Krešimir Bedek: Klišej

“To embrace a tree – collected thoughts, creative ideas, and authentic feelings. A cliché?

That is precisely the core of guitar expression in the solo appearance of a musician embracing an instrument of noble wood, playing stories imagined precisely for it, dressed in a suit that fits it perfectly. We might play with the idea and arrive at a true suite that can be discerned in the creation of guitarist Krešimir Bedek, who brings together four works written specifically for him and for the CD as a whole.” (Iva Lovrec Štefanović)

The distinguished Croatian guitarist Krešimir Bedek brings together on this album the authorial voices of the middle generation of Croatian composers – Gordan Tudor, Ivan Josip Skender, Ante Knešaurek and Ivana Kiš – who with these compositions created their first scores for solo guitar.

The album’s title is inspired by Klišej by Gordan Tudor, composer and saxophonist, who once admitted his own fear of the guitar as a solo instrument, but through collaboration with Bedek discovered its narrative and expressive potential. Although the title alludes to stereotypes, the work offers precisely the opposite – a playful and inventive form that consciously enters into dialogue with expectations and overcomes them. The CD also includes three other works written specifically for Bedek: Ivan Josip Skender’s Sonata for Guitar, whose expressive contrasts and formal clarity mirror the performer’s interpretative strength; Ante Knešaurek’s Sonare, a meditative work; and Ivana Kiš’s Big John Campbell’s Last Song, a musical narrative of strong visual potential, imbued with atmosphere and symbolism.

All the works are united by the fact that they were composed directly for Krešimir Bedek – and that they represent their composers’ first solo encounter with the instrument.

Krešimir Bedek, a professor at the Academy of Music of the University of Zagreb, continues the tradition of the Zagreb guitar school while at the same time pushing its boundaries. His interpretative strength, confirmed by numerous awards and international recognitions, comes particularly to the fore when placed in the service of new music.

The album Klišej was released with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia.