Profile of Jovan Jovicic on Famous Like Me

Jovan Jovičić (Serbian: Јован Јовичић) is a Serbian physicist and musician.

Jovičić was born in 1926 in Vrdnik (Serbia). He completed the four years master class of the classical guitar with Maestro Andres Segovia at Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy. Simultaneously, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a Ph. D. degree in Physics in 1964.

He started his concert activities in 1948 by giving the first live concerts at Radio Dubrovnik and Radio Belgrade. Those were the first productions in our country in which the guitar was introducing as a solo instrument. The repertoire performed in those live concerts covered the large range of the guitar canon, from the Renaissance and Baroque up to contemporary composers. Jovicic discovered the artistic value of this material, but also presented all the technical and sonic possibilities of the instrument.

In addition to concerts, his musical activities include composing music for the solo guitar and the guitar duo, music for radio and TV Dramas, theatre and film. He composed and performed music for 68 Dramas, 40 movies, among which, “Comrades”, “Bride of Adriatic”, and “Spain, the Land of My Youth”, won First Prizes in Brussels (1958), Paris (1960), Dijon (1960), and Leipzig (1960). At the World Contest of Guitarist in Moscow Dr Jovan JOVICIC won the Silver medal (1957), and at the International Contest of Radio-Dramas in Rome, Italy (1958), he obtained the Prix Italia for the music composed for the play “The Bird”.

His curriculum vitae as a performing artist notes over 2200 concerts held in almost all European countries, countries of Asia and Africa in Cuba and in almost all cities in former and present Yugoslavia. “The enchanting sounds of JOVICIC’s guitar” were unanimously greeted by stormy applause and endless encores by crowded halls in Moscow (Grand Hall of the Tchaikovsky Glinka Hall, St. Petersburg, Dvorak Hall in Prague, Franz Liszt Hall in Budapest, Centre Chaillot - Galliera Paris, Artist’s Home in Granada, Salon de Actos, Barcelona, Etc.

He also recorded a large number of musical works for almost all European radio and television stations. The valuation of his activities and the artistic achievements is the best formulated in the October Prize of the City of Belgrade in 1962 which he received “for the high level of performing serious music, and the affirmation of the classical guitar in the concert life”.

In the course of more than 50 years of artistic activity he did a lot for popularizing the guitar as a solo instrument in Yugoslavia. He published a series of articles on the guitar and guitarists in professional musical and daily papers and congresses. In the period from 1948 till 1960 he maintained the master classes of classical guitar in former Cultural Centers. He published the Guitar Method in 5 volumes, The TV School of the guitar, A Selected Studies and Easy Solo Compositions, and The Survey of Chords for the guitar.

As the result of his entire artistic – pedagogical activity a regular tuition of the classical guitar was introduced in music schools in Yugoslavia (1969), and at the Faculty of Music Art in Belgrade (1985).

Dr Jovan JOVICIC was the President of the jury for the classical guitar on the International Competition of the Jeunesses Musicales de Belgrade, the International Contest in Craiova (Romania) 1994, and twice on the International Competition “Petar Konjovic” in Belgrade. He was also the member of the jury on the International Guitar Contests in Havana (Cuba), Alessandria (Italy), twice on the International Competition “Francisco Tarrega” in Benicasim (Spain). The rich and many – sided artistic, pedagogical and scientific activity and unselfish social engagement of professor Dr Jovan JOVICIC received the highest awards and honors among which, the July 7th Award 1983.

Latest edition

On Balkan and Spanish Folk Themes Edited by Slavko Ilic

Recordings

Jovan Jovičić - Classical Guitar

Quotes about Jovicic

Serbia, Aleksandar Obradović, Composer, Professor at The Faculty of Music Art in Belgrade

The name of Dr Jovan Jovicic is well-known to our publicity. Being a professor of physics of the highest education and a professor of the University of Belgrade, with a very rich scientific work and also as a musician with many talents of remarkable international reputation and activity, J. Jovicic is at the first place a famous concert-guitarist, who had a great success in his performances all over the world: in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. Meanwhile, besides the particular concert activity, he had proved himself as a composer too, he made up the music for his instrument and some movies, radio-dramas and scenes, using his marvelous knowledge in instruments, rich experience and practical way in choosing of the particular guitar sound models and the way of their putting in to reality. His gift for musical application, his natural musicality, a great veal of ideas and the possibility of checking in practicing, were his basic fulcrum in realizing of many compositor’s deeds. All of those mentioned characteristics of J. Jovicic composing works have found its statement in the many compositions for the guitar, titled as “The compositions on the folk theme“ (“The Themes with variations “and “Suite”) In these compositions with according to the type belongs ”ornament variations”, Jovicic took as the themes for the vase, the national melody in the naturally latent harmony without extravagancy, which could take off themes, their nature, beauty and clearness. He has made these compositions without long lasting figuring of the basic elements. And having done in the way he made our musical literature richer for the guitar compositions. The guitarists will like to play with pleasure, and at he same time the listeners will like to listen to it spontaneously.

Spain, Xavier Montsalvatge, composer, Barcelona – “La Vanguardia Espanola”, 18/1/1967

“The guitarist Jovan Jovicic is a very sensible artist, which also gives the accent on his academic note to his art. But, his very precisely and broad at the same time, technique, does not stop him express also with the means which are so worth and precious to the guitarists. The artist took them in his works with incredible security trough the whole program, where we notice besides two compositions by Torroba and Tarrega, the deeds: Villa-Lobosa, “The March over the Drina” by S. Binicki and “The theme of variations and Oro” by the guitarist himself, who also has performed as a composer with great imagination, who also knows all about the guitar’s secrets.”

Venezuela, Alirio Diaz, guitarist

“Dr Jovan Jovicic is a great artist of the guitar. And from my opinion he is very important figure in the modern life of guitar. He makes his existing works richer, bringing the certain number of new musical and technique elements, with entering the tones into interpretation on the guitar, having presented just his own creation.”

Rusia, V. Endrzeski, The art director Moscow Philharmony, Moscow - “Soviet culture” 23/03/1961

“It is a musician of the great cultural inheritance and specific taste, by all means he is an excellent in knowing the sound possibilities of the guitar. We are attracted by the art of J. Jovicic because of his sense for style and form of the interpreted deeds and according to it he was choosing the real musical worth.

The success of the Yugoslav guest was irresistible. Many buses have confirmed that evidence. In this part of the concert of J. Jovicic, he was performing as an interesting composer, to whom belong these magnificent plays “The Arabesque” and “The theme of variations” from the “Macedonian Rhapsody”

Moscow, Vladimir Slavski, Moscow Musical School, 1969

“The national folklore of Yugoslavia in interpretation of Jovan Jovicic is one new page in the history of our instrument. These works belong to the golden foundation of the guitar art. One more time, thanks to Mr. Jovicic for his marvelous music for the classic guitar.”

France, J. Salvador, Corzika -“Le courrier de la Cors”, 1956

“He himself was worth as the whole orchestra and he himself made the whole production of guitar art. His fingers brought into life the whole life filled by the poetry, the poetry of his country, its cities, which have had the inheritance of the numerous mystery legends. – You, the young Yugoslav guitarist, the virtuoso of the art which is very delicate, you told us better than the others used to, about your nation!”

Germany, “The Great Hour of the World Music”, “J. Jovicic was playing the Guitar Magnificent”, Hannover -“Neustadter Press” 22/05/1973

“One little ordinary instrument-one maestro has been playing on it. And that produced an hour of the world music. Jovicic played his instrument so soverignly, that he was in a state to use all the ways of playing one by one and at the some time he made the sound impressions for harpsichord and harp. As a breath, his tender accords in the flageolets, the strong pizzicato melodies, the cheerful following figures, which gave the nice rhythm, legato-passages, which have never been herd until now, out from the instrument, and the lines of accords like ones in Torroba “Burgalesa”, they seemed as if they were opposed to the very construction of guitar in its functional harmony model, and the moving of his fingers and hand with completely elementary rhythm, using the resonance of the wood, and finally the difference of the strike, for which the one could not think that exists-these were the characteristics of his art.”

Rothenburg, “The Storm of Delight” 06/1984 “The Yugoslav Guitarist J. Jovicic is a Maestro”

“All his maestro’s knowledge Mr. Jovicic represented in his one own composition, in the “Vojvodina suite”. He outlet in it, the colors of sounds, which could be only imagined, and which could be given only by the guitar-and they are not just few. The composer and the interpreter has combined the different techniques skillful, so they have reached the chamber effect. The using of the effects was only the destination to itself. It was allowed by the audience, which kept applauding. Having noticed all that very well and the applause turned into the storm of the delight.”

External Link

History of the Guitar in Former Yugoslavia (by Prof. Uroš Dojčinović)

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