RAPHAEL ROGINSKI I RUŽIČNJAK TAJNI
FRIDAY, MAY 16TH, NATIONAL THEATRE (BIG SCENE), 18:00
Musically, BURA is a fusion of masterful performance with innovative stylizations and interpretations. The lineup speaks for itself: Raphael Rogiński, a two-time winner of Polish Radio’s “New Tradition” award, and the only Polish artist featured among the fifty greatest living guitarists by the “Songlines” magazine; Svetlana Spajić, a legend among musicians and ethnomusicologists, admired not only for her unique voice filled with extraordinary power and radiance, but also for her relentless efforts in uncovering the richness of traditional Serbian and Balkan music for audiences and academia alike; Marina Džukljev, a pianist of extraordinary technique who combines virtuosity with bold and uncompromising sound explorations; and the exceptional violinist and vocalist Tijana Stanković. BURA is a tribute to the shared, often unconscious or repressed narratives and codes that form the cultural fabric of Central and Eastern Europe on a fundamental, somehow archaic level.
Concert will be held with support of the Embassy of Polish in Belgrade.
Raphael Roginski is a guitarist, composer, improviser, and researcher of musical folklore. Educated in jazz and classical music, he later expanded his studies to include musicology and ethnomusicology, shaping his distinctive compositional and performance style. Closely associated with Jewish culture, he explores its forgotten traditions through projects like Cukunft and Shofar.
His musical work spans Turkish, Bedouin, African, Georgian, Persian, and Armenian traditions, collaborating with musicians from these regions. He is also deeply influenced by classic blues guitarists and vintage instruments, evident in his projects Wovoka and Shy Albatross. Roginski’s passion for regional folklore led him to work with legendary artists such as Genowefa Lenarcik and the Polska Roma musicians, founding the band Drom.
He explores early music in projects like Bach Bleach and Plays Henry Purcell, merging classical and contemporary sounds. Roginski actively contributes to the new jazz scene and has created music for documentaries, theater performances, and animated films.
Currently, he leads or co-leads projects such as Shofar, Hizbut Jamm, Żywizna, Elik (with Svitlana Nianio), and solo guitar concerts. He has collaborated with international artists including Jim White, Tim Sparks, Joe McPhee, and Hania Rani.
His album Raphael Roginski plays John Coltrane and Langston Hughes African Mystic Music (2015) received critical acclaim, including a high ranking in The Wire magazine. Recent works include the solo album Talán (2023) and Žaltys (2024), both exploring Eastern European musical heritage through a contemporary lens, involving collaborations with musicians from Georgia, Serbia, Armenia, and Ukraine.
Svetlana Spajić (born 1971, Loznica) is a Serbian traditional singer, educator, and cultural activist. Since 1993, she has been dedicated to preserving and nurturing Serbian traditional culture, learning directly from the oldest generations of traditional singers through extensive fieldwork. In addition to performing Serbian folk music, she is also known for her collaborations with international artists such as Marina Abramović and Robert Wilson. She has performed with groups like Paganke, Moba, Drina, New Ritual Group, Žegar živi, Svetlana Spajić’s Singing Company, among others.
She has collaborated with musicians and composers across traditional and contemporary music scenes, including Yanka Rupkina, Stella Chiweshe, Domna Samiou, Sainkho Namtchylak, Boris Kovač, William Basinski, Reinhold Friedl and the European ensemble Zeitkratzer, Urs Leimgruber, and others. She has performed at prestigious concert halls, festivals, and institutions such as WOMAD, WOMEX, Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Konzerthaus (Vienna), MoMA Museum (New York), and many others.
Svetlana regularly holds workshops and lectures on traditional culture and Serbian traditional singing both in Serbia and abroad. She collaborates regularly with the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and, since 2011, with the Kreiz Breizh Academy in Brittany. In 2024, she was awarded the Heritage Heroes prize by Europa Nostra Serbia for her exceptional contribution to the preservation and promotion of Serbian folk heritage.