Three music critics were present at the concert of bass-baritone Krešimir
Stražanac and Krešimir Starčević at the lied concert at the Croatian
National Theater in Zagreb, January 14, 2024.
This Sunday, a first-class world event took place because Krešimir Stražanac performed. Stražanac showed that he is an exceptional Lied master, leading his beautifully colored and perfectly technically polished voice through the dramatic and emotional variety of Bersa’s songs. The superior culture of vocal musicianship in songs is still rare in Croatia, which is why this performance was more attractive, indeed on a world level. He had an excellent collaborator in Krešimir Starčević, who was not a companion but an equal partner, which is necessary for a complete experience with Lied. Excellent pianist!
Jagoda Martinčević
The vocal lines were deeply studied, rehearsed and extremely carefully delivered, with those subtleties and dynamic embellishments that complemented, and sometimes exceeded, the power of the words. This was followed by Bersa’s piano piece At the Strand, with beautiful, delicate two-beat motifs, as if written for the inspired Starčević. The interpretations, were supposed to exude ambiguity, ecstatic charges and convincing resolutions with detailed (dynamically) nuanced responses to the text, both in piano and vocal lines. And luckily, that’s exactly what they were.
Igor Koruga
The Zagreb audience welcomes the performances of Krešimir Stražanac with joy, who found an excellent collaborator at the piano in Krešimir Starčević.Both Krešimir Stražanac and Krešimir Starčević, showed a serious approach to musical originals by combining their skills in a simple, harmonious, suggestive, refined and professionally elaborated interpretation with minimal gesticulation. The ease of singing and the ease of playing captivated the audience, who were able to experience the works of two (late) romantics in the best light, distinctive, but different considering the environment and the age when they realized that music was their calling in life. In the sung compositions, Krešimir Stražanac showed an excellent command of the language, which was reflected in the articulation and dynamic nuances that he brilliantly harmonized with Krešimir Starčević’s confident and dynamically measured playing.
Snježana Miklaušić-Ćeran