IVAN SKRT (1981) studied piano at the renowned Conservatory of P. I. Tchaikovsky in Moscow.
After receiving a degree in 2007 he went on to study at the Ecole Normale in Paris.
He won numerous first prizes and frequently received all points in competitions on state and international level but eventually he turned away from them,
believing that the seeds of music are destined for a different soil, and the boom and fruits of music that a musician cultivates displaying such care,
empathy and deep respect offer an opportunity for observation and enhancing the awareness of life in general.
Recently Ivan Skrt’s performance was perfectly characterized with the following words:
»His pianism is an image of his resolute thought of freedom and his magnificent
and subtle interpretations are the reflection of his original search for the philosophical meaning of ‘living pianism’.
Only when one becomes One with it all the paths to hearts of listeners and to their trust are opened.
Skrt’s musical narratives convince his audience because he unfolds the enticing beauty of his perfect unity with piano keys that under his fingers offer gentle
and intimate adventure of mind and heart.« T.Gregorič
He himself believes every musician should be a messenger of life and so the inner form of each of his concerts that consists of fine selection of compositions
with elaborate interpretations, is actually a small image of life,
offering an opportunity to enliven and sharpen the senses that are susceptible of recognising music as the bearer of perfect order, beauty and depth.
The true meaning of theat words may be seen and heard in his new double CD and book »BLACK AND WHITE«, relesed in summer 2015.
in September 2015 - after three sold-out concerts, long and thunderous ovations and enthusiastic critical reviews,
the Slovenian pianist Ivan Skrt ended his first concert tour in South America
Skrt’s new concert programme named “TRIO” attracted the Argentinian and Uruguayan music critics’ attention thanks either to his “unique symmetry”
and pretentiousness or thanks to the very first performance of a Slovenian composer Marij Kogoj’s works,
which are “extremely interesting due to their mixture of aggressiveness, pain and mystery at the same time.”
He also earned a long tumultuous applause for the performance of two extra pieces, one being Minute Waltz by Frederick Chopin, transcripted by Leopold Godowsky,
and the other being his own improvisation of Mojca’s Song from a Slovenian adventurous film Kekec.
“Skrt’s dominant artistic feature is his absolute precision. This neat and slender sound construction,
with which the pianist freely and brilliantly performs musical works, originates in his clarity of mind as well as from his exceptional musicality,
based on a perfect technique, which are distinguished by his reliability and purity,”
claims the chief music critic Julio Cesar Huertas in the daily Uruguayan newspaper El País where at the same time he praises
“the Slovenian pianist’s exceptional sensibility.”
On the other hand, the Uruguayan weekly paper Busqueda that published an exclusive interview with Skrt also praised the artist’s
“absolute technical mastery, musical intuition and interpretative freedom” which along with good taste “merges with the composition and forms a perfection,
which is attentively listened by the audience with a feeling that they are not only witnessing something excellent and different,
but also something that is being created in that very moment, something unique,
untransferable and non-recurring – just like something that is being palyed during an outstanding jazz performance.
(…) In order to get such a feeling, what is needed (…) is an open-minded audience, flexible enough so as to get a reception of a different discourse.
And this is exactly how it was – the entire ground floor listened eagerly to his music as if they were attending a mass.” Rodolfo Ponce de León
The Argentinian daily newspaper El Día published an article, entitled “From Slovenia to La Plata,” describing Skrt’s concert as
“a unique gala performance of musical masterpieces,” played with a sophisticated and powerful technique.”
A music critic Jonathan Spencer Jones also wrote about this distinctive pianist’s way of playing, which is described as something
“from a sublime and extraordinary light pianist’s touch to such a power that embodies the image of Beethoven’s broken piano.”
Ivan’s musical seeds - which are common to everyone, abundantly flourished also in March 2014 at the Salle Gaveau Hall in Paris
which ranks among the most prestigious concert halls.
“The rich and comprehensive programme completely filled the air of the full Parisian concert hall where pure aquatic peacefulness was flowing,
fiery joyfulness was sparkling, and the captivated audience was also offered a primary touch of heavy robust musical soil.”
The meaning of the this programme, which is recorded on the new double CD – »BLACK AND WHITE«,
is best described by Ivan Skrt in his own words before the concert in Paris:
»The task of man is to wish and dare to look behind the mysterious black and white curtain of life.
The task of the artist is to sing his colorful song from there.
The task of the concert - with the thoughtful program selection,
is to explode in whiteness and sink in blackness,
with a humble desire to offer a fine seed of awareness that actually both is one.
Just as it is for the music to emerge from both black and white piano keys at the same time.«
In the latest seasons, Ivan Skrt performed as a soloist with the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra,
and with the Slovenian Philharmonic.
In August 2011, upon Franz Liszt’s birth bicentenary, he performed at the Ljubljana Festival with a programme of Liszt’s music
His programme comprises the most demanding and most complex works in musical literature and
»by choosing the programme, he proves to be without any technical limitations and that gives him a complete freedom in articulating his own communication.«
In summer 2009, Ivan Skrt established the artistic event named “Sonatas on the Soča”, in an intimate athmosphere in his hometown Kanal ob Soči,
giving a piano recital on the grand piano, floating on a raft on the Soča river, to an audience of 2500 listeners;
his carefully chosen programme (three grand sonatas)
The concerts of Ivan Skrt aim to sow pure and healthy musical seeds into our common, infinite soil.
With music by composers from Russia and France Ivan Skrt wished to offer the audience the experience of the duality of the two artistic systems that contributed to his musical and personal growth. He also tried to take the audience on a boundless journey of light, from brightness to darkness and back again.
»As an artistically confident and quite fascinating pianist he knew how to attract the attention of the audience in the great Gallus Hall. He certainly stands out of the Slovenian piano scene, showing great confidence in his vision and passionate devotion to the Sound. The piano is, without exaggeration Skrt’s sounding fantasy, that is literally supported by his technical skills.«
»Few artists have the opportunity (or better the power) to present music from their most inner depths, and touch the audience so deeply to leave the last note in the meditative delight echoing. The travel through light and shadows extended from sweet, innocent to the creepy, even demonic. He is a subtle artist offering each time a new musical adventure.«
I call you to life, oh mysterious forces!
Drowned in the obscure depths,
Of the creative spirit, timid
Shadows of life, to you I bring audacity!
A. N. Scriabin: Epigraph from Sonate no.5
In homage to Franz Liszt’s birth bicentenary, Ivan Skrt gave a performance at the Ljubljana Festival in August 2011
with a programme of Liszt’s music comprising not only his original works, but also his arrangements and transcriptions thereof.
Music was "drawing" Life and not only from the silence of the womb and chaotic birth to playful, carefree childhood and flirtatious, enamoured youth but also with the view ahead, from the first dreadful notions of death, to the »knocking on the gate of Fate« from the genuine fear of disappearing into the darkness to the complete surrender, transcendence and at the end to the very essence itself – the merging into the light and silence.
»Characteristic of Skrt’s interpretation are impressive virtuoso pianissimo passages, sophisticated and crystal clarity of high and quiet tones; he has deep feeling for shading and coloring, especially in the subtle character pieces. He has an individual interpretative style, with unique characteristics and gestures. With sound and visual performance as a whole he manages to stimulate the listeners’ ongoing reflection.«
From a raft on the beautiful emerald river Soča in front of 2500 spectators and with a help of well considered light design, three sonatas of the great masters gradually started to emerge, each one in its own colour. They were glowing as energetic centres and as such they showed the evolution of mankind from physical to spiritual, from Earth to Cosmos.
»The surprising silence of the audience was impressive and touching, it was filled with life stories of each individual, that only in-depth interpretation of the excellent Ivan Skrt performance could revive.«
»Impressive, sincere, beautiful, magical and simple at the same time. Moments that will be long remembered.«
»The task of man is to wish and dare to look behind the mysterious black curtain of life.
The task of the musician is to sing his white song from there.
The task of the sound (with the thoughtful program selection) is to explode in whiteness and sink in blackness,
with a humble desire to offer a fine seed of awareness that actually both is one.
Just as it is for the music to emerge from both black and white piano keys at the same time.«
