May 30, 2018 - How are the great parks of Europe created. A look at the case of Tivat. 

May 30, 2018 - The VIII International Accordion Festival or Harmonika Fest is the first International Music Festival for Accordion in Montenegro. Founded in 2010 in Cetinje, it became a professional manifestation that brings together accordionists of all profiles and supports artistic accordion playing. The festival featured the world's most prominent names from the classical accordion music including Jurij Šiškin, Renzo Ruđeri, Pavel Fenjuk, Vladimir Murza, Petar Marić, Nikola Peković, Semjon Šmeljkov, Roman Žbanov, Dominik Emorin, Stjepan Hauser (violoncello) and many others. Since 2014, the festival has presented a new branch which is an international competition in the disciplines of accordion solo, chamber music, and ensembles.

May 30, 2018 - Sea turtles - these magnificent sea creatures are back in our Bay. If you are near them, you need to know how to behave so they will not hurt you. Likewise, we should understand that we can’t make them feel threatened, because then, from natural instinct, the turtles will defend themselves! This is the time when jellyfish usually appear too, although they are not as dangerous. The best thing to do is to avoid them and stay away from their fuzzy cells.

This year the Montenegrin Guitar Competition established an important collaboration with a European platform called EuroStrings, creating new opportunities for the festival directors, professional guitar players, young emerging guitarists and guitar lovers. The Young Stars, the winners of the platform’s competition, came to Montenegro to share their experiences with other participants and learn from world-known and established professional guitarists such as maestro Barrueco. Some of them also challenged themselves with a broader audience like Bojan Goychev from Varna, Bulgaria.

From all over the globe, people of different ages have fallen in love with the guitar and apply for Manuel Barrueco's workshop. The EuroString Stars were lucky to visit his class today at the Naval Heritage museum in Tivat where he held a concert last night. Each participant has about 30 minutes with the maestro to show him their best.

Barrueco listens, then takes them phrase by phrase, measure by measure, note by note through their performances, probing with questions, suggesting better techniques, reviews their interpretation, and heightens their awareness of what it means to be a musician. Here are their impressions:

At the end of the hall, there is a grey-haired man with eyes the color of the sea who's listening to the maestro's notes no less carefully than the lucky young players in front of him. Barrueco's coeval Andres Daniel Marvi, one of the best guitar makers in Europe, a guitar teacher as well, joins the Montenegrin Competition for the 12th time as a supporter. From the very beginning of the competition initiative, this guitar teacher and player has generously provided his beautiful creations for the first prize winners. Total Montenegro News had a chance to speak to Mr. Marvi.

Andres D. Marvi

How do you like the competition this year?

-    I've really enjoyed the performances this time. Young Julia, the winner, was just amazing, I didn't expect to see such a high level.

Why do you support this event?

-    I like Montenegro, and every time I come I feel like at home, haha. Seriously, I think the competitions are necessary for the development and exchange of experience. This is a dream for many young players to be on the stage. And I see the enthusiasm and hard efforts the organizers are taking here, and I see they brought the competition to a high level and created a new perspective.

How important is it to play a proper, good quality instrument?

-    It means a lot for the interpretation and tonality, to give more life to the music, to express more. A good instrument really "reacts“ to your intention of play.

Did you go to Barrueco's concert last night?

-    Yes, and I loved it. I like his precise play; his musicality is impressive. It's always interesting to hear his interpretation and the audience's connection. The way he feels the music is very special and he shares his feeling with the audience.

A memorial sculpture with a bronze statue of the most famous Spanish writer, Miguel de Cervantes, was set up yesterday in the Old Town of Ulcinj.