Passengers to be treated to live music at Zagreb Airport

Zagreb Airport

ZAGREB, 13 Dec (Hina) – A concert by pianist Matej Meštrović and percussionist Borno Šercar  at the passenger terminal of Franjo Tuđman Airport on Friday ushered in the new project “Music That Travels Further”, organised by Zagreb International Airport and the Croatian Music Institute.

Performances in the passenger terminal will continue throughout Advent and, after Christmas, until 6 January next year, featuring students of the Music Academy, it was announced.

The musicians opened the season with performances of melodies from the opera Carmen, Mozart’s Alla Turca, and Offenbach’s Can-Can in the departures area, entertaining passengers as they waited to board their flights.

Displayed in the passenger terminal of Franjo Tuđman Airport is the “Piano of Hope”, a historical instrument from the Croatian Music Institute’s collection, which survived the earthquake and is awaiting its return to the newly restored Croatian Music Institute building in 2027.

Over the coming year, passengers will also have the opportunity to play the piano once used by the students of Svetislav Stančić, a distinguished music pedagogue and one of the most important figures of the Croatian Music Institute, in whose honour an international piano competition still exists today. Next to the piano, a digital display provides information about the history of the Institute.

The President of the Croatian Music Institute (HGZ), Romana Matanovac Vučković, said that the HGZ is one of the oldest musical associations in the world and the cradle of musical education in Croatia, and that after its renovation it will become a modern cultural centre and the home of the first Croatian Museum of Music.

Nicolas Duthilleul, a member of the Management Board of Zagreb International Airport, said that the aim of the project is for passengers “not to remember Croatia only as a destination, but also as a country of rich culture, something they will carry with them as a lasting memory and be glad to return to.”

He also recalled the airport’s previous successful collaboration with the Croatian History Museum, which resulted in an exhibition on Croatian greats in the departures terminal.