24.09.2015.

Unveiling of the memorial in honour of Stanislav Binicki in the Central Military Club

In the hall of the Central Military Club, a bronze bas-relief with the image of the famous composer Stanislav Binicki was unveiled today.

The memorial by Ljubisa Mancic was unveiled by State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence Nenad Neric and Chief of Public Relations Department Navy Captain Petar Boskovic in the presence of guests from the cultural and public life, and members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces.

Odbrana Media Centre, in cooperation with the Art Ensemble of the Ministry of Defence "Stanislav Binicki" thus paid tribute to the composer of the famous march "On the Drina" exactly a century after he composed the melody that immortalized the victorious feats of the Serbian army in the Battle of Cer.

Speaking of the giant of Serbian culture, composer, conductor and pedagogue Stanislav Binicki, Navy Captain Petar Boskovic said that his musical work is the pearl of the Serbian cultural heritage, which we are proud "to this day and forward, from here to the world building of peace among peoples - United Nations ".

- That is why we are honoured and pleased that line of top creators in the Central Military Club now includes the largest representative of Serbian classical music. This building, which preserves the memory of the brave Serbian warriors, heroes and fighters, also keeps the heritage of everything that has been forged under the auspices of the Army - Chief of Public Relations Department said and concluded that the Central Military Club today is the centre of cultural events of the capital.

Deputy Director of Odbrana Media Centre Lieutenant Colonel Zoran Krupez welcomed the guests on behalf of the host, and announced that by the end of the year, three more anniversaries important for the Serbian will be marked in a similar way.

- By placing the memorial, we will keep the memory of another three giants that are intrinsically linked to the activities of our house - Vladislav Petkovic Dis, Holy Hegumen Pajsije and Deacon Avakum, on the occasion of the two-hundredth anniversary of the raising of the Second Serbian Uprising and their death, and Koca Popovic, on the occasion of the seventieth year of the end of the Second World War.

An interesting artistic program prepared after the unveiling of the bas-reliefs in the Conference Hall of the Central Military Club, directed by Momir Dukic, provided an opportunity for visitors to get to know Stanislav Binicki, sense the spirit of the times in which he lived and hear some of his gems given to the Serbian people. This was complimented by a unique (already forgotten) "shared listening" of the radio drama "110 Years of the music of the Royal Guard in Serbia," by co-authors Predrag Stamenkovic and Vladimir Popovic, recorded last year on the occasion of marking the 100th anniversary of the First World War and 110 years of the music of the Royal Guard.

The fiction section of the program featured actors Biljana Djurovic, as Miroslava (aka Frieda) Binicki, Branislav Platisa, as Stanislav Binicki, Lepomir Ivkovic - Commander of the Guard and Sinisa Ubovic - doctor.

The second segment presented to the audience was the presentation of "When the Saints march on the Drina" by Predrag Stamenkovic, and the interlude was enriched by soloists of the Belgrade Opera Dragoljub Bajic, who was accompanied on piano by Nevena Zivkovic, with a performance of Redzep aria from the opera by Stanislav Binicki “Na uranku”.

A sort of "crescendo" of the program was prepared by the National Folk Song and Dance Ensemble "Kolo" and string section of the MoD Art Ensemble Stanislav Binicki, who presented compositions Kokonješte and Kraljevo kolo.

The relief with the image of the founder of the Serbian military music and the composer of the first Serbian opera Na uranku will decorate the hall of the former Warrior Home with previously placed memorials of Nadezda Petrovic, Djordje Vajfert, General Jovan Dragasevic and Dr. Archibald Reiss.