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Last Saturday, August 16, a unique classical music concert was held in Brela, Makarska Riviera. Pianist Severin Filipović teamed up with Alex Birkenstock on whose yacht in the harbor he held a free concert for all visitors and residents. The repertoire included Debussy, Scriabin, Albeniz, Respighi, and Filipović delighted the visitors with the famous composition by Hans Zimmer for the film Interstellar.
After two years, we have relaunched the Sounds of the Sea project – this time in a slightly different edition. Since Alex has been in Brela for more than ten years and has become close to the local population, my family came up with the idea of having a piano on the boat this time. We presented the idea to Birkenstock, to which he immediately agreed,” said Severin Filipović.
Originally from Brela, the 32-year-old pianist has built his career and academic education over the years in Croatia, Serbia and Belgium. Severin Filipović was born in Makarska in 1992. He began studying piano at the age of six at the Makarska Music School, where he received his primary and secondary music education. When he was a teenager, he performed as a member of the International Youth Orchestra – Neumarkt and in 2011 played with the Dubrovnik Philharmonic Orchestra.
He graduated from the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, where he was awarded the prestigious Jelena Pavlović Fund Award for the best piano student in 2016. He continues his education by enrolling in graduate studies at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. He continues his further education through a specialist postgraduate study in piano at the Academy of Music in Belgrade, after which he will complete a postgraduate study in artistic development at the Academy of Music in Zagreb in 2023.
As a soloist and chamber musician, he has held numerous recitals and concert performances in numerous concert halls and cultural institutions, and his most recent projects include the ECHO MONENTUM project of forgotten chamber compositions with mandolinist Stella Ivanišević, with whom he has had successful performances. His concert activity also includes unconventional projects, among which stand out solo piano concerts and a concert of a piano and mandolin duo on the open sea.
“There is a certain lack of classical music in this area, which is also largely visible on the Makarska Riviera. When we first presented the project to the Brela Tourist Board in 2019, we received approval, so our cooperation continued this time as well. Although this year the concert was not on a raft, I think the guests found it attractive since the piano was higher than the waterfront and the sound system was better. I chose the aforementioned composers and compositions, such as Claire de Lune by Debussy, because I believe they are easy to remember, acceptable to the wider public, airy and I call them ‘light notes’ – perfect for a pleasant summer evening,” concludes Severin Filipović, adding that he certainly plans to hold the already traditional ‘Open Sea Sounds’ in the coming summer seasons, both in Brela and beyond.
