped me to get to know myself and my playing objectively and with that, it helped me develop a new and entirely different way of practicing. Every following studio recording session became easier and easier.. still, the studio can never bring you to the atmosphere in a concert. If music for me is a religion, then the concert is a ritual and the beauty of every concert is the magic that cannot be described in words, because music speaks directly to all of us in a concert experience.
D: We can see several prestigious competitions in your biography. What's your stand on this subject? Do you think that competitions are a valid way to discover the talent, or they are events for individuals (when you think about the tremendous financial expenses that the participant must carry)?
B: Well, so far I've had the opportunity to participate in several state and international competitions. I've faced tremendous numbers.. a lot of competitors coming from different countries. To be honest, I was impressed to see so many talented young violinists, both my age, older but also younger participants. They were a great lesson for me, to see where I am in regards to them. It helped me to find an even greater motivation. Today, the attention of the musical world is directed at the competitions and the audience follows them with immense interest. This is probably the case because more and more artists today try to find their way at the competitions. Competitions have positive and negative sides, I've tried to learn from them. However, I've come to the conclusion that music is not, cannot be and shouldn't be a competition.
D: Bojan, what are your criteria when you judge whether a performance is top quality or not? What are the most important things you seek for in your performances but also when you listen to other musicians?
B: There is no ideal performance. It's a highly individual thing that knows no limits. I try to listen to performance in an objective way without giving judgement whether it's good or bad. I think that an original idea should come to the surface through our inner voice. This is what I try to find in my playing, in other words, how to reach the fulfillment of an idea in a natural way in the same time trying to leave my own stamp, my spirit, sensibility and my experiences in music.
D: Bojan, thank you for your time - of course, another reminder for you, our readers - you can listen to Bojan's playing on Wednesday (23.09.2015) at the Museum of City Skopje in 8 pm. The entrance is free.
The Musical Journeys team wishes Bojan Ilkoski a spectacular future!