BIOGRAPHY PRINTABLE VERSION ________________________

»The ideal combination of intellect, technique and passion, refinement of touch, perfect technique, concentration and control, exceptional dynamic potential, original ideas and unconventional interpretation« give Ratimir Martinovic, by the critics' words, one of the leading places among pianists of the younger generation.

Born in Kotor, where he completed the elementary music school, he continued his education in Novi Sad at the "Isidor Bajic" Music school and at the Academy of Art in the class of the world-renowned pianist Kemal Gekic. He graduated in 1999 playing in one night Bach's »Goldberg Variations«, Beethoven's »Hammerklavier« Sonata, Chopin's Four Balllades, and Prokofiev's Toccata to great critical aclaim.He received his Masters degree in 2002, playing an all Bach program.

He has had advanced studies with well-known pedagogues and pianists such as Karl-Heinz Kammerling, Hiroko Nakamura, Jacques Rouvier, Arie Vardi, Sergio Perticaroli, Arbo Valdma, Alexei Nasedkin, Jelena Richter, Victor Liadov ans Marian Ribicky.

He has performed in over 350 recitals, chamber concerts, concertos with orchestra. He played in all major domestic concert halls such as the Sava centar, Kolarac Memorial Hall, the Montenegrin National Theater, the Novi Sad Sinagogue, the Serbian National Theatre, Subotica Town Hall, as well as on podiums in Rome (Sala Baldini), Buenos Aires (Hall of University Maimonides), Florence (Hall of French Cultural Center), Salzburg (Leopold Mozart Hall), Bonn, London (St. James Picadilly, St. John's Smith Square), Taipei (Small Hall of the National Theater), Miami (FIU Great Hall),  Helsinki (Sibelius Academy Hall), Paris (UNESCO hall),  Helsingborg (Great hall of Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra), Cologne (Deutche Welle Hall), Zagreb (Lisinski Hall), Luxembourg (Auditoire Banque de Luxembourg), Turku, Warsaw, Hamamatsu and elsewhere.

Martinović plays as soloist with orchestras such as the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, the Novi Sad Chamber Orchestra, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Miami Festival in Lecce Orchestra, the Young European Soloists Chamber Orchestra (South-Eastern Europe),  Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra, »Saint George« String Orchestra, the Radio-Televison Serbia Symphony Orchestra, the Stanislav Binicki Symhony Orchestra, Academy of Arts Symphony Orchestra, Nis Symphony Orchestra, Tapiolla Simfonietta, Ciuddad de Juarez Symphony Orchestra, colaborating with conductors such as Emil Tabakov, Peter Sundkvist, Carlos Garcia Ruiz, William Noll, Jorge Ulliarte, David Porceline, Andrej Bursac, Aleksandar Ostrovski, Angel Surev, Pavle Medakovic and Petar Ivanovic.

He regularly performs in festivals such as, Pianorama Festival, (Florence),  NOMUS (Novi Sad Music Festival), Mozart Point Festival (Ljubljana), BEMUS (Belgrade Music Festival), Ushuaia international Festival (Ushuaia, Argentina), Festival of the Nations (Rome), Beethoven Fest (Bonn), Budva Summer Festival, OKTOH (Kragujevac), KotorArt (Kotor).

Martinović is also an experienced chamber musician performing regularly with violinists Roman Simovic and Yuri Zhislin, the Rubicon, Tippett (Great Britain) and TAJJ string quartets, cellists Bozidar Vukotic and Dragan Djordjevic, percussionist Benn Toth and others.

After initial successes in piano competitions at very early age, Ratimir Martinovic withdrew from the competition scene, devoting  his time to playing concerts.He is the winner of domestic and international awards and tributes.

* First prize, Montenegro National competition, Kotor, 1990, 1991
* First Prize, The Yugoslav piano Competition, Nis, 1993
* First Prize, The Dunav-Donau-Denjub International Piano Competition, Novi Sad, 1993
* First Prize, International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition, Taipei, 1996
* Two Special Prizes (awarded by the president of the jury),
  for a compulsory author and a performance of Chopin’s works, Taipei, 1996
* First Prize, The “FLAME” International Competition, Paris, 1997
* Fourth Prize, Bronze Medal, South Missouri International Piano Competition, Joplin, USA, 1994
* Special prize from the University of Novi Sad, for outstanding talent, 1997, 1998
* Prize for the »Most promissin young artist of the year«, (ZAMTES) Montenegro, 1999

He has recorded for Radio Television Montenegro, Radio Television Serbia, POLTEL(Poland), Deutche Welle(Germany), NHK(Japan), SWT(Sweden), Luxembourg Television, HRT (Croatia), Radio Slovenia and Radio Romania.

He has recorded two CDs, one with the works by Bach/Tausing, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, Prokofiev and the »Goldberg variations«.

Martinović initiated a successful collaboration with the TV director Misko Milojevic in the field of visualisation of classical music opening  new dimensions of visual and multimedial interpretation of music. To date, he has made seven video-clips (Ginastera, Prokofiev, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Bach, Brahms, Ravel) produced by Radio Television Montenegro and Radio Television Serbia, brodcast with great success, so far, in Serbia, The Czech Republic, Canada, Bulgaria, Tunisia. In 2006 a DVD with all 7 classical music spots will be released by KotorArt Production.

Six documentary movies have been recorded about his work, of which the last one, »The Heaven And Soul« has won first prize in the International TV Festival in Albena, Bulgaria in 2004, and was officially the »Best musical TV production in 2004.« in Radio-Televison Serbia. 

Martinović made his conducting debut in 2001. with the Novi Sad Chamber Orchestra, conducting Symphonies by Haydn and Mozart and playing and conducting the Mozart Piano Concerto F Major KV 459.

Ratimir Martinović is the founder and Artistic director of KotorArt Music festival, held every year in Kotor, Montenegro,  bringing to this medieval town world known ensembles, soloists and chamber musicians.

He works as associate professor at the Academy of Arts, Novi Sad, Serbia

Martinović is President of EPTA Montenegro (European Piano Teachers Association).

During 2007-2008 season he will be playing in USA, Canada, China, Italy, Germany, Estonia, Cyprus, Mexico, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Macedonia.