The 45th Evenings on Grič bring a summer series of classical concerts to the atrium of Klovićevi Dvori
Evenings on Grič, one of Zagreb's most recognizable summer music programs, will in its 45th edition once again connect classical music with the atmosphere of the Upper Town. According to the program announcement, the festival concerts will be held in July in the atrium of the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, a space that over the past decades has become one of the landmark venues of Zagreb's cultural summer. In its event announcement, the Zagreb Tourist Board lists the period from July 6 to July 22, 2026, while the announced concert schedule highlights a series of performances from July 8 to July 22. At the center of this year's edition will be performances by Croatian and international musicians, from specialists in historically informed interpretation to string and vocal repertoire. For visitors who come to Zagreb specifically because of the concerts, accommodation offers in Zagreb may also be useful, especially near the Upper Town and the city center.
The festival is publicly recognized as a long-running cycle traditionally held after the end of regular concert seasons, when music programs move from closed halls into the city's open and semi-open spaces. This format gives Evenings on Grič a special atmosphere because the concert repertoire is performed in the immediate vicinity of historic city locations and cultural institutions. According to the Zagreb Tourist Board announcement, the venue of the 45th edition is the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, and the organizers and tourist services note that changes to dates, program, prices or performers are possible. This is important because, with summer outdoor programs, the schedule is sometimes adjusted to weather and technical circumstances. Nevertheless, the announced list of performers shows that the festival, in its new edition as well, nurtures a combination of international visibility and the domestic music scene.
Opening with the Croatian Baroque Ensemble and Zefira Valova
The first concert has been announced for July 8, when the Croatian Baroque Ensemble and Bulgarian violinist Zefira Valova are expected to perform as part of Evenings on Grič. On its official website, the Croatian Baroque Ensemble states that it is the most significant Croatian ensemble specialized in historically informed interpretation of music from the Baroque period and related eras, using original instruments and faithful replicas of them. Such an approach is especially important for audiences who want to hear Baroque and early Classical repertoire in a sound and stylistic logic close to the time of its creation. According to its own information, the ensemble was founded in 1999 and over the years has developed collaborations with Croatian and international soloists, conductors and early music specialists. In the context of Evenings on Grič, its performance fits into the festival tradition of presenting top-level interpretations in a space that encourages a more chamber-like and direct relationship between performers and audience.
In international biographies, Zefira Valova is described as a Bulgarian violinist specialized in early music, with experience in solo, chamber and concertmaster performances. Sofia Opera and Ballet states that Valova is one of the prominent specialists in early music and that she studied in Sofia and Amsterdam, while the Sofia Philharmonic highlights her work with Baroque repertoire and historical instruments. According to information from the Sofia Philharmonic, since 2006 the artist has been the artistic director of the Sofia Baroque Arts Festival, and since 2015 she has been concertmaster of the ensemble il Pomo d’Oro. Her arrival in Zagreb is therefore important for audiences who follow the European scene of historically informed performance. In combination with the Croatian Baroque Ensemble, the festival opening announces a program in which interpretive precision is connected with the exploration of musical practice from the 17th and 18th centuries.
The String Quintet of the Berliner Philharmoniker and young cellist Ziyang Zhao
The second highlighted date in the program is July 13, when a performance by the String Quintet of the Berliner Philharmoniker with cello soloist Ziyang Zhao has been announced. On its official pages, Berliner Philharmoniker states that the Philharmonisches Streichquintett is distinctive in its instrumentation because, unlike the usual string quintets with an additional viola or second cello, it includes a double bass, meaning that all string sections of the orchestra are represented in the ensemble. Such a lineup gives the ensemble a broader tonal range and a different balance of colors, which is especially interesting in repertoire that requires both chamber precision and orchestral fullness of sound. The performance by musicians connected with the Berliner Philharmoniker in the atrium of Klovićevi Dvori is therefore one of the most internationally resonant moments of this year's program. For the Zagreb festival, such performances confirm the ambition that the summer program should not be only a local cultural event, but also part of a broader European concert map.
Ziyang Zhao, announced as the cello soloist, belongs to a younger generation of musicians that has already attracted the attention of international competitions and music institutions. Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben states that Zhao was born in 2008, that he began his musical education in 2017 and that since 2024 he has been studying at Universität der Künste Berlin with Professor Danjulo Ishizaka. According to information from international competitions, he has performed repertoire that includes Ligeti, Elgar, Paganini and Popper, which points to a technically demanding and stylistically diverse musical profile. His participation in the Evenings on Grič program brings a generational contrast between an established string ensemble and a young soloist who is only beginning to position himself on the European scene. It is precisely such combinations that often give festival concerts additional value because they present audiences with both established performers and new artistic names.
A vocal evening with Covent Garden Chorus
The program continues on July 15 with a performance by Covent Garden Chorus at Klovićevi Dvori. According to the ensemble's official information, it is a choir based in central London, founded in September 2019, bringing together singers with previous musical experience and the ambition to work at a high performance level. Covent Garden Chorus states that it performs various formats, from larger choral programs to smaller vocal ensembles, which makes it a flexible ensemble for different concert venues. In the festival context, such a performance opens space for vocal repertoire that differs from the instrumental evenings and expands the program range of this year's edition. Vocal music in the atrium of a historic gallery can be particularly expressive because of the spatial closeness of performers and audience, although the final impression will depend on the selected repertoire and the acoustic conditions of the evening itself.
The arrival of the London choir in Zagreb is also important because Evenings on Grič thereby confirm the international character of the program. The festival builds its recognizability not only on major names of the classical scene, but also on the diversity of ensembles, performance practices and repertoire. The same series includes a Baroque ensemble, a string quintet, a piano recital and vocal performances, which allows the audience to follow the festival as a rounded musical whole. For visitors planning several festival evenings, it is useful to follow official announcements because program details may be supplemented as July approaches. In the case of arrival from outside Zagreb, accommodation close to the event venue can make it easier to plan evening trips to the Upper Town.
Aljoša Jurinić brings a piano recital in the festival finale
Croatian pianist Aljoša Jurinić has been announced for July 21, the penultimate evening of this year's edition. According to his official biography, Jurinić is the winner of the Robert Schumann International Piano Competition in Zwickau in 2012, a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2016 and the Leeds International Piano Competition in 2018, and he was also a finalist of the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2015. These facts confirm his position among the most prominent Croatian pianists with an international career. His performance at Evenings on Grič is especially important for the domestic part of the program because it brings the audience a solo evening by a performer who built his career through the most demanding piano competitions and appearances on international stages. A piano recital in a more intimate festival space can offer a different experience from performances in large halls, with greater concentration on nuances of phrasing and the immediacy of performance.
Jurinić's performance fits into the festival line that does not separate domestic and international performers, but places them within the same program framework. Such an approach allows the audience to hear Croatian musicians in the context of European and global performers, without separation by national criterion or festival hierarchy. It is also an important reminder that Zagreb, especially during the summer, can be a concert destination for programs that are not tied to large halls or mass music events. Evenings on Grič find their balance precisely in that measure between representativeness and chamber intimacy. The festival does not aim for spectacle, but for musical quality, a program with a clear identity and an atmosphere that additionally shapes the listening experience.
Voces8 closes the announced concert series
The day after Jurinić's recital, on July 22, a performance by the British vocal ensemble Voces8 has been announced. The ensemble's official website describes Voces8 as a Grammy-nominated British vocal group that performs globally with a diverse repertoire in a cappella programs and collaborations with orchestras, conductors and soloists. The ensemble is known for its wide range, from Renaissance and sacred music to contemporary works, jazz and popular arrangements, with an emphasis on the precision of vocal technique and the clarity of ensemble sound. Their performance at the close of Evenings on Grič brings a program highlight for audiences who follow vocal music and contemporary approaches to the classical concert format. Since Voces8 also works through educational and publishing programs connected with the VOCES8 Foundation, their work goes beyond concert activity itself and includes the spread of vocal culture to new audiences.
The closing concert with Voces8 rounds off the festival schedule in which different types of musical experience alternate. After the Baroque opening, the string evening, the choral performance and the piano recital, the British ensemble brings a final emphasis on vocal precision and breadth of repertoire. Such program dramaturgy can attract lovers of early music, listeners of chamber music, followers of piano recitals and those interested in the contemporary vocal scene. It also shows that the festival rests not only on tradition, but also on the constant renewal of the program through internationally recognized performers. For a visit to the closing concerts, it is advisable to check the schedule, tickets and any possible changes on official channels in good time.
The Upper Town as an important part of the festival identity
The atmosphere of the Upper Town is an important part of the identity of Evenings on Grič, and the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery has a dual role in this regard: it is both a cultural institution and the stage of a summer music program. The Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia states that the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery is located in the complex of the former Jesuit monastery at Jezuitski trg 4, within a protected cultural property and the historic urban ensemble of the City of Zagreb. The gallery itself emphasizes that it is one of the most important cultural institutions in Croatia, with a program from prehistory to the present day. Such a context gives the festival added value because the concerts are not separated from the cultural topography of the city, but are held in a space that already carries strong museum, historical and urban meaning. The audience therefore does not come only to a concert, but also to one of Zagreb's most recognizable cultural settings.
The Upper Town area also contributes to the festival experience because Klovićevi Dvori is reached through the historic core, near important Zagreb locations such as the Lotrščak Tower, Strossmayer Promenade and the Church of St. Catherine. For summer evening programs, such a location has a special appeal, but at the same time requires good planning of arrival because of limited traffic and the specific features of the old town zone. Since this is an event that can also attract audiences from outside the city, it is natural to plan arrival, return and accommodation for visitors to concerts in the Upper Town in advance. This avoids rushing immediately before the start of the program and enables a calmer experience of the concert evening.
A festival that preserves the continuity of Zagreb's cultural summer
For more than four decades, Evenings on Grič have occupied a special place in Zagreb's cultural calendar because they are held during the period when some regular seasons close and the city's cultural life shifts into a summer rhythm. Earlier editions of the festival, according to available program announcements, also gathered Croatian and foreign musicians at Klovićevi Dvori, and some music portals pointed out that the gallery atrium has been a space connected with the festival since its beginnings in 1982. In the 45th edition, that continuity remains visible through the choice of location, the emphasis on quality performances and the focus on an audience seeking a concentrated concert experience. Evenings on Grič thus maintain the profile of a festival that relies on performance quality, tradition and a recognizable urban space.
This year's edition can therefore also be read as a continuation of a cultural practice that connects heritage, tourism and contemporary concert production. The program with the Croatian Baroque Ensemble and Zefira Valova, the String Quintet of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Covent Garden Chorus, Aljoša Jurinić and the ensemble Voces8 shows that the festival counts on a diverse audience, but does not give up a clearly defined artistic level. According to available information, the finale of the program is scheduled for July 22, and by then the audience should be able to hear a series of concerts in which instrumental, choral, solo and vocal-ensemble music alternate. As the festival date approaches, the most important thing will be to follow official notices about program additions, schedule, ticket sales and possible changes. Until then, it is clear that the 45th Evenings on Grič continue the tradition of summer concerts that give Zagreb a recognizable classical-music rhythm in the historic city core.
Sources:
- Zagreb Tourist Board / Infozagreb – event announcement for the 45th Evenings on Grič, dates and festival location (link)
- Croatian Baroque Ensemble – official description of the ensemble, specialization and history of activity (link)
- Sofia Opera and Ballet – biographical information on violinist Zefira Valova (link)
- Sofia Philharmonic – additional information on Zefira Valova's work and recognitions (link)
- Berliner Philharmoniker – official description of the Philharmonisches Streichquintett and its instrumentation (link)
- Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben – biographical and educational information on cellist Ziyang Zhao (link)
- Covent Garden Chorus – official description of the London choir and its activity (link)
- Aljoša Jurinić – official biography of the pianist and overview of international achievements (link)
- VOCES8 – official description of the British vocal ensemble and its international activity (link)
- Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia – information on the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery as a protected cultural property (link)