Dražen Domjanić

The maker of Vaduz Classic

Every year, Vaduz Classic brings world stars, renowned orchestras and internationally renowned artists from the region live on the big open-air stage in the Städtle Vaduz and in the Vaduzer Saal. The still young festival has already established itself as a fixed point in the cultural calendar of Liechtenstein and the region. The artistic director and managing director Dražen Domjanić has played a decisive role in the development and success of the event.

Born in Croatia, he studied piano at Zagreb’s Academy of Music and at the Academy of Art in Novi Sad, where he completed concert and teaching diplomas with top grades. A busy concert schedule led him throughout Europe. Today he is Artistic Director of the non-profit foundation «Music and Youth», Managing Director and Artistic Director of the International Academy of Music in Liechtenstein as well as Founder and Artistic Director of the « VP Bank Classic Festival» (former «Next Generation») in Bad Ragaz. In 2011 Dražen Domjanić was made Artistic Director and Head of the Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra, followed by the foundation of «Esperanza Ensemble», which he founded together with a number of scholarship holders in 2015 and of which he remains Director. His most recent project is the music festival "Vaduz Classic", which he launched in 2017 together with a group of like-minded after three years of preparation.

"By combining tradition and innovation, we wanted to bring classical music to a wide audience. In Liechtenstein, there is great joy in music, and threshold fear can be quickly eliminated. Ernst Walch, Michael Gattenhof and I worked out the festival concept, presented it to the municipality of Vaduz and taöked to Ivoclar Vivadent. The idea of Vaduz Classic, a classical music festival at the foot of Vaduz Castle, was born. The rest is history."

Already in the first year of performance 2017 renowned artists such as star violinist David Garett or the exceptional talent Levon Avagyan performed on stage. The festival motto was "Liechtenstein plays". Also for the two following festival editions world-class artists like the opera singer Cecilia Bartoli or the Chinese world star Lang Lang could be won. But also regionally anchored exceptional talents like the orchestra conductor Kevin Griffiths or the Liechtenstein Orchestras could enthuse guests on the big open-air stage and in the Vaduzer Saal.

The three-year pilot project "Vaduz Classic" was successful and for the fourth edition, too, Dražen Domjanić and his team have put together a top-class program. The star guest may not be known by his full name, but his voice is immediately familiar: Lebo M, the voice from "The Lion King". Further highlights of the four concerts are the pianist Claire Huangci, the cellist Luka Šulić from the crossover duo "2 Cellos", or the City Light Symphony Orchestra, which accompanies live on stage the film classic "Casino Royale", whilst being displayed on the big screen.

"Vaduz Classic 2020 is a film music festival for the wide audience under the motto "magical moments of film music". We promise a spectacle of great music."

"Now we've actually achieved the size of event we dreamed of five years ago. It is delightful that we have achieved something like this here in Liechtenstein. We look forward to a fifth, sixth and seventh edition. After that, we'll look further one."