This post will chronicle my experience at the World Saxophone Congress, held in Zagreb, Croatia, July 10-14.
The purpose of the trip was the presentation three-composition suite for didgeridoo and alto sax, with my long-time collaborative partner Glen Gillis.
Zagreb is a beautiful city, snuggled up against the mountains of the Southern Alps to the north. The old upper city is connected to the lower city by the Uspinjača, the world’s shortest funicular, which was just steps away from the flat we rented through Air B&B.
The world’s shortest funicular…and here’s the very video to prove it!
The upper city features the Church of St. Mark, and two seemingly theme-connected museums, the Museum of Broken Relationships and the Torture Museum.
Below the upper city runs Ilica Street, a popular thoroughfare in Zagreb, and home to Ban Josip Jelačić, the main square, which was the center of Croatian World Cup football madness.
The visit to Zagreb also coincided with the 100th birthday of Nikola Tesla, a local hero who is venerated in a museum and a street rife with outdoor cafes and a commemorative statue.
As always, local cuisine is on the top of the list, and Zagreb did not disappoint. My personal favorite restaurant was Stari Fijaker (pronounced “Starry Fucker”)
which featured a broad array of traditional Croatian dishes including Čobanac, a savory four-meat (veal, beef, pork, venison) stew with gnocchi. Quintuple-Yum!
Svjetski Kongres Saksofonista, Zagreb
The Duo Gillis Cunningham performance on July 12th at the MM Student Center stage included a suite of European premier compositions for alto saxophone and didgeridoo. The suite was conceived around the sounds of three self-made instruments, including a hand-carved Eb maple didge;
a plastic “Arnold Palmer” slide-didge;
and an ABS sewerphone in Gb and Eb.
For me, the highlights of the conference were the performances of other artists in attendance, which included the spirited debut of Glen Gillis’ latest composition, “Permutations for Alto Sax and Piano,” with accompanist Bonnie Nicholson.
Other highlights included ambient performances by the German improvisational ensemble Raum-Musik Für Saxophone.
Their first performance in the resonant Zabgreb University Student Center French Pavilion coincided with an exhibition “Banned by the Nazis: Entarte (Degenerate) Musik.”
Because Raum-Musik invites audience movement throughout the performance space my video recording is also interactive with the space, exhibition, and musicians within.
The second performance of Raum-Musik was in Tunel Grič, a WWII-era tunnel/bomb shelter that runs east to west under the old Zagreb upper city.
Again, my video features interactive movement within the tunnel performance. The post-concert celebratory meal was held at nearby restaurant Stari Fijaker.
My favorite Zagreb moment was the opportunity to play didgeridoo in Tunel Grič, which is normally off-limits to musicians. The moment was captured by my new colleague Christof Zürn, a long-time member of the Raum-Music ensemble.
