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