From his villa in Montenegro, waiting to depart for his next concert in Portugal, Goran Bregovic talks about a “stupid story”from “Nonsense”. “Suddenly I’m going pro-Russian! I don’t understand”, the Bosnian composer and musician complains on the phone. His famous Balkan brass band orchestra has been banned from entering Moldova, where he was due to perform at a festival some sixty kilometers from Chisinau on Sunday 20 August.
This small country on the border with Ukraine, which is also subject to serious threats from Moscow in relation to its security, accuses the musician of unclear positions on the conflict. On Monday, August 21, Interior Minister Adrian Efros defended the decision of the Moldovan police with a course of action “security reasons” about one “Artist who demonstrated a pro-Russian vision and supported the annexation of Ukraine by the Russian Federation”. After the expulsion of his orchestra, which always travels a bit in advance, Mr. Bregovic immediately gave up the trip to Moldova and canceled the concert.
Among other things, the Moldovan authorities are targeting a 2015 concert in Sevastopol, in annexed Crimea, which still provokes criticism of the artist in certain Ukrainian circles. “It was a concert linked to the Ukraine tour and organized by the same agency.”defends Mr. Bregovic today, assuring that he was able to play several times in Ukraine back then without provoking protests. “I’m from Sarajevo, I’m traumatized by the war, I can’t support war or aggression.”adds the artist born in 1950 who gained enormous popularity throughout Yugoslavia in the 1970s.
“A Hysterical Moment”
The musician who spearheaded the wave of Balkan music that got Europe dancing in the 2000s has always taken refuge behind his wish not to “I don’t want to do politics”, not to speak more directly about those responsible for the war in Ukraine, following the same caution as in his public comments on the sources of the Balkan wars. Its huge tube Kalashnikov (1995) has occasionally been criticized by people who accuse it of promoting violence. “While it’s an ironic song that just makes fun of people who like to carry guns.”he assures.
Without sharing the openly pro-Putin excesses of director Emir Kusturica, for whom he composed the music for several cult films before getting angry with him, Goran Bregovic nevertheless sometimes made ambiguous speeches about Russia. During his trip to Sevastopol, during a press conference, he criticized this “It’s up to the West to maintain a form of paranoia” opposite Moscow. “In the Balkans we have always sensed the greatness that comes from the East, from Russia.”, he added, echoing a trait very common in Serbian nationalist circles or among some Yugoslav nostalgics. Mr. Bregovic comes from a multi-ethnic family and now takes care of the care “Can’t remember [ses] Testify “which date “before the war” (current).
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