Miroslav Miletić: Istrian Rondo for Two Guitars

As a pioneer of contemporary Croatian guitar music, Miroslav Miletić, along with most of his compositional work, relied on folk music in this area as well, drawing inspiration for the most part from folklore and emphasising characteristic melodic and harmonic developments. Thus, in 1974, one of his first masterful works for guitar was created, the Međimurje Suite, dedicated to Darko Petrinjak, which has been performed more than a hundred times to date and was published in 1975 by the reputable German publisher Schott under the title Kroatische Suite. And just as he found inspiration for it in the Međimurje folklore, 25 years later (1999) he composed the Istrian Rondo, for two guitars. In this five-minute composition, premiered in Zagreb, Miletić skillfully plays with characteristic elements of Istrian and Macedonian folklore, with a rondo-like form and the interplay of two similar instruments, using broken and syncopated rhythms.

(Bojana Plećaš Kalebota)