“High intellect, brilliant technique and originality, and at the same time delicately lyrical and powerfully dramatic sounds with countless alchemical tone nuances” by the critics words, give pianist Ratimir Martinović a special place and status among artists of his generation.
Born in Kotor, Montenegro, after being under Professor Emilija Sposojevič, through the Professors Frederik Stanković, Jokut Mihajlović and Arbo Valdma in Novi Sad, he found a pedagogue in piano virtuoso Kemal Gekić. Despite having had different guidance in the repertoire and expression, Martinović studied under Gekić for seven years at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad and the Florida University in Miami (USA). He graduated in 1999 giving a recital with the Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, Chopin’s Four Ballades, and Prokofiev’s Toccata. He received his master’s degree in 2002, conducting and playing the works of Mozart and Haydn, with an all-Bach recital.
Martinović’s versatile artistic personality is not reflected solely in his repertoire aspirations, but also in the diapason of his actions aimed at the improvement of musical art in the area he originates from. Martinović is the founder and director of one of the most renowned festivals of art music in the Western Balkans ̶ the KotorArt Festival in his hometown, within which for 25 years he has been hosting the important artists in the world of music. The festival often programmatically addresses a number of current social issues, which are intertwined with music, creating new sound testimonies of the present time. Martinović is also active at the pedagogical level ̶ he is one of the youngest Full Professors in the history of the University of Novi Sad, having the privilege, since the age of 24, to independently form generations of young pianists in his class.
“The principle of constant investing efforts in acting above all accepted, well-established standards, eventually became Martinović’s personal and artistic credo which rises his accomplishments, often, at unimagined heights”.
He has performed at over 700 concerts with over 60 orchestras in Europe, Asia, South and North America, in halls such as Carnegie Hall ̶ Stern Auditorium (New York), Parco della Musica (Rome), Rudolfinum and Dvorak Hall (Prague), Oriental Art Center, Shanghai Symphony Jaguar hall (Shanghai), Glenn Gould Hall (Toronto), Lisinski Hall (Zagreb), Art Center (Seoul), International House of Music (Moscow) as well as in Tokyo, Santa Barbara, London, Vancouver, Montreal, Miami, Buenos Aires, Helsinki, Tubingen , Brazilia, Beijing and Fukuoka. Among the orchestras with which he has performed are the symphonic orchestras of Berlin, Istanbul, Mexico, Czech Radio, Belgrade, Radio television of Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Thailand, Helsingborg, Plovdiv or chamber orchestras of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Kaliningrad, Viotti Orchestra and Young European Soloists. Martinović is the jury memeber of piano competitions in South Africa, Italy, Turkey, Great Britain, China, Germany, Croatia, as well as a holder of piano masterclasses in Japan, Portugal, China, USA and Poland. He has recorded a compact disc featuring the works of Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms and Prokofiev in 2002. double album with the piano opus of Vasilije Mokranjac in 2019, while Bach’s Goldberg Variations was released in January 2025.
Above mentioned piano opus of Vasilije Mokranjac (1923-1984, an outstanding Serbian composer and academic, Martinović premiered in 2016 at the recital in Belgrade. Together with the Mokranjac family, Martinović is the initiator and the first director of the Vasilije Mokranjac Foundation, whose goal is the preservation and promotion of the music of this great composer.