Petar Obradović says he believes in work. It might be more accurate to say that he does not believe in waiting for inspiration, but in regular composition, in the idea of getting to work and “immersing in music” daily. When he begins composing, he doesn’t proceed blindly, but instead, he dedicates a lot of time to thinking about who he is writing for, why he is writing, and when. He even considers where his composition will be performed, imagining the audience listening. The original space is not as important for the sound carrier and “mediated” recording. However, it still has an impact on the author’s initial shaping of the composition. What he considers very important is the fact that everything he has written so far has been performed and recorded, rather than letting his work sit in drawers.
Obradović composes “from the inside”: as an active trumpet player and member of the Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra with thirty years of experience, he has learned and continues to learn about composing from practice. This includes understanding the orchestral sound, how different instruments work together, insights from world music literature, and regularly testing ideas that might be convenient “on paper” but cannot be played in reality. Out of respect for practice and his fellow musicians, Obradović regularly checks if all the parts can be played and if they make sense. He asks colleagues to play through them and tell him what they would change. He values their honesty and learns from their feedback.
(Dina Puhovski, from CD book)
Croatian Composers’ Society, Cantus Ltd, 2024.
9824507342
