REVIEWS
Echoes and Shadows (album: CD & digital download)
Eigenschatten2, I Quattro Elementi3, 2Dušan Panajotović, 2,3Dušica Mladenović (vn)
FARPOINT 080 (62:15)
…Originally, then [Eigenschatten] was a duet for one performer, a technique which also works for two violins, here Dušica Mladenović and Dušan Panajotović. This 25-minute piece (recorded in a wine cellar in Serbia) is a remarkable study in sonority as well as concept. The idea of the “echo” is reflected in the title: “Eigenschatten” means literally “own shadow.” Both violinists here exhibit a purity of tone that suits this rarefied music to a tee, as well as a talent for poetic discourse. At times, it feels like the violins are speaking to one another (heard in this way, close dissonance can even inject a moment of humor).
Continuing with the idea of “fourness,” not only do we now have I Quattri Elementi (The Four Elements, 2020), but each of its four movements is indicated to be played on only one of the four strings of the violin, G-A-E-D in turn…Written for the performer here, the piece again speaks of expressivity, this time in more concentrated form. Violinist Dušica Mladenović seems to have considered the place of each gesture to the tiniest degree. The G-string is the element of Earth (“Terra”), and so the music often has a guttural aspect (the recording captures Dušica Mladenović’s flautando perfectly, too). Moving to the A-string, the element of water (“Acqua”) certainly has a lighter demeanor; and although there is an emphasis on one note, there remains a fluidity of timbre. The E-string hosts fire (“Fuoco”), delivered with febrile intensity by Mladenović in a simply remarkable and occasionally stratospheric performance. The elusive element of air (“Aria”) is almost inaudible for the first third of its duration, its swishings perhaps best experienced via headphones. Given the currency it deserves, this piece has all of the qualities to be a major addition to the solo violin repertoire.
A window is offered here into the world of Ian Wilson, featuring performances of complete command. A most stimulating release.
Colin Clarke, Fanfare magazine, Sept/Oct 2021
Mladenović returns alone for I Quattro Elementi, a work in which Wilson sets himself a different challenge, as well as a technical challenge for the performer. Each movement is inspired by one of the four classical elements and each is performed on just one string.
There is…plenty to like: ‘Autunno’ and ‘Primavera’ in Quattro Stagioni; the whispering almost-nothingness of ‘Aria’; the amazing tone and timbre control in ‘Acqua’.
Brendan Finan, The Journal of music, 10th November 2021
Refleksija (CD album)
METROPOLIS MCD098 (2019)
The Anime Violin Trio and Dušica Mladenović perform “1927” and “Sonatina B-A-C-H” for three violins and Sonatas for Solo Violin by Ian Wilson and Dejan Despić.
…Despić’s violin trio “Sonatina B-A-C-H” was written in 2007 and takes these musical notes as a starting point for a short, three-part structure comprising Intrada, Arietta and Scherzino… The Trio could surely not have finer advocates than these three violinists who give a very fine performance in a well appointed recording.
Despić’s Sonata for solo violin is played by Dušica Mladenović who is a member of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. Dušica certainly plays this very demanding work with great commitment. The Sonata was written in 1986 and, we are told, must be played emphatically and with precise rhythm; this to my ears she achieves.
..Ian Wilson’s “1927” for three violins was written for Trio Dominante, Belgrade’s first violin trio which Dušica Mladenović led before later founding the Anime Quartet and Trio. A review of the first performance described the work as “strikingly original”, which is certainly true… Listeners open to new sounds and textures should certainly try this work.
The final item is Wilson’s Sonata for Solo Violin in three movements: Reeyill, Aire and Jigg. It is influenced by a traditional form of Irish music: reel, air, jig. It is played by Mladenović who again seems to convey the intricacies and above all the emotion of the three parts… Dušica plays this sometimes frantic, always spirited music with considerable skill. I would be interested in hearing more from him.
This is undoubtedly a challenging recital of modern chamber music that requires effort and commitment from the listener. I found it absorbing and worth the effort. The performers are to be congratulated.
Musicweb International, June 2020
'Beside the Sea', music theatre for violinist (2021) (live performance)
…the violin soloist is Wilson’s wife and long-time musical collaborator Dušica Mladenović…[who] gives an outstanding and compelling performance. I cannot recommend this production highly enough.
Dr Gráinne Mulvey, Professor of Composition at TU Dublin, September 2022
…The protagonist is not a representation of Wilson or his father but a female violinist, Dušica Mladenović. Directed by Olivia Songer, she moves and plays on a small stage designed by Jack Scullion that looks like the interior of a fisher’s hut, but with a guitar, sheet music and vinyl records hanging where you would expect ropes and buckets. There is the suggestion of ageing in Mladenović’s movements, initially perky, later weary – the hint of a journey through life. She plays alongside a soundtrack made by Wilson in collaboration with Steve McCourt, built on the noises of the things Wilson’s father loved: the sea, the creak of a sailing boat, the clank of tools in a workshop, the strum of his guitar. Among these we hear recordings of the male choir he sang with for 40 years, and, most poignantly, of his wife, Wilson’s mother, a professional singer whose voice is one of the last things he recognised.
The violin acts as a kind of narrator, linking these threads together even as they become confused and fragmented. At times her line is full of restless arpeggios or spiky fragments, and when this is most at odds with the sound around her the two can feel stubbornly disconnected; at other times the violin responds to rhythms in the soundtrack, or embellishes the singing of the choir or Wilson’s mother in ways that are suddenly and startlingly moving. …As it is, it’s portable, thoughtful and quietly, hauntingly effective.
The Guardian, 6th July 2023
'1927' (live performance)
Among these compositions is a striking original work by Wilson called “1927”, conceived as a series of neo-expressionist tone impressions of five paintings by Paul Klee.”
…Their interpretation is interwoven with a distinctly balanced tone, warm sound, refined feeling for phrasing, measured expressiveness, careful dynamics and inherent comprehension of the ensemble parts. The overall tone shows the perfect harmony of the trio members.
Tisa Jukic, Cultural Circles programme, Belgrade Radio 2, 11th September 2019
Ian Wilson Portrait concert at the Belgrade Irish Festival (live)
Ian Wilson, String Quartet no. 17, Línte (2016), Anime string quartet
In the performance of Wilson’s composition Línte by the Anime string quartet, the interpretative power of first violinist Dušica Mladenović came to the fore, while the other members of the chamber ensemble showed a high level of mutual cooperation.
Wilson, “Bewitched” (2010), Anime string quartet, Branislava Podrumac, soprano
The Anime Quartet once again showed its superb abilities in performing contemporary music, while the powerful soprano Branislava Podrumac contributed to the impression with her characteristic voice colour and skill in conjuring up the text.
Mateja Stevanović, Radio Belgrade 2, Show “Pregled muzičke nedelje”, 11.3.2024