Đuro Živković

Paul Valery's poem of the same name inspired Živković for the piece commissioned and dedicated to famous mezzo-soprano Anna Larsson and chamber ensemble Sonanza, who gave its premiere. The piece is recorded on the label "Phono Suecia" among other pieces by Swedish composers, and won the Swedish Grammy Award as the best classical CD of year 2009.

On the Guarding of the Heart was commissioned by and dedicated to Das Klangforum Wien. The premiere was led by British conductor Clement Power. The piece represents Živković's highest achievement in his compositional technique, complexity and musical accessibility. He was awarded the 2014 Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition for the work.[3]

Živković offers a Utopia of new stability and order that, within the social chaos, can be found only in society’s ‘antipode’: the individual. However, the ‘information’ about their own depths to which they allegedly descend is conveyed to the individuals through a work of art, a phenomenon whose ontological and phenomenological foundation relies on institutional support and social engagement – in other words, it stems from the place it occupies in a society’s production structure. Also, the knowledge of ‘the depths of the heart’ comes from a composer who mastered the technique, and is not likely to use all of those fantasies to snap the audience out of their lethargy and confront them with the current problems. On the contrary, by eliminating uncertainty he induces us to ‘descend’ somewhere where ‘eternity’ overpowers current problems, and that place he calls ‘the heart’ of ‘the spiritual.’ Živković, therefore, as a creator, builds the image of a guardian of tradition who, thanks to his technical skills, transcends national boundaries, proving the ‘propriety’ and ‘extra-temporality’ of his construction of Serbian heritage, which, if adequately mediated, will demonstrate its value by closeness to universal ‘truths’.[4]

Commissioned and dedicated to Carina Vinke (mezzo-soprano), New European Ensemble (the Netherlands) and Christian Karlsen (conductor). The piece earned the Mokranjac Award 2012. The Award Committee writes the following:

"Ascetic Discourse," a cantata for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble, is a generously designed and substantially diverse music that is characterized by multidirectional communication, both with the modern trends, as well as the ancient, traditional sources of inspiration and musical thought. The text of father Philimon taken from the old Byzantine collection of spiritual texts "Philokalia" has profoundly defined his colorful, delicate, innovative and emotionally-experienced music. Djuro Zivkovic sovereignly rules with the modern compositional and musical techniques, which stand deep in the function of his artistic individuality that possesses a finished aesthetic style. "Ascetic Discourse" is a work of music that establishes a step forward into new and authentic Serbian and European contemporary music.[5]

• Performing Rights Society, Sweden
• Arts Grants Committee, Sweden
• Irino Institute, Japan
• The Royal Academy of Music, Sweden
• A five-years composing grant (2014–18) by Konstnärsnämnden, Sweden