August 11, 2009

In his Debut in the city of Osijek and belonging Osijek Summer Festival – the far largest cultural manifestation in eastern Croatia – Mihael was set up to deliver one of the most darring performances of his recent time. Upon the invitation of Maestro Mladen Tutavac and chamber orchestra ‘Franjo Krežma’ he interpreted the Clarinet Concerto by Bruno Bjelinski thus joining the century brithday celebration of the Croatian classic. Ecstatic audience in the fullfiled St. Mihael (!) Church anticipated the unanimous reviews by radio, television and press that followed: ‘…Acoustic and dynamic profilation of themes and phrases with distinctive musicality and technical perfection…’ (B.Ban), while the Festival Jury describes Mihael as a ‘Brilliant Soloist at the Osijek Summer’. On the repeated ovations and four curtain calls he responded with a challenging encore – Chopin’s Chromatic Etude op.10-2 arranged by himself for clarinet and strings and executed virtually in a single breath…