PRESS & REVIEWS

"It is a fortunate coincidence that the City of Dubrovnik has produced after a long time such a gifted composer. We wish  that he should keep on following this honorable, but thorny creative way, and that he should enrich Croatian music heritage with new works, and as a composer, who has a lot of things to say, he should enlarge the initiated panopticon of his musical visions. We can reasonably consider Pero Šiša with his works created so far a worthy follower of the finest musical traditions of Dubrovnik."
Review by D. Detoni
(after a Requiem performance)

"75 years after Mascagni, finally appeared someone who writes fragmentary-powerful orchestration and melodies that with the first listening enter your heart"
Review by S. Vuković
(after the performance of the Opera "Siren")

"The Opera Siren is mainly in the spirit of previous musical achievements so the enjoyableness of some tunes and melodiousness of arias make certain parts extremely appealing."
Review by S. Dražić, CANTUS

"In the case of Pero Šiša, we can say that he is a phenomenon ..." 
Review by Dr. Z. Weber
(after a performance of Piano Concerto No. 4 at "Osor Festival")

"Music of Pero Šiša follows extremely well the harmonic elements in the text (Opera 'Siren')..."
M. Marović, SLOBODNI LIST

"The whole play is elevated with refined melodies..."
Z. Ra, VEČERNJI LIST

"The performance offers even more - in catchy, tuneful and adapted melodies..."
V. Žic, GLAS KONCILA 
(May 24, 1998 premiere of the Opera "Siren" by Pero Šiša)

"Fresh, melodious music and arrangements by Pero Šiša are enjoyable, easily receptive, and theatrically they are purposeful."
Davor Schopf, VJESNIK 
(October 26, 1998 Premiere of "Siren")

"You could write about any part of Šiša’s works a separate study, in which you would admire the author's profusion of associations and inspirations which he uses so skillfully in themes and harmonization of individual works, no matter these are instrumental, orchestral or stage works."
Tatjana Alajbeg, SLOBODNA DALMACIJA

"If music is the beauty of harmony and pallet of audio colors then Pero Šiša belongs to those composers whose palette of harmonic colors best reflects the different states of his time and environment, moods and reflections, disclosure of unaccountable story of your own."
Review by Zrinka Posavec (HGC/CMC)

"Surrounded by Sorkočević and Beethoven – the premiere of the composition by Pero Šiša, the current director of the orchestra. Title Lamentoso – To Mother, a piece for piano and orchestra, which a soloist part was performed by Nataša Milić. Pero Šiša is an extremely prolific composer whose works, often of demanding form, in a short period of time came to light. Respecting his previous works and respecting the reason for creation of this work, we may say that Lamentoso – To Mother occupies a high place in the musical oeuvre of Šiša..."
SLOBODNA DALMACIJA

"The Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, under conduction of renowned Indonesian maestro conductor Noorman Widjaja, under whose baton the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra has played several times this year, has presented these days to the Chinese musical audience for the first time Symphony 4 by Dubrovnik composer Pero Šiša. I did not expect such success, even more so because it is a prestigious Chinese Philharmonic and a huge music market on which it is difficult to launch a new work - says the author of the Symphony and the director of the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra Pero Šiša, whose works like "Konavoska svita" and the cantatas " The Eternal City of St. Blaise" were performed before the American and the opera "Siren" before the European audience. A special honor for him, he adds further, are compliments of the Board and members of the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra, which were sent to him in writing by maestro Widjaja."
Anet Marunić-Lisičić, DUBROVAČKI VJESNIK 

"In the second part of the concert a folk cantata by Pero Šiša, written for chorus, orchestra and mezzo-soprano solo titled "The Eternal City of St. Blaise" was performed. For its performance a soloist Mihaela Sokol, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and Krešimir Magdić (mandolin) were engaged. Under the baton of Viktor Lenert, a person who has been leading the choir for last ten years and under whose direction, as it is emphasized in the program booklet, "the repertoire was greatly expanded especially by pieces for solo performances," the choir was presented at the anniversary concert as an enviable quality interpreter."
SLOBODNA DALMACIJA

"...What followed was an interesting composition by Dubrovnik composer Pero Šiša" a Musical Fairy Tale Dream for Violoncello and Orchestra," where as a soloist appeared a young renowned cellist from Rijeka Peter Kovačić. Rich with orchestral coloring a composer’s post romantic manuscript, of original rhythmic articulation and changes of tempo and mood, which like a dream make a mosaic picture, score leaves a perfect space to a soloist for a virtuoso and a very sensible creation that was presented to the audience by Petar Kovačić whose interpretative qualities certainly represent a perfection of the Croatian cellism... Interpreters and the author who attended the performance were accompanied with a prolonged applause..."
Ljerka Žic, NOVI LIST 

"A long applause at the premiere of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra "Swallow" by Pero Šiša: And with this latest piece Pero Šiša certainly ensured himself a place among the Croatian composers. This premiere of Šiša’s Concerto confirms once again that in Dubrovnik power of composers has never withered since the 18th century, and now a new generation of composers has bloomed, among which the most prolific one is certainly Pero Šiša, who already has a significant number of compositions."
Ileana Grazio, VJESNIK

"...Šiša’s Christmas Mass is in the spirit of his musical expression and it shows melodiousness, interesting musical solutions, nice contrasting transitions and frequent triumphant endings, although there were some dramatic moments. Šiša’s Christmas Mass sparked a warm response from the audience, which it certainly deserves."
Sanja Dražić, SLOBODNA DALMACIJA