On Air - On Site : 48 Hours of Radio Art

Aired on May 25th 16:30 CEST 2025
Sounding Spomenik with Milana Zarić
Genre: Live Performance
Duration: 30 min
Streaming live from: West Den Haag
Milana Zaric live harp performance and talk

(Remote)
Jernej Babnik Romaniuk sound / field-recordings (pre-recorded)
Concept and production Nataša Serec and Laszlo Juhasz

Milana Zarić performs 2 of her own improvised compositions on acoustic harp. Interspersed with the live performance are the field recordings made in Čačak in and around the Mausoleum of Struggle and Victory made in July 2024. This program is part of the Sounding Spomenik series.

About the project:
Art practitioners from Ljubljana's ON Rizom Institute initiated the Sounding Spomenik project in 2021. The project focuses on exploring the historical and architectural significance of monuments from the former Yugoslavia. These monuments, originally built to commemorate World War II and symbolize Tito's vision of Yugoslavia, are re-examined as important modernist works of art. The project involves musicians performing at these sites, capturing the acoustic qualities of the structures and their surroundings through field visits and recordings.

Since its inception, the project has studied monuments in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, engaging local musicians to document both intentional and spontaneous sounds produced by these iconic structures. This long-term research, exhibition, recording, and publishing initiative aims to uncover and highlight the unique sonic attributes of monuments found in ex Yugoslavia.

As part of the project, local female instrumentalists and professionals specializing in free improvisation and contemporary composed music—are invited to participate. On-site, they explore the most resonant and intriguing sounding parts of the monuments by playing their instruments. Additionally, the project records spontaneous sounds of the surroundings, enriching the documentation of these sites' auditory landscapes. Each of the so far realized visits to monuments have been professionally recorded. Milana Zarić at the Mausoleum of Struggle and Victory will be released in 2025.

Featuring:

Milana Zarić

Milana Zarić is a creative musician. Principal harpist of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, solo and chamber musician specializing in modern repertoire, artistic director of Ensemble Studio 6 and educator at the Hague Royal Conservatoire, she is an initiator of international projects, establishing new bridges in collaborative creation. She combines composition with free improvisation in projects involving sound and transdisciplinary arts. Milana has premiered over 30 solo harp and ensemble works, to which she contributed with voice, zither, percussion, electric harp and electronics.

The 2025 edition will be broadcast online from 8 pm on May 23 to 8 pm on May 25 (CET)