Goran Bregovic

Goran Bregović is one of the most recognizable modern composers of the Balkans . Composer and guitarist Goran Bregović has been a household name in the Balkans for over two decades. Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesária Évora . He earned his fame wielding a guitar with his rock band Bijelo Dugme , a group that rose to stardom and set the groundwork for the Yugoslav rock scene. Known here for his scores for countryman Emir Kusturica’s films (Time of the Gypsies, Arizona Dream Underground), Bregović commands an ensemble that matches his larger-than-life persona. A rowdy brass band, bagpipes, a string ensemble, a tuxedo-clad all male choir from Belgrade, and traditional Bulgarian and Roma singers make up his dynamic 40-piece band and orchestra. Bregović’s compositions, extending Balkan musical inspirations to innovative extremes, draw upon European classicism and Balkan rhythms, evoking rock’s searing power as well as the repose of sacred sounds–all fueled by the insistent drive of brass. (Source: Lincoln Center Festival website) Bregović is an extremely versatile artist, composing and performing a wide range of genres - he has become widely reknown for his interpretations of traditional Serbian/Bosnian/Croatian music, bringing modern, Western influences to its powerful and energetic base, but is also a very prolific movie soundtrack author and performer. Attending a Bregović concert is a wild trip over all kinds of styles, going from solo performances to full-orchestra masterpieces, from simplest to most complex. Goran Bregović was born on March 22, 1950 in Sarajevo, Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina) to a Croat father and a Serb mother. His father was an officer in the Yugoslav People's Army. His parents divorced and he remained living with his mother in Sarajevo. Goran played violin in a music school, but was thrown out of it in second grade for being untalented. His musical educat

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