Tomislav Oliver
Artistic director
"Balance is most beautiful just before it collapses"
Peter Fischli & David Weiss (Equilibres)
Composer and sound artist based in Zagreb, Croatia. An interdisciplinary approach lies at the heart of my artistic interests, whether it's drawing upon the aesthetics of kinetic art, literature or linguistics. I view my work through the perspective of a heterotopia — a narrative framework, an ontological space in which fragments of possible narrative orders coexist simultaneously without an implicit hierarchy. I'm interested in (de)constructing these spaces through juxtaposition and collision of elements, distorting them from their original image and position in the narrative while emphasizing the transitory arrangement of the musical objects choreographed into moments of delicate suspension.
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Tomislav Oliver (Zagreb, Croatia) graduated in Musicology and Composition from the Music Academy in Zagreb (with Marko Ruždjak). He continued his studies at Mozarteum Salzburg (with Stephan Winkler), ESMUC Barcelona (with Mauricio Sotelo), Kug Graz (with Marko Ciciliani and Franck Bedrossian). In 2023 he graduated from IRCAMs Cursus program (with Pierre Jodlowski).
Coming from the underground scene of extreme electronics/noise, his music reflects a blend of genres. Composed music for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, orchestra, mixed electronics, and acousmatic music. He has worked on music for experimental films, ballet, and contemporary dance. He's collaborating with numerous artists from different fields of art, notably the Croatian "B.A.K.A" artistic collective which emphasizes experimenting with electronic music, sound design and audio-visual projects.
He has worked with artists and ensembles such as Riot Ensemble, Kebyart Ensemble, Oerknal Ensemble, Barcelona Modern Ensemble, Cantus Ensemble, Zagreb Philharmonic, Joshua Hyde, Clara Haskil trio, Boris Brovtsyn, Boris Andrianov, etc. From 2023 he is active as an artistic director of the Music Biennale Zagreb festival of contemporary music.
Tomislav’s SoundCloud: