KREŠIMIR STARČEVIĆ
LOVRO MERČEP, saxophone
&
KREŠIMIR STARČEVIĆ, piano
KREŠIMIR STARČEVIĆ
LOVRO MERČEP, saxophone
&
KREŠIMIR STARČEVIĆ, piano
Suggested Program:
The Art of Transcription
J. S. Bach: Sonata for flute and piano in G minor, BWV 1020
R. Schumann: Fantasiestücke for clarinet and piano, op. 73
C. Debussy: Rhapsody for clarinet and piano, L. 116
F. Poulenc: Sonata for oboe and piano, FP 185
M. Ravel: Pièce en forme de Habanera, for voice and piano
B. Bartók: Six Roumanian Folk Dances, Sz. 68, BB 76. for violin and piano
Lovro Merčep (Zagreb, 1990), received his master’s degree in saxophone in 2014 at the Academy of Music in Zagreb in the class of Dragan Sremac and in 2016 at the Amsterdam Conservatory in the class of Arno Bornkamp. Parallel to his studies in Zagreb, he studied at the Lyon Conservatory in the class of Jean-Denis Michat, and then at the Versailles Conservatory in the class of Vincent David.
During his studies, he was a scholarship holder of the city of Samobor, the Adris Foundation and the French government, winner of the Rector’s and Dean’s Award of the University of Zagreb, the City of Samobor Plaque, and one of the winners of the Zagreb Philharmonic’s Young Musician of the Year award for artistic achievements in 2016.
He is the laureate of numerous national and international competitions, among them 7th International Saxophone Competition in Nova Gorica (Slovenia), the Concours Européen de Saxophone in Gap (France), the 5th Croatian Competition of Young Musical Artists Papandopulo in Zagreb, the International Emon Competition in Ljubljana and the 1st international competition of saxophonist Josip Nochta in Zagreb.
As a soloist and chamber musician, he performed at festivals and cycles in Croatia and abroad, collaborating with promising Croatian musicians, of whom Krešimir Starčević, Aljoša Jurinić, Marin Maras, Srđan Bulat and Filip Merčep stand out. He played as a soloist with the Croatian Chamber Orchestra, the Zagreb Philharmonic, the HRT Symphony Orchestra, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and the Antiphonus Vocal Ensemble, under the direction of respected maestros Tomislav Fačini, Uroš Lajovic, Berislav Šipuš, En Shao, Stefano Mazzoleni and others.
Lovro pays special attention to the promotion of musical works by Croatian composers, presenting them both in Croatia and abroad. In 2016, he recorded a permanent studio recording of Bruno Bjelinski’s Sinfonietta for alto saxophone, strings and percussion with the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer’s son Alan Bjelinski. At the 66th Dubrovnik Summer Festival, as a soloist he premiered the Concerto for Saxophone and String Orchestra by the Croatian composer Ivan Končić accompanied by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra. Gordan Tudor, Sara Glojnarić and Ana Horvat also dedicated their compositions to him. In January 2023 he premiered in Zagreb Concerto for soprano saxophone and strings by the David Mastikosa with Zagreb Soloists.
Works by Croatian composers are part of the regular repertoire of the Ardemus saxophone quartet, of which Lovro is a member. So far, the quartet has performed in the Netherlands, Croatia, Belgium, Switzerland and in German (most recently in the Elbphilharmonie. The Ardemus Quartet won the audience award at the Grachtenfestival Conservatorium Concours 2016, and in September of the same year, the quartet won the 13th Ferdo Livadić International Competition of Young Music Artists in Samobor.
As one of the four finalists of the prestigious Dutch Classical Talent competition for the 2018/2019 season, the Quartet toured in halls throughout the Netherlands and appeared on Dutch television and radio and trained in the chamber music program of the Netherlands String Quartet Academy in the class of Sven Arne Tepl and Marc Danel.
Lovro Merčep works as a teacher of saxophone and chamber music at the Elly Bašić School of Music in Zagreb.