How and when has music started being the form of communication with the world?
It all started 11 years ago when I started going to Elementary music school in Bihać. From then on, music has been a big part of my life. I started with practicing accordion, then some first experiments with composition and improvisation. How the time passed, it gradually evolved from some curiosity into lifestyle. Now my day can not pass without composing, playing, listening or analyzing music. You become devoted to the music and you have constant urge to explore more in order to become better artist, in my case a better composer.
Could you tell us about your journey as a composer?
My journey with composition is a very long and interesting story. The first experiments with compositions happened at the very start of the musical education. Those compositions were at a low craft level, something that was obviously to me. So I decided that I will spend time analayzing music and until I feel that I have enough knowledge about it, I will start with proper composing. That lasted about 10 years (and after that very long time) I was able to write composition which was fairly decent. With that in mind I decided to enroll at Academy of Arts in Banja Luka, in Composition Department in the class of the professor Tatjana Milošević Mijanović, PhD. I am very glad and lucky to have her as a professor (and all other profesors and teaching assistants), because I have learned so much in the span of one year, and its amazing but at same time a bit unbelievable. The way of composing has always varied, for now I collect and write down ideas. After a while, I choose those ideas, sketch out a plan, i.e. the skeleton of the composition, and start composing. Basically, if all the elements are good, then composing goes very smoothly. For the last couple of months I have started to use folklore motifs in combination with various compositional techniques. Also I like to polyphony and polyphonic technique, its was one of the first compositional techniques that I have learned (it was used by great composers such as J. S. Bach, G. P. da Palestrina, Orlande de Lassus and many other). Because I also love poetry I like to write compositions for choir or Lied. I have used various poets from Dobriša Cesarić, Mehmedalija Mak Dizdar, Safvet beg Bašagić, Branko Ćopić, Musa Ćazim Ćatić and also the texts of contemporaries like Ajla Osmanović, Milkica Marjanović and Ajdin Muftić (although those compositions are yet to be performed). That’s one little overview of my compositional journey.
Who or what is your biggest inspiration when it comes to creating music works?
Like many composers I found inspiration in everything but mainly in nature, everyday life, history, art (mostly poerty). I can also say that my hometown Bihać gives me great inspiration; whether it's looking at the beautiful stunning river Una or visiting some important historical places in the town.
Your composition "Suite per pianoforte op. 21 no. 1" has been recorded in Hong Kong by the renowned pianist Serene Yu. Please tell our readers more about this international collaboration.
Me and Serene Yu have meet through messages and its my first international collaboration. For the first international collaboration I'm thrilled. I see that she performs a lot as a soloist and in chamber ensembles. She is a very communicative and accommodating person to work with, fulfills all her promises and does a really great job. It was interesting to get to know her culture and way of life in Hong Kong. She is an excellent pianist and organist, I can say that it is a great honor for me to have met her and worked on this project with her, and I hope for some new projects as well.
Any plans for the future you would like to share with us?
Well I hope I am going to find performers for my compositions. In these few past months I have composed various pieces ranging from piano works, chamber music, choir compositions and even composition for string orchestra. I worked very hard on these compositions and I hope they would be premiered.
Author: Hana Tiro