Mezzo-soprano Aleksandra Vagner and pianist Tatjana Simonović will present the repertoire for voice and piano by composers Peter Heise, Jan Sibelius and Edvard Grieg at a concert entitled Nordic Romances.
Program:
Peter Heise
Kjærlighedens filosofi (Love´ s Philosophy)
I den lille skov (In the Small Forest)
Gunhilds romance (Gunhild´ s Song)
Vuggesang (Lullaby)
Jean Sibelius
Säf, säf susa (Reed, Reed, Rustle)
Hjertats morgon (The Heart´ s Morning)
En slända (A Dragonfly)
Vilse (Lost)
Edvard Grieg
Haugtussa, Op. 67
Det syng (The Enticement)
Veslemøy (Young Maiden)
Blåbærli (Blueberry Slope)
Møte (The Tryst)
Elsk (Love)
Killingdans (Kidling´ s Dance)
Vond dag (Hurtfull Day)
Ved Gjætlebekken (At the Brook)
Biographies:
Aleksandra Vagner, mezzo soprano, was born in Denmark but grew up in Norway with a Danish mother and a Serbian father. She graduated from The Royal Academy of Music in 1997 and The Royal Opera Academy in Copenhagen in 2001. She has worked as opera singer for several years, both as a freelancer and as part of the soloist ensemble at Musikteateret Undergrunden. Next to her stagework she has a career as a concert singer, and has done recitals and concerts in Scandinavia, Japan, Austria, Serbia, Belgium and France. She has worked with several of the Danish symphonic orchestras, and is frequently used as contralto soloist in oratorios and masses. During the last years she has dived into the world of chamber music and appreciates the intimacy of music in a smaller scale. She is chairman of the board of The Danish Radio´s Chamber Music Association and member of the board in Roskilde Chamber Music Association.
Tatjana Simonovic, piano, was born in Belgrade, where she graduated from the music school „Mokranjac“, and later comleted her studies at the Faculty of Music Art in Belgrade under the guidance of professor Arbo Valdma. Following her piano studies, she continued her education in the soloist class at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, where she studied with professor Jose Ribera. Throughout her musical career, she had been playing remarkable performances both as a soloist, and as a chamber musician. She has staged not only in Belgrade, but also in various other cities, including Novi Sad, Ohrid, Copenhagen. Odense, Aarhus, Blaabjerg and other Danish cities, as well in Germany, Slovenia, Finland, Italy, Spain and Israel. She was a student of many professors, such as: Dusan Trbojevic, Konstantin Bogino, Paul Badura Skoda, Pnina Salzmann, Jali Vagman, Viktor Derevianko and others. She held numerous chamber music concerts with renowed musicians such as cellist Michaela Fukacova, violist Dejan Mladjenovic, violinist Marija Misita, baritones Ivan Ludlow and Nenad Nesic, and many other artists. She also performed with numerous pupils nad students, concerts, as well with her children, Vuk and Anja Ovaskainen. She participated in the festivals: Cellofest, KoZart, Basomania and Chopin fest. Currently she works at the music school „Dr Vojislav Vuckovic“. She has worked in many music schools, at the Faculty of Music Art in Belgrade, and at the FILUM in Kragujevac, and the students she has accompanied at numerous competitions won dozens of first and second prizes at various competitions in the country and abroad. In 2023 she has played chamber concert at Chopin fest with her children, Anja, violinist and Vuk Ovaskainen, cellist, Chopin’s Trio and Sonata for cello and piano. In addition to playing piano, Tatjana Simonovic is also involved in literature: she has written several books, and has translated more then ten.