Karmen Štendler Plays Six Balkan Miniatures by Bogdanović

Slovenian guitarist Karmen Štendler plays Six Balkan Miniatures by Serbian-born, American composer Dušan Bogdanović (b.1955). This comes via her fantastic YouTube channel with a special thanks/shoutout to David Antigüedad Mangas and Uroš Barič at Baros Studio. Great playing by Štendler, filled with sharp articulations to smooth legato phrasing. The piece was written in 1991 highlighting musical elements of a culture that was facing serious hardships, as Štendler quotes from the composer, “These days of political turmoil in Eastern Europe find their focus especially in Yugoslavia, the heart of the Balkans, and my homeland. It is both tragic and ironic to see the further disintegration of the land and the people, while being aware of the unique cultural stamp of the whole area. So, it might be that the art among other universal human endeavours, still shows us a way of harmonizing and synthesizing the most diverse elements coming from the same source. It is in this spirit that I dedicate this music to World Peace.”