MUSIC
Creative Hour: ZvUQ - PEACE of MIND
October 10, 2025 | 8 PM
Creative Hour at Urania this time brings a special musical experience - a concert by ZvUQ (Zagreb Unlimited Quintet), a new chamber ensemble on the Croatian music scene. This event marks the beginning of a collaboration between Urania - space of creation and the ZvUQ ensemble, through the concert series Important Dates by ZvUQ, in which music becomes a means of dialogue about social and existential themes.
The first concert of the series, titled PEACE of MIND, joins the observance of World Mental Health Day (October 10). The program approaches the topic of mental health not through pathos or literal interpretation, but through the acoustic space of silence, breathing, and togetherness - a space connecting musicians and listeners in a shared experience of presence.
ZvUQ brings together five outstanding young musicians - Ana Batinica (flute), artistic director of the ensemble, Iva Ledenko (oboe), Eva Fritz (bassoon), Bogdan Bikicki (clarinet), and Petar Kšenek (horn). The ensemble unites musicians from Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia, whose collaboration stems from the desire to bring chamber music back to the center of cultural dialogue and everyday life. All members hold leading positions in the Croatian National Theatre and the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, and now they are opening a new sonic space through the form of a wind quintet - an ensemble rarely encountered in Croatia’s concert scene.
Through the Important Dates by ZvUQ series, the musicians reflect on the significance of moments, dates, and contexts - reminding us that music can be a space for contemplating what often remains unspoken. Each concert will be dedicated to an important international date that highlights aspects of human life and social responsibility.
The PEACE of MIND concert will open with a video projection of a conversation with Marija Pranjić, pianist, music therapist, and neuroscientist - currently a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School - whose research explores the relationship between sound, the brain, and emotional balance.
The musical program performed by ZvUQ will include:
• Anton Reicha: Wind Quintet, Op. 88 No. 2
• Jacques Ibert: Trois pièces brèves
• Heinrich Kaspar Schmid: Wind Quintet, Op. 28
Through this repertoire, the ensemble creates a dialogue between classical tradition and contemporary listening - between the space of sound and the space of thought. Music unfolds as a medium of introspection, but also as a shared act of listening.
The upcoming concerts in the Important Dates by ZvUQ cycle will mark Universal Children’s Day, World Cancer Day, and Earth Day, continuing the ensemble’s exploration of the connection between art and society - building a bridge between the acoustic and the ethical space.
The collaboration between Urania and ZvUQ brings a new dimension to Creative Hour - a place where architecture, sound, and thought meet in a shared field of listening to the world.
Seats are limited, so please reserve your spot here. Entrance by donation: €10.
This program is co-funded by the City of Zagreb.
