The Return of the Baroque: "Concerto Dragonese" by Dragana Jovanović

Ira Prodanov

Ira Prodanov University of Novi Sad, Academy of Arts

Keywords: Concerto Dragonese, concerto grosso, Baroque, popular culture

Abstract

That “past is altered by the present as much as the present is directed by the past” (T. S. Eliot) is confirmed in Concerto Dragonese, a new piece by Dragana Jovanović, dedicated to the thirtieth anniversary of the existence of the Camerata Academica Ensemble of the University of Novi Sad Academy of Arts. Composed as a typical concerto grosso, it reflects the theoretical foundations of French thinker Guy Scarpetta and the thoughts of American art historian Gregg Lambert on the return of the Baroque to the very center of contemporary creative activity, but also into the very style of life that is today. This, however, does not deprive the piece from the ‘Benjaminian aura’, which allows it to communicate through various references to baroque masters and rhythms of contemporary popular genres of dances, film music and the like.

Author Biography

Ira Prodanov, University of Novi Sad, Academy of Arts

I. Prodanov, Ph.D., musicologist, is a full-time professor at the Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad, Serbia. She regularly lectures LLL courses accredited by Serbian Institute for Advancement of Education in the field of transferring knowledge, communication and presentation skills and popular music. Areas of her competences are European and Serbian music of 20th and 21-century music.