Mate Bekavac

I’m interested in what is barely perceived and heard, what is mostly invisible, what happens within, beyond the glitter and media hype. I’m obsessed with the power of listening, of seeing, connecting and responding. That’s something I didn’t learn at any educational institution, even though I studied at the most elite institutions and perfected my skills with celebrated masters. Like many others, I’ve been through the process of idealising and creating idols, of imitation and endless repetition, of rebellion and disappointments, of persistence, crises and withdrawal.

Listening, connecting, finding solutions and answers in art is a process that is not tied to standard working hours. It’s a burning without limits, a burning that is difficult to extinguish and silence (although I sometimes wish I had a magic switch!). Being on stage with musicians with lots of potential and an openness to what is happening in the moment – that’s the charm of making music for me. I would happily kiss the muse at every concert myself, but what use would that be if it’s simply not in our hands. Nonetheless, it’s those kisses that drive us on. The muses couldn’t care less about official stamps and laurels, they’re not interested in reviews, criticism, success, awards and honours.

So many times during my studies, when I was nourished by attending concerts, I became unsure and doubted my own perception – or my lack of perception – of what was happening on stage. All I witnessed was aesthetic baths of clichéd virtuosity and superficial refinements that conformed to the current musical trend. My thirtyfive years of walking the edge between musical ecstasy and disaster include wonderful memories, along with some less desirable consequences. In the end, my ideal is still that which is on the edge of the possible, that which can’t be done and is considered unattainable (and not speed!). Despite the fatigue, this still seems like the right choice, albeit perhaps not the healthy choice.

The creation of music programmes is my challenge, my dose of the forbidden. I want to convey content, to convey life through music that is not polished and does not merely follow the cheap fashion of the time. At Festival Maribor, I would like to share with the people of Maribor my best selection of programmes as well as performers, colleagues and friends who have made a special impression on me over the years and who believe in excelling and in the message of coded musical notation, in these higher words, as Robert Schumann called them. I would like to present musicians who are capable of mystical transformation. I would like to play for listeners who are open and permeable, listeners who are not necessarily connoisseurs, and may not even be fans of so-called classical music at all. At its core, classical music is really nothing like what it is considered to be today (stiff, serious, bureau cratic, elitist, anachronistic, etc.)

Let’s return to the roots of music, from which we draw strength for the struggle, both internal and external. Let’s dare to experience upheavals of emotions, to feel that we are living fully, that something can touch us and that we can touch each other..