Music has an exceptional power to connect “distant worlds”. The performance of the Symphony in F minor, Op. 41 by Dore Pejačević in Brazil! This exceptional work by the famous Croatian composer Dora Pejačević was performed on Sunday, June 11, 2023, by the Orquestra Filarmônica de Goiás (OFG) under the direction of its chief conductor Neil Thomson, a top conductor who has collaborated with a number of world orchestras such as the London Symphony orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal BBC Symphony Orchestra…

The concert by Orquestra Filarmônica de Goiás, in which Mozart’s Overture, KV 620 from the opera Magic Flute and the Guitar Concerto by the Irish composer, guitarist and musicologist Benjamin Dwyer were performed alongside the Dora Pejačević’s Symphony, were held at the Oscar Niemeyer Cultural Center, in the Palácio da Música, in the Brazilian city Goiânia (Federal State of Goiás). It is a magnificent building where the Philharmonic Orchestra from Goiás found its home – the third most important orchestra in Brazil, awarded the Order of Rio Branco for cultural merits by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The orchestra was founded in 1980, and experienced a strong artistic momentum especially after 2014 with the arrival of Neil Thomson as artistic director and chief conductor of the Orchestra. The ensemble can boast of numerous concert cycles, in which it places a strong emphasis on the promotion of young and talented musicians as well as on the promotion of Brazilian culture, in which it enjoys strong support from the Brazilian government and the Oscar Niemeyer Cultural Center.

The realization of the performance was strongly supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Croatia in Brazil and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia, which invest exceptional efforts in promoting Croatian art and culture in the world.

Ana Unkić / Jelena Vuković

(cover photo: Cultural Centre Oscar Niemeyer, Leonardo Finotti)