Conversation with violinist and conductor Ana Spasovska: Energetic expression of musical maturity

The young violinist and increasingly successful conductor Ana Spasovska has a rather intense period of performances and we met her almost in flight to reveal all her current and future plans.

The chamber-soloist concert "My Hometown" was my first opportunity to get acquainted with the performance skills of Ana Spasovska on the violin. Earlier, I watched her encore as a conductor in the concert of the European Creative Orchestra at the "Fame's" institute. These days he performs with the same orchestra in Split, Croatia.

With all her dynamism of living and energy in the performance of works, Ana Spasovska is a true example of a young musical talent. This was also confirmed this year at a major international music competition for orchestral conducting in Szeged, Hungary, where she won first place among nineteen outstanding conductors.

She started playing the violin at the age of nine. He completed his lower and secondary music education at the DMBUC "Ilija Nikolovski - Luj" in Skopje in the class of Professor Alexandra Mladenova. He continues his studies at the Faculty of Musical Arts in the class of Professor Oleg Kondratenko.

In 2018, Spasovska started to study a second course - conducting at FMU in the class of maestro Borjan Tsanev. Then followed participation in conducting seminars of maestro Uros Lajovitz, with whom she continued her collaboration in the following years. She has performed at many festivals, has been a member of the "Fame's" orchestra since 2018, and is developing her career both as a violinist and as a conductor.

Last week, he performed at the chamber-soloist concert "My Hometown" at the 45th Days of Macedonian Music. How did the opportunity to perform appear and how long did you spend preparing for the concert?

- To my great pleasure, I was invited again by the Union of Composers of Macedonia (SOKOM) to Macedonian Music Days 2022. This time with an all-night concert "My hometown", together with my respected and dear colleagues Elena Atanasovska Ivanovska on piano and Dejan Teodosievski on cello. Knowing the importance of this event, as well as our other engagements, we prepared the concert for about two months.

She develops her career both as a violinist and as a conductor

The program included works by Macedonian composers. What kind of challenge is it to play Macedonian classical music?

- For me, it is a great challenge to play works by Macedonian composers in front of a Macedonian audience. But at the same time it is a pleasure to explore the Macedonian artistic musical creation and it is of great help to communicate with the composers of the works being performed, sharing ideas and inspirations.

Does conducting appear as a second love or do you plan to further develop both professions?

- In my opinion, if it is best for an instrumentalist to start with the instrument as early as possible, musical maturity is key for conducting. It is very important for a conductor to play an instrument and understand the problems of the instruments in the orchestra. I plan to cultivate both professions in the future, because one cannot work without the other.

It is very important for a conductor to play an instrument and understand the problems of the instruments in the orchestra / Photo: Maya Argakijeva

What competition did you take part in in Szeged, Hungary some time ago?

- The competition in Szeged, Hungary, was a great experience for me – a three-day seminar and in the following two days an international competition in three stages. I was the only representative from Macedonia and the Balkans. Nineteen outstanding conductors, who already have careers, were part of the competition and I am proud that I was chosen as the winner. The members of the committee were professor Rüdiger Bohn (one of the most successful professors of conducting classes in Europe), maestro Thomas Zanderling (one of the most famous conductors of the last century – assistant to the great Bernstein and Karajan) and Gujdi Sandor (general and artistic director of the Opera in Szeged) ).

What is the schedule of the next concerts you will perform at?

– My first performance after Szeged was completely unexpected. To my great pleasure, apart from being part of the orchestra of the "Fame's" institute, I also performed as a conductor of the encore "Capricho" by the Macedonian composer Dragan Shuplevski. My next performance is again in the role of a conductor. On October 7 in Sofia, with the Symphony Orchestra of the Bulgarian National Radio.

I also announce the concert of the "Ajga" string orchestra on October 31 at the Philharmonia, which will be conducted by me. Then I will be on stage together with our soloists Maja Canacjevic, Vladimir Kostov, Goran Janev, Elena Atanasovska and Ivona Bazgaloska.

In fact, the orchestra will have its first concert on October 3, entitled "Baroque Reflection", again in the small hall of the Philharmonic, with a guest conductor and soloist from Germany. The program will include works by baroque composers and Macedonian artists Vlastimir Nikolovski, Aleksandar Lekovski and Blagoj Tsanev.

After the concert on October 31st, I will prepare for my first full-length concert as a guest conductor with the Hungarian National Symphony Orchestra, where I will conduct one of my most cherished works, "Scheherazade" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

I would like to briefly introduce your readers to the "Ajga" ensemble, which is yet to be heard from. The idea arose from the necessity to form a string orchestra that would continue in its opus the creations from the musical baroque to the present day, with a particular emphasis on contemporary authors. The ensemble is composed of young, but already well-known names on the classical music scene in Macedonia, which will bring to the fore their energy, flightiness, but also performance maturity.

(The conversation was published in "Cultural Press" No. 148, in the print edition of the newspaper "Free Press" on October 1-2, 2022)

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