The repertoire of compositions originally written for trumpet and piano is not often heard on concert stages, at least in Croatia. Therefore, Vedran Kocelj, solo trumpet player of the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra, and Krešimir Starčević joined forces decade ago in order to present to the audience as extensive a repertoire as possible, but also to expand and enrich the treasury of music by Croatian composers.
They presented their new concert program “Musica Croatica” to the audience at the Jan Vlašimski School of Music in Virovitica on October 18, 2022. Program started with Stjepan Šulek’s Sonata “After the Sunset” and continued with the extensive 20-minute work “Fanfaronitis” by Dubravko Detoni, which Vedran and Krešimir premiered in Senj in 2014. An additional reason for the performance was Detoni’s 85th birthday, so after Fanfaronitis, Krešimir also performed some of Detoni’s compositions for piano solo. “Seven Trumpets” for trumpet solo by Srdjan Dedić followed, and the program concluded with “Musica per tromba” by Bruno Bjelinski. By performing this work in the composer’s version for trumpet and piano, the musicians remembered the 30th anniversary of Bjelinski’s death.