In an interview for Nezavisne Novine, composer Svjetlana Bukvich talks about her work on the Panta Rhea ballet produced by the Sarajevo National Theater, cultural opportunities in BiH and America, as well as current and future musical projects of Svjetlana Bukvich, one of the most famous and certainly the most awarded BH artists. The artist who secured a place at the very top of American musical art with her compositional talent recently showed her skills in the new ballet triptych "Panta Rhei," which will premiere on the stage of the National Theater in Sarajevo on March 30. Her native Sarajevo and the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Audiences have always eagerly embraced Svjetlana's talent, and since 2008 she has been regularly and happily accepting projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus creating on two continents. There are almost no descriptive words for her works and brilliant career, and as she said in an exclusive interview for "Nezavisne," the turning point in her life happened quite early when the composer and professor Josip Magdić and Goran Bregović told her that she had to go out if he wants to succeed with his music. From that moment on, her career only went on an upward trajectory; her talent opened doors wherever she appeared, and she did not give up on her home country and audience. In an interview for our media, Bukvicheva talks about the process of creating the current project, reveals the advice that influenced her and her place of inspiration, talks about the album she released during the pandemic, the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the scene, and the plans to which he will devote himself in the future. NN: The ballet performance "Panta Rhei" is about today's man's search for the primordial values of life and the attempt to find his happiness, and you have given your composer's stamp to this performance. Can you tell us something more about that process, what inspired you, and how demanding it was to fit all the segments into one final and perfect whole? BUKWICH: When the National Theater in Sarajevo expressed a desire to collaborate, I was surprised and intrigued. The world is recovering from the virus, new productions are just around the corner, and a big premiere is being prepared in Sarajevo. Choreographer Belma Čečo Bakrač, who directs and choreographs this piece and whom I know through my earlier guest appearances in Sarajevo with companies for contemporary movement, instantly inspired me with her idea and theme of the production. The idea of the "flow" of life in the meta-media societies in which we live, the hybridity of artistic genres, the perception of the presence of ever-faster development of technology, and especially of artificial intelligence that attracts and repels us at the same time, and the questioning of goals whose achievement in one moment may seem like happiness and in another, spiritual and physical ruin—these are all considerations that I have had in my work for years, so the preliminary discussions and the cooperation itself took place astonishingly quickly. I composed and produced those 30 minutes of music in one breath, it seems to me, in less than a month. In addition, I followed Belma's work and the work of other collaborators and remained bouche bée. Their dedication, creativity, and professionalism are commendable. We worked in synchronicity, and there were not too many additions and subtractions. Things simply fell into place, like a house being built where everyone agreed. The challenge was that the music budget dictated that my piece of music be partially originally composed for the show and partially chosen by the choreographer from my music that she had, say, heard on the Internet or suggested to her by me. Ideologically and frequently, everything had to be arranged, and it had to be in an inextricable connection with the movement and the narrative. I think we succeeded, even with the six-hour time difference between us! NN: You left your native Sarajevo more than two decades ago, and in this city, you performed professionally for the first time in 2008. How much does it mean to you that you are returning to the scene once again, with a project like this, before BiH? audience? What reactions do you expect and how would you describe our audience? BUKWICH: Thank you for this question. Since 2008, I have been coming as much as the opportunities allowed and as many opportunities for cooperation. I am always of the opinion that the homeland should be enriched with new knowledge and experiences. I realized some of the projects myself, and some through the "Sarajevo Winter" festival, through the University of Sarajevo (UNSA), and through the Bosnian-Herzegovinian-American Academy of Sciences and Arts (BHAAAS), with which I will also be present this summer concerning projects with the Sarajevo Philharmonic, the Museum of Literature, and the BiH Art Gallery. What makes me happy is that I see changes in the sense that the audience expects more and better today than 20 years ago and is open to artists both from the diaspora and the world, as well as to the rise and rise of local talent, and what remains the same is that our creative world seems to like to leave everything to the last minute, and that reflects on the audience as well. This is because, I think, he trusts and believes in his abilities and because there is often no one else to take care of things, and he works miracles where few artists could do anything at all. But as good as it is in terms of self-preservation, carving a craft, and developing self-awareness, it is just as bad because the public often finds out about projects relatively late, so the mentality that culture and art are not things worth long-term planning and advertising is prologized. That "late ignition" also prevents foreign collaborators from planning and fitting BiH into their trajectories. Nevertheless, I expect good attendance and predict a good time for the audience. Subconsciously, I think that the whole society is ready for a cry at the moment and that this play will give many people a break. NN: In addition to you, prominent composers Ludovico Einaudi and Toni Toplan also contributed to this play. When you create new music, what are you particularly focused on and what emotion do you want to evoke in the audience? What is it that you want to achieve and is music the driving force behind everything? BUKWICH: I am very glad to be in the company of such good artists. In my world, music is the driving force behind everything. When I work, context is everything. I focus on the sound, on something that intuitively introduces me to the given context. If I know what I feel and what I think about while creating, and if it is crystal clear to me which postulates I introduce and why, then the audience also feels that they are guided by a firm and empathetic hand and will have emotions. Sometimes they will not be a direct overflow from my internal narrative/system as I intended and in the intellectual-historical interpretation, and that's OK. But the direct encounter with sound has no way to be described in words. At that moment, we are already talking about the past. Then I alternately put myself in all the other roles that today's composer needs to survive in the new ecosystems: sound engineer, producer, publicist, manager, agent, lawyer, creator in virtual reality, musician, singer, media expert... the list is long. NN: You are one of the few BiH. an artist who lives and creates in the USA, and is still fond of her home country, and through her work she combines the sounds of both environments. How would you describe our music scene and how much is this kind of art valued in our country? BUKWICH: I would like there to be more BiH artists in the USA because that way we would have more chances to present the uniqueness of the climate we come from and put it in a dialogue for the common good. On the other hand, BH, the music scene is small but teeming with talent. We need schools for exceptionally talented children and get them used to the fact that it is acceptable for someone to stand out and that they should therefore be nurtured in an artistic sense. Again, I return to the topic of long-term planning. Artists—here I mean artists from all walks of life—build audiences, audiences build culture, and culture builds society. A society without art has no identity, so it is of superior importance to suppress reactionary tendencies toward the destruction of spiritual enrichment. This is what our play "Panta Rhei" talks about in a certain way: about freedom, kinetic and spiritual, about freedom to choose, to love. There is also something in that old song of ours, "Let anyone kiss whomever they want." NN: You are the winner of the most prestigious music awards, critics are delighted with your works, and your career is brilliant together with the numerous novelties that you have presented to world music. How much do these recognitions mean to you and what would you single out as a turning point or something most significant in your career? BUKWICH: Hmm, thanks for these words, but I consider myself a person who is always learning and doesn't get lulled by accolades. The vitality of thought is similar to a muscle that we develop through exercise and unfamiliar activity. The most important thing in my career is that I realized that I can sometimes be in the company of great and ego-free people, enjoy my work and still unfulfilled dreams and ideas, and have a balance between extremes that are often part of the intense career of passionate people. Family happiness and love are woven into such a relationship to professional life, and I think that women especially should be courageous but also patient if they are active and recognized in their work. Things sometimes happen more slowly for them because of the family. There, the balance again. The turning point happened quite early when the composer and my professors Josip Magdić and Goran Bregović told me that I had to go outside if I wanted to succeed with my music, then the composition "Before and After the Tekke" ("Before and After the Tekke"), which opened my many doors, a collaboration with the great bass player Tony Levin, and much more. New York is a turning point every day—that is, an inspiring place where I know that tomorrow I can walk to meet the answer to my most luxurious artistic idea. And then everything turns around. NN: You worked on your last album "Extension" for three years, and you released it in 2020. You said that the music is vocally oriented, and the instrumentation intertwines between electronic sound, electric violin, electric harp, electric guitar, bass guitar, and piano. How was this album different from your previous work and how satisfied are you with how it was received? "Her new material gives people hope in a difficult period," said American critics at the time. BUKWICH: "Extension" was issued in March 2020, when the pandemic spread and everything stopped. I couldn't support the performance with live concerts, and it all came down to internet activity. Still, the album sold very well for an avant-garde type of work like mine and moved my career forward significantly. This album was the result of my collaboration with American choreographers Janis Brenner, Carolyn Dorfman, and Jeanette Stoner. Trauma stored in the body can be identified and released through movement. That's how the pandemic immobility turned into a thirst for hope about the freedom to organize space and the emotions that go with it. This album, I think, provided that at that moment, although I did not make it with knowledge of a possible pandemic. It features extraordinary singers and musicians and is completely hybrid in terms of genre, i.e., he doesn't respect the boundaries of genre definition, and that probably contributed to the fact that the audience, locked in their boxes (apartment and monitor), wants to listen to him. NN: What are your plans, what will you dedicate yourself to and what can the audience expect from you in the coming period? BUKWICH: I am currently working on several projects: a solo piano album with electronic sound, then the completion of a trilogy for symphony orchestra, a virtual reality prototype for one of my works, and somewhere in the future there is an ambient album with electric guitars and electronic sound, and a piece for voice and Ovox. (https://www.nezavisne.com/)
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