Dino Rešidbegović

Dino Rešidbegović (born 14 December 1975) is a Bosnian contemporary and electronic/electroacoustic music composer, recognized for his work in both composition and performance.

Dino Rešidbegović
Rešidbegović performing XO in Sarajevo
Born	(1975-12-14) December 14, 1975 (age 50) Sarajevo, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Education	MDW MUK Sarajevo Music Academy
Occupations	Composer pianist teacher

Early life and education

Born and raised in Sarajevo, Rešidbegović received his initial training in piano at local music schools. In 1994 he moved to Vienna, where he pursued advanced studies in composition at the University of Music and Performing Arts and the Music and Arts University. He graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts, studying composition under HK Gruber, Wolfgang Liebhart and Rainer Bischof, and piano under Kim Oak Hyun.^[1]

He continued with postgraduate studies in composition at the same institution, focusing on contemporary techniques, and also undertook training in conducting. In 2016 he earned a DMA in composition at the Sarajevo Music Academy, where he studied with Igor Karača from Oklahoma State University and then-dean Ivan Čavlović.^[2]

Career

Collaborations and performances

Rešidbegović has established himself as a versatile composer and performer whose music has been presented by leading ensembles, among them the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble Proton Bern, and the Austrian Art Ensemble. His works have been featured in concert programmes across a broad geographical spectrum – beginning in his native Bosnia and Herzegovina, and extending throughout Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy, as well as in Japan and the United States, including a performance at Carnegie Hall.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

His artistic collaborations encompass a number of internationally active musicians, including Omer Blentić, Hanan Hadžajlić, Davor Maraus, Gilles Grimaître, Katharina Bleier and Elena Gabrielli. Rešidbegović’s orchestral scores have attracted the attention of several conductors, among them Samra Gulamović, Josip Nalis and Obrad Nedeljković. Particularly noteworthy is his association with the Austrian conductor Azis Sadikovic, who has repeatedly included Rešidbegović’s cycle Three Orchestral Miniatures in his concert repertoire.^{[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]}

The third movement of Rešidbegović’s Piano Concerto No. 1 was used in the feature documentary Cameraperson, directed by Kirsten Johnson.^[20]

Academic activities

Beyond composition, Rešidbegović has contributed to the institutional landscape of contemporary music. He is a permanent member of the Austrian Composers Society (ÖKB), and co-founded the INSAM Institute for Contemporary Artistic Music, where he remains active as a writer, researcher, and organiser of international projects.^[21][22]

Rešidbegović is also a full-time professor at the Department of Composition and Electronic Music at Sarajevo Music Academy, teaching courses in composition, electronic/electroacoustic music, and polyphony.^[2]

Musical style and influences

Reductional Music Complexity (RMC)

In 2003, Rešidbegović introduced the concept of Reductional music complexity, a compositional approach that categorizes and reorders musical parameters according to a new structural logic. His music is often described as “rhythmical,” reflecting his focus on rhythm as the core element, or “corpus,” of musical expression.^[23]

Drawing inspiration from composers such as John Cage, Mauricio Kagel, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Hans-Joachim Hespos and his teachers Rainer Bischof and Detlev Müller-Siemens, Rešidbegović moved away from pitch-centered composition, developing techniques that emphasize rhythm, dynamics, extended instrumental techniques, and individual expression marks. Much of his work employs graphic notation to convey these ideas.^[23]

Piano extended techniques

Rešidbegović has developed a number of extended piano techniques, experimenting with the instrument's strings and resonator, and integrating elements of electronic sound production and synthesizers within contemporary classical contexts.^[24][25]

Approximate Reductionist Graphical Notation (ARGN)

In his doctoral dissertation Subtractive Synthesis in Composition, Rešidbegović introduced Approximate Reductionist Graphical Notation (ARGN), a notational system designed for both electronic and acoustic instruments. This method extends his principles of reductional complexity and provides a visual framework for representing new sound structures.^{[26][27][28][29]}

Honours and awards

He has received numerous awards in the field of music composition:

• Alban Berg Foundation – 2001^[2]
• Alban Berg Foundation – 2002
• Theodor Körner Prize – 2003^[30]
• Siemens AG Österreich Award – 2004
• Siemens AG Österreich Award – 2005
• Avdo Smailović AMUS Award – 2018/19^[31]

Selective works

Experimental, aleatoric, and music theatre

• XO – any instrument. A conceptual piece that allows the performer complete freedom in choosing instruments and interpretation.^[32]
• Chelovek for bass and computer-generated sound. The related piece Recitativo Chelovek is noted as the first music composition to incorporate Google Translate as a musical instrument.^[33]
• 3X for two pianists and deconstructed drum set

Electronic and electroacoustic music

• Subtractive Study for Sound Synthesizers and Ensemble for amplified flute, alto saxophone, violin, cello, electric guitar, synthesizers (DSI Prophet 12, DSI Pro 2, Moog Sub 37, Make Noise CV Bus Shared System) and amplified piano^[34]
• XO Part II for amplified flute, amplified cello and analog modular synthesizers (Moog Sub 37, Make Noise CV Bus Shared System, Analog Rytm)^[35]
• Wreesky III for solo flute with electronic processors (Boss VE-20, MF-108M Cluster Flux)^[36]
• Visiting Speech Therapist,^[37] a cycle of four études for amplified piano: Pedal Étude, Percussion Étude, Tapping Étude and Vocal Étude

Chamber music

• For Sonemus for flute, clarinet, violin and piano^[38][39]
• Mechanicus (Heron from Alexandria) for flute, violin and piano^[40]
• The Impact of the Analog Synthesizer for mezzo-soprano, flute, cello, accordion and piano^[41]
• RN for flute, clarinet and French horn

Vocal music

• The Wilderness, a cycle of three songs for bass and piano: Underwaterfall, New York Maidens and Fear
• Homo Sapiens, a cycle of three songs for soprano and piano: Flee for Your Lives, Ethnic Cleansing and Refugees

Big band

• Mad Haus for big band orchestra.^[42]

Orchestral music

• Piano Concerto No. 1 for piano and orchestra
• Bak for amplified piano and orchestra.^[43]