TODOR MARKOVIĆ, double bass
STEFAN PAJANOVIĆ, piano

JANA FRIDAU, guitar

Programme

J. Brahms: Cello Sonata No 1 in E minor, Op. 38 (arranged for double bass)
L. M. Škerjanc: Five Lyrical Melodies for Cello (arranged for double bass)

F. Sor: Grand Solo, Op. 14
A. Kumar: Olive Trees in the Snow
J. Viñas: Introduction and Andante, Op. 41

Double bassist Todor Marković was born in Postojna in 1997 and is currently a third-year student at the Ljubljana Academy of Music, where he is studying under his father Zoran Marković.  Having begun with the cello, at the age of thirteen he switched to the double bass and passed the entrance examination for the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet. He was soon taking part in competitions and in 2013 he won a gold award and second prize at the National TEMSIG (Young Musicians of Slovenia) competition and first prize at the International String Competition in Niš (Serbia). In 2013 and 2014 he was one of the youngest musicians to pass the audition for the European Union Youth Orchestra. He has taken part in the “Dobimo se na Magistratu” cycle of concerts in Ljubljana and has performed as a member of the double bass ensemble Bass Chorus in the Netherlands, Italy and Serbia. He gave the premiere performance of a new composition by Štefan Mauri at the Slovene Composers’ Night event. This year he once again received a gold award and won first prize at TEMSIG. Following a successful audition, he took part in the spring and summer tour of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, as the youngest member of this prestigious ensemble. He has also worked with the Maribor Festival Orchestra this year.

Stefan Pajanović was born in Ljubljana in 1996. He began playing the piano at the age of five. Following his early training at lower music school and having completed the Conservatory of Music and Ballet, he has now enrolled at the Ljubljana Academy of Music, where he is studying under Jasminka Stančul.
He has attended seminars and summer schools taught by world-renowned pianists and established teachers such as Konstantin Bogino, Claudio Martinez Mehner, Ruben Dalibaltayan and Jasminka Stančul. He has also taken part in several international and national competitions, both as a soloist and with chamber ensembles.
These include the Ars Nova International Music Competition in Trieste, where he won a first prize and gold medal in both 2006 and 2007. In 2009 he received a gold award at the national TEMSIG competition. He has also won several awards and prizes at the Euritmia International Young Musicians Competition in Povoletto, Italy. This year he won a silver award at the Tribute to Jurica Murai International Piano Competition in Varaždin, Croatia.

Jana Fridau (1995) had her first guitar lessons at Gornja Radgona Music School with Marija Purnomo, before going on to study with Samo Ismajlovič. She continued her training under Sašo Lamut at the Maribor Conservatory of Music and Ballet.
She is currently studying under Andrej Grafenauer at the Ljubljana Academy of Music.
She has already taken part in several national and international competitions. She has twice won a silver plaque at the TEMSIG (Young Musicians of Slovenia) competition, while in 2008 she won a gold plaque in the guitar duo category. This year she won a gold plaque and a first prize.
In 2007 she won a gold award and first prize at the Ithaka International Competition for Young Musicians in Ljubljana.
She has taken part in several editions of the Mörski Festival Kitare, a guitar festival in Murska Sobota, and won several gold awards. In 2014 she won a gold award at the Guitar Days Festival in Krško.

Photos