Former Yugoslavia consisted of six republics and two autonomous regions. Within a decade after the death of long time president Josip Broz Tito nationalistic tensions inside this multi-ethnic and multi-cultural state grew enormously, and in the early 1990s Yugoslavia broke apart with an outburst of violence, a bitter war in Bosnia and ethnic cleansing. 2.2 million refugees had been displaced by the end of the Bosnian war. Seven new states were established, each with an own currency, with an own army and with border controls. Many families and friends were split up and large parts of the population deplored the development and the wars. Today Slovenia und Croatia belong to the European Union, thus creating a heavily fortified border within the former Yugoslavian nation. Although Slovenia, Montenegro and Kosovo now use the Euro as their currency and although most of the succession states are seeking membership in the European Union, most borders, currencies and restrictions are still in effect.
Manifesto
Prior to the formation of the orchestra, the musicians declared their intentions in a so-called Manifesto: The founders of NBO furthermore state that their ″main interest is the connection between music and life″, that they were influenced by the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and their founder Daniel Barenboim and that they wish ″to avoid the trap of artistic excellence as an excuse for marginalized self-complacency, voluntary exclusion from society and time.″
Stunning start, international acclaim
Although the originally planned start of the orchestra in 2011 with MahlersResurrection Symphony could not be realized due to lack of appropriate fundings, the project had a stunning start thereafter. The NBO unites around fifty excellent musicians from almost all music centers in the former Yugoslavia — from Belgrade, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Sarajevo, Skopje, Priština and Novi Sad. They were especially trained by renowned musicians from several German orchestras such as Berlin Philharmonic or WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne.
2012
The orchestra first performed on October 9, 2012 in the small town of Kanjiža in the Banat. The Banat no longer exists as a political entity, but is currently divided between three countries — Romania, Serbia and Hungary. This region is noted for its diversity of population, languages and cultures. Also emblematic was the choice of the musical program — Prokofievs Classical Symphony, Ives' The Unanswered Question and Kodálys Dances of Galánta. Two days later, the orchestra inaugurated the Belgrade Music Festival with the same program, just adding Beethovens Fifth Piano Concerto with Hinrich Alpers as soloist. Public and critics were stunned, the brand-new orchestra performed as if it had been in existence for decades: “On a specially arranged stage, in a whirlpool of electricity, in the audience vibrating with different generations and sensibilities, gathered for the event as if from an unknown planet and deeply immerged in expecting miracles of sounds, we finally met the No Borders Orchestra,” wrote Zorica Kojić of the daily newspaper, Danas.
In 2014, Premil Petrović was invited to conduct Brett Baileys new production of VerdisMacbeth in Cape Town where he conducted a local orchestra. During the preparation of Macbeth, the conductor quoted Serbian performance artist, Marina Abramovic, to explain his frame of reference: ″She said, ‘It’s not important what you are doing, it’s important from which state of mind you are doing it.″ And he explained his uneasiness with Verdi's opera: ″This is very rare. I cannot remember any other opera without love. There is only power, greed, hatred, crime and revenge. Between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, there is no love at all. They support each other… strategically.″ Nevertheless, the premiere was very well received. The NBO took over for the European tour of this production starting with festival performances in Brussels, Rotterdam and at the Vienna Festival. Together with the South African singers, conductor and orchestra received acclaim from critics and standing ovations from audiences during the run in Vienna. The tour goes on to Montpellier, the German Festival Theaterformen in Braunschweig, to the Barbican Centre in London, thereafter to Lisbon, Catalan Gerona, as well as to the French cities, Tarbes, Toulouse and Strasbourg. It will be concluded in November at the Festival d’Automne in Paris. The NBO is funded by the European Festivals Association.
