KULTURA / CULTURE
INTERVIEW: STEFAN MILENKOVIĆ, VIOLINIST AND PROFESSOR I hear a new voice in the violin every day I feel honoured to have been fated to be a living guardian of tradition every single day. We are special knights of culture who absorb an art with our body. We dedicate our entire lives to instruments and music being alive and transmitted. I want Serbia to become a violin superpower
jedne takve violine, vi ste zapravo samo privremeni čuvar. Postojala je 234 godine pre mene i postoja- će vekovima posle mene. Predaješ već 20 godina, imeđu ostalog na Džulijar- du. Kako je raditi sa naj- većim talentima? Ima li neka tajna koju uvek ot- krivaš studentima? – Najtalentovaniji studenti imaju zajedničke osobine.To su po- svećenost, disciplina, roditelji ko- ji ih podržavaju, želja za znanjem, inteligencija i samomotivacija. Sa njima je najlakše raditi, ali ako ni- su disciplinovani, to se pretvara u borbu. Talenat nije dovoljan, mora biti podržan konstantnim radom. Tajne za uspeh nema, jer govorimo o energiji, ličnosti, psihofizičkim i emotivnim sekvencama postoja- nja ljudskog bića. U toj dimenzi- ji se prevazilazi instrument i ulazi u sferu koja je gotovo ezoterična. Mali je broj studenata koji dođu do toga, ali na njihovim svirkama to odmah osetite. Uvek si voleo da eksperi- mentišeš, svirao sa rok bendom Gorillaz, nastu- pao u Apolo teatru u Har- lemu, džemovao sa Vlat- kom Stefanovskim… Gde u ovom trenutku svog ži- vota nalaziš muziku koja može da te oduševi? – Volim da slušam najraznovr- sniju muziku, ne mogu da se opre- delim za jednu. Nikad ne znam šta će me iznenaditi. Zato sam muzič- ki svaštojed, zato sam eklektičan… Mogu da me oduševe hip-hop, balet, operska arija, etno, narodna muzi- ka bilo kog naroda... Šta treba da slušamo kad smo tužni ili se osećamo beznadežno? – Bitno je i s kim slušamo mu- ziku, jer to onda poprima još jednu vrednu, duboku dimenziju. Muzi- ka ima magičnu moć da nas ople- meni, podigne, opusti, da odgovori svakoj potrebi. Možemo početi od klasika, pa otići do Indije i Bliskog istoka, krenuti na muzičko putova- nje oko sveta, istraživati kroz zvuk, putovati kroz melodije…
Čak i ako ste vlasnik jedne takve violine kao što je moja, vi ste zapravo samo privremeni čuvar. Postojala je 234 godine vekovima posle Even if you own a violin that's like mine, you are actually just a temporary guardian. It existed for 234 years before me and will exist for centuries afterwards pre mene i postojaće
W e were first ac- quainted with him when he was a child prod- igy who was only six years old but was already perform- ing worldwide. He was the youngest graduate in the history of the Music Academy in Belgrade, who set out on roads leading to the largest concert halls, sharing his incredible charisma and talent with the whole world. After 40 years of an incredible career, Ste- fan Milenković is returning to Serbia as part of his journey in the process of personal evolution, as he says, but this time also as the father of a boy… It is interesting that you’re re- turning now that you’ve be- come a father. Is Nikola “to blame” for the fact that we fi- nally have you all to ourselves?
- Nikola is not to blame, and nor is the coronavirus. It is a coin- cidence, or actually the culmination of our considerations and feelings that have lasted for a long time. But there is some symbolism in the sense that the birth of a child represents an opening of the eyes. The corona- virus that has seperated the whole world showed us how important it is for us to be close. I’ve long since wanted to return to Europe, so that our child can have a grandmother and a grandfather, because he can go without them, but it’s not the same. Although I have an exceptional life in America and a full, lifelong pro- fessorship at the University of Illi- nois, I no longer saw myself there. You are a native Belgrader, so why Novi Sad? - My heart is in Belgrade, but I
38 | Velikani violine » Violin greats
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