IN THE “SERBIAN ATHENS” ON SHAKESPEARE DAY 2026
“Crossing” is the most powerful principle of the universe, Laza Kostić believed.
That very principle defined the concert Matica, Laza and Music, held on April 23, 2026, at Matica srpska, on Shakespeare Day.
It was a true firework of musical colours—
a crossing worthy of Dr Laza Kostić, just as announced.
As part of the Matica srpska Music Evenings, and marking the 200th anniversary of Matica srpska, the 185th anniversary of Laza Kostić’s birth, and the 35th anniversary of the Foundation bearing his name, this concert became a remarkable artistic synthesis—true to Kostić’s principle of chiasmus.
The entire programme echoed what Laza Kostić and his close friend Dr Jovan Andrejević Joles wove into the cultural fabric of Novi Sad—then and now known as the Serbian Athens—back in 1864.
Through an innovative fusion of music and poetry, Marina Milić Radović paired Franz Schubert’s final piano sonata with Kostić’s interpretation of William Shakespeare—including the misunderstandings and tensions he once faced in his own city.
An even more delicate crossing unfolded in Dance No. 1 by Vasilije Mokranjac, where Serbian musical idioms intertwined with Kostić’s fascination for archaic language.
Dance No. 2 incorporated Matija Bećković’s The Riddle of Laza Kostić.
Shakespeare’s beloved Greensleeves became the musical foundation for a procession of characters—blending visual art, movement, and performance. In this unique parade, Laza’s Ambassadors delivered a living lesson in cultural history.
This time, the children became the teachers—guiding the audience through the story of how Shakespeare found a home in Serbian culture.
Sixteen young participants, from diverse backgrounds, performed as a unified ensemble, presenting visual, theatrical, and musical works created especially for the occasion.
LAZA’S AMBASSADORS, COMPETITION WINNERS AND ADEM MEHMEDOVIĆ — IN A CREATIVE CROSSING
Held on Shakespeare’s birthday—the day when visitors gather in Stratford-upon-Avon to watch the Swan Parade—this celebration was, in essence, a Parade of Laza’s Ambassadors.
It also recalled a symbolic gesture by Dr Zoran Maksimović, Secretary of the Department for Performing Arts and Music at Matica srpska, who presented a poster of Richard III—the first staged Shakespeare play in the Balkans—to Shakespeare’s Globe during the Cultural Olympiad in London in 2012.
The Parade also featured a model of the Globe Theatre bearing a golden plaque with Laza Kostić’s name—an enduring tribute to the man who spent half a century introducing Shakespeare to Serbian culture. Though he never visited London, his name has been embedded in the Globe since 2001—a recognition initiated by the Laza Kostić Foundation.
The audience was particularly captivated by the exceptional pianist, composer, and arranger Adem Mehmedović—a senior Ambassador—whose artistry matched his warmth. Currently pursuing doctoral studies at Jam Music Lab University, he is developing a research project that may earn him the title of the first “Doctor of Sevdalinka.”
Through original arrangements of Serbian, Armenian, and sevdalinka songs, Mehmedović offered the audience an unforgettable experience—demonstrating how cultural heritage can live on through contemporary performance.
The evening concluded with a heartfelt moment, as Adem and the young Ambassadors performed Amira Medunjanin’s song Pjevat ćemo šta nam srce zna, celebrating a shared love for music.
It is well known that in his youth, Laza Kostić’s closest friend was the physician Dr Jovan Andrejević Joles, with whom he translated Richard III and staged it in Novi Sad in that remarkable year, 1864. This fact served as a golden thread running throughout the entire evening.
That intersection of medicine and art in Kostić’s life and work was powerful, fruitful, and invaluable. It extends to the present day and continues to live on through the work of the Foundation bearing his name, particularly through the collaboration of the Laza Kostić Foundation with the Society of Physicians of Vojvodina of the Serbian Medical Society, thanks to Prof. Dr Dragan Dankuc, who has also documented this intersection in a book.
A NOBLE INITIATIVE
Inspired by Laza Kostić’s lifelong dedication to the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of young people, the evening also carried a humanitarian dimension.
Following this spirit, the Laza Kostić Foundation organised a fundraising initiative to support piano lessons for children from the Children’s Village in Sremska Kamenica, particularly those with exceptional talent and those facing learning challenges—recognising the piano’s rehabilitative value.
A total of 50,300 RSD and €80 was raised. Starting June 1, piano lessons—held on a restored Blüthner grand piano—will enrich the children’s summer.
The Foundation’s mission of “crossing” continues:
In September, the winners of the Laza & Will and the Bee competition will travel to London and Stratford, symbolically connecting Laza Kostić and Shakespeare—continuing the dialogue between cultures.
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For all friends of the Laza Kostić Foundation (from Serbia and abroad) who have been inquiring about how to make a donation for piano lessons, our details are as follows:
The Laza Kostić Fund
7 Miloša Bajića Street
21000 Novi Sad
RSD Account: 220-111697-39
Foreign Currency Account: 220-1530500000190-66
Photo: Branko Lučić, Milana Milovanov