Tale Ognenovski is one of the greatest instrumentalists and composers in the world of music. He made the connection between Oriental and Western Music. He has composed and arranged 150 Macedonian folk dances, one classical concert "Tale Ognenovski Concert for Clarinet No. 1", and 12 jazz compositions.  Some of his compositions have been recorded on 11 LPs, 11 cassettes, 10 gramophone records, 3 CD Albums and one videotape (Radio Television Belgrade, Serbia; Jugoton Zagreb, Croatia; Macedonian Radio Television and Independent Records, U.S.A.).  He arranged the Mozart's clarinet concerto for two clarinets. The clarinet in standard performance is always accompanied by the Orchestra. In CD Album entitled: “MOZART and  OGNENOVSKI Clarinet Concertos” the clarinet is accompanied by drum performed by his son Stevan Ognenovski or by drum and second clarinet (performed by Tale Ognenovski).

Three CD Albums Buy at: CD Baby, Amazon.com,  iTunes…

Tale Ognenovski  Biography at:

Tale Ognenovski plays Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622: Allegro    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9390xDUuPuU

Tale Ognenovski Jazz Composition No. 7 - Macedonian Jazz Clarinet Solo   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eK4wLnpPlNw  

Ognenovski's performance is the most beautiful and the fastest performance of Mozart's clarinet concerto of all time.

Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf (1695-1777).

Music Industry News Network – Music Events: Clarinetist Tale Ognenovski - Jazz Musician Of The Day: April 27, 2009 At AllAboutJazz.com

Jazz Musician of the Day: Tale Ognenovski

Posted: 2009-04-27

All About Jazz is celebrating Tale Ognenovski's birthday today!

Tale Ognenovski was born in the village of Brusnik near Bitola in the Republic of Macedonia on April 27, 1922. Tale Ognenovski is the greatest clarinetist, reed piper, zourlist and small bagpiper of all time, demonstrating unique skill... more Tale Ognenovski at All About Jazz

Tale Ognenovski at Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia

“The famous clarinet player from Republic of Macedonia, Tale Ognenovski played the clarinet as a Macedonian folk instrument and became famous worldwide with his work.”

Article written by Valentina Gorgievska, entitled:  “At All About Jazz - The World's Largest Jazz Music Website - Jazz Musician Of The Day: Tale Ognenovski”, Vreme, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, July 6, 2009.

Tale Ognenovski, Internationally Renowned Clarinetist on YouTube

Posted: 2009-04-12  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=33817

SOURCE: AllAboutJazz.com Publicity

Posted: 2008-09-27        http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=23555

This third release is the follow up to his two previous: CD Albums entitled: Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music and MOZART and OGNENOVSKI Clarinet Concertos (Tale Ognenovski arranged parts of the Mozart's clarinet concerto for two clarinets. Tale Ognenovski released this CD to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Release date: January 24, 2006).

Tale Ognenovski is known across the globe for his virtuosic performances.

New CD Album feature the Ognenovski performing with his current quartet: Tale Ognenovski on clarinet, reed pipe, zourla, small bagpipe and drum, his son Stevan Ognenovski on reed pipe and drum, his grandsons: Nikola Ognenovski on reed pipe and Kliment Ognenovski on reed pipe.

Ognenovski and his quartet offering a sensational clarinet jazz music. Macedonian Clarinet Jazz Composed By Tale Ognenovski will became something of a phenomenon. Variety of phrasing, spectacular clarinet solos are both interesting and fascinating for people to listen to and to admire. Each piece on this album is rhythmically complex. The exploration of Macedonian music traditions with a jazz sensibility is remarkable. The sound is quite simply phenomenal. Ognenovski's music is timeless. Tale Ognenovski was obviously way ahead of his time, and it is a classic that will be around forever. This CD Album is one of the Best Jazz Instrumental Albums of all time.

Tale Ognenovski has opened up new possibilities for the clarinet that no one could have predicted. He is the greatest clarinetist, reed piper, zourlist and small bagpiper of all time, demonstrating unique skill, a wealth of invention, amazing improvisational virtuosity and outstanding musical competence in all areas of music. He is one of the greatest composers in the world of music.

Utrinski Vesnik, Republic of Macedonia

“Tale Ognenovski is one of the greatest composers in the world of music.” is written by “All About Jazz”.  New Album from Macedonian clarinetist and composer Tale Ognenovski released on September 1, 2008 entitled: “Macedonian Clarinet Jazz Composed By Tale Ognenovski” received excellent reviews, especially on Website of All About Jazz. Tale Ognenovski composed and arranged all 12 tracks. The album from Independent Records is produced by Tale Ognenovski and Stevan Ognenovski and is distributed by The Orchard. This third release is the follow up to his two previous: CD Albums entitled: Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music and MOZART and OGNENOVSKI Clarinet Concertos (Tale Ognenovski arranged parts of the Mozart's clarinet concerto for two clarinets. Tale Ognenovski released this CD to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.). New CD Album feature the Ognenovski performing with his current quartet: Tale Ognenovski on clarinet, reed pipe, zourla, small bagpipe and drum, his son Stevan Ognenovski on reed pipe and drum, his grandsons: Nikola Ognenovski on reed pipe and Kliment Ognenovski on reed pipe. “Tale Ognenovski is known across the globe for his virtuosic performances. Ognenovski and his quartet offering a sensational clarinet jazz music. Macedonian Clarinet Jazz Composed By Tale Ognenovski will became something of a phenomenon. Variety of phrasing, spectacular clarinet solos are both interesting and fascinating for people to listen to and to admire. Each piece on this album is rhythmically complex. The exploration of Macedonian music traditions with a jazz sensibility is remarkable. The sound is quite simply phenomenal. Ognenovski's music is timeless. Tale Ognenovski was obviously way ahead of his time, and it is a classic that will be around forever. This CD Album is one of the Best Jazz Instrumental Albums of all time. Tale Ognenovski has opened up new possibilities for the clarinet that no one could have predicted. He is the greatest clarinetist, reed piper, zourlist and small bagpiper of all time, demonstrating unique skill, a wealth of invention, amazing improvisational virtuosity and outstanding musical competence in all areas of music. He is one of the greatest composers in the world of music…” is written at All About Jazz.”  From an article written by Tina Ivanova, entitled:  “New  CD of Clarinetist Tale Ognenovski reviewed as phenomenal”, Utrinski Vesnik, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, October 4, 2008.

Amazon.com Customer Review

Original, Artistic, Creative, Enjoyable, October 9, 2008

I am a fan of the clarinet and was absolutely blown away by the beautiful music on this CD. I have all the CDs produced by this fabulous clarinet player from Macedonia who is often called a "genius" which in my opinion is no exaggeration and this one is my favorite. Jazz music has a freedom of expression like few other musical styles. Tale Ognenovski uses the most intricate Western playing techniques and combines them with exotic Balkan stylizations creating a pure and genuine new dimensional sound. The listener's spirit soars, dances and flies with pleasure and anticipation gliding on every note and musical phrase. Besides the astonishing clarinet playing, Tale Ognenovski is also a master player of the reed pipe, small bagpipe, zourla and drums which add more flavor and spice to the original, creative, and artistic clarinet music on this CD. His son Stevan Ognenovski accompanies the master clarinet player on the reed pipes and drum. While his grandsons Kliment and Nikola add their accompaniment on the reed pipes. Overall, this is a an outstanding CD that is rich with Balkan flavor and has great depth. It is filled with sensational and spectacular music.

Tale Ognenovski Jazz Composition # 1: starts out with Benny Goodman style playing with cheerful musical phrasing. The tones gradually transition into an exciting exhilarating array of Balkan music which melts into Western stylizations. The sounds are delightful as the clarinet explores new paths that are rich and very satisfying. The creativity is extravagant and the music is beautiful. This piece showcase the originality and amazing artistry of the musician.

Tale Ognenovski Jazz Composition # 2: begins with a Middle Eastern/Balkan flavor that expands in scope and range incorporating Western style jazz mofifs despite its Balkan foundation. The results are astonishingly fresh, genuinely harmonious, and totally satisfying.

Tale Ognenovski Jazz Composition # 3: has a very lyrical and flowing melody with catchy musical phrases and tremendous innovations. It shows that Tale Ognenovski is a genuinely talented and original artist of the highest order.

Tale Ognenovski Jazz Composition # 4: is played with high energy, the drums create a clip clop style like the hooves of horses, and the clarinet shouts with joy and happiness. The free style clarinet improvisation expresses emotions with intensity and honesty. The entire piece is a joyful celebration of life, where the soul is set free.

Tale Ognenovski Jazz Composition # 5: starts with a twittering clarinet that calls the listener to engage in a personal journey of discovery. There are interesting interludes where reed pipes carry out a merry melody, followed by a zourla solo and then again the clarinet awakens and reenergizes the entire composition with mesmerizing solos.

For over 50 years Tale Ognenovski has entertained audiences from around the world, with live performances in the United States, Canada, Europe and in his own home country, Macedonia. In January of 1956, he toured with the Ensemble "Tanec" of Macedonia for 84 days straight and even played in Carnegie Hall. This CD once again proves that this master clarinet player of Macedonia is a world class musician who will continue to impress clarinet music lovers everywhere. Erika Borsos

   Ships from and sold by

“...An audience which jammed Carnegie to capacity (the house had been sold out by last Monday) cheered and applauded the folk dancing with as much enthusiasm as if it had been witnessing classical, theatrical ballet at its most glittering,” written by Walter Terry, title: 'Yugoslav Folk Ballet', New York Herald Tribune, January 28, 1956.

”...Venerable Carnegie Hall fairly vibrated as the audience blistered its palms in appreciation...” wrote Robert Coleman in the New York Daily Mirror on January 28, 1956.

”...The music itself - including several indigenous instruments - is worth the price of the show, and never more so than in a number titled simply “Macedonian Tune,” which in its intricate rhythms and plaintive melody should at least make Dave Brubeck send out an emergency call for Darius Milhaud...” written by R. H. Hagan, title “Yugoslav Ballet Proves Folk Dancing 'Tricky' “, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, March 8, 1956.

Raymond Guillier, director of his own company ("Les grands spectacles internationaux Les productions Raymond Guillier") and manager of Ensemble ‘Tanec’s 1959 tour of France, commented: "No other Ensemble in the world could perform Macedonian folklore as well as ‘Tanec’, because every Macedonian girl and boy from the Ensemble gave their whole heart to the Dance, and a prime example of this was the clarinetist Tale Ognenovski…Everyone who went to the concerts by Ensemble ‘Tanec’ in Paris and other towns and cities in France during the tour in 1959 of  a  little  over two   months was fascinated. Yes, audiences opened wide their hearts and didn’t think anything of their hands while applauding your folk dancers…”, written by M. Georgievski, and published in the newspaper ‘Vecer’, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia on September 14, 1964.  

NEW CD of The Musical Genius Tale Ognenovski entitled: “MOZART and OGNENOVSKI Clarinet Concertos”

This recording is sensational. Tale Ognenovski arranged parts of the Mozart's clarinet concerto for two clarinets. The clarinet in standard performance is always accompanied by the Orchestra. In this recording the clarinet is accompanied by drum performed by his son Stevan Ognenovski or by drum and second clarinet (performed by Tale Ognenovski). Tale Ognenovski gives a splendid account of Mozart's most beautiful concerto. The full, wonderful sound of the modern A clarinet is rich and Ognenovski's playing is superb, with good tempo and intonation throughout. His sound is full and expressive, his phrasing is lyrical, his articulations clear, and his tone is beautiful. Tale Ognenovski's performance is the most beautiful and the fastest performance of Mozart's clarinet concerto of all time. Mozart's clarinet concerto is certainly one of the most beautiful works to emerge from the Classical era.

Tale Ognenovski Concert for Clarinet No. 1 is the most beautiful and the most difficult Clarinet Concerto of all time. Variety of phrasing, spectacular clarinet solos are both interesting and fascinating for people to listen to and to admire. He is one of the greatest composers in the world of music.

2005 Produced by Tale Ognenovski and Stevan Ognenovski

1. Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622: Allegro                                                         14:50   MP3 sample                 

2. Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622: Adagio                                                         13:13   MP3 sample                 
   (Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Arranged by Tale Ognenovski)

 
3. Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K.622: Rondo - Allegro                                           10:18    MP3 sample                 
    (Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Arranged by Tale Ognenovski)

4. Tale Ognenovski Concert for Clarinet No. 1                                                          29:21   MP3 sample                
    (Composed by Tale Ognenovski, Arranged by Tale Ognenovski)

Audio CD (January 24, 2006) entitled: MOZART and OGNENOVSKI Clarinet Concertos Ships from and sold by

Available on  iTunes

Mozart Born Anew! Outstanding Musical Interpretation ..., April 13, 2006

Reviewer: Erika Borsos

This reviewer is familiar with the three B's of classical music: Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms and can distinguish their styles, one can *now* add a fourth "B" which stands for "Balkan" as played by Tale Ognenovski ... Mr. Ognenovski plays Mozart with his own inimitable personal style making the classical music take on mysterious and exotic characteristics and overtones. His virtuosity possesses special qualities related to the Balkan clarinet that would make even Mozart blush with pleasure. Strict classical music is not my overall favorite because the patterns of sound are too prescribed, quite similar sounding as played by most musicians. Not so with Ognenovski whose elegant virtuosity sets him apart, the distinct Balkan flavor and improvisations are extraordinairy and appealing to those who love a more free form fluid style. Music played on the Macedonian clarinet has a long and distinguished history and when it marries classical music: the outcome is superb.
Ognenovski explodes with passion as he performs his own "Tale Ognenovski Concerto for Clarinet No. 1" ... The labyrinthine musical pathways he creates are enormously pleasing to the listener. The pentatonic scale and odd metered rhythms of Macedonia awaken the listener to new vistas of musical excitement and enjoyment. Anyone who loves jazz improvisation and the sounds of the clarinet will immediately recognize the superior creativity, breath control and complete mastery of this instrument as played by Mr. Ognenovski. It is no surprise that his music has been played on the radio and Mr. Ognenovski has appeared on the television in Macedonia during various occasions for the past 50 years. The music of the Balkans has stayed hidden too long, it deserves wider playing and world wide recognition. Perhaps on his third CD, Mr. Ognenovski will explore the realm of traditional music of Macedonia and share it with the world. His superior talent and expressive lyrical style leaves many possibilities for the future ... we who love clarinet music can only hope for another CD by this grand master. Erika Borsos

Label:  Independent Records, USA. Catalog: IR04542. Total playing time of this Audio CD 69:02

                         1. Tale Ognenovski Jazz Composition No. 1 (composer. Tale Ognenovski) 4:04  MP3 sample
                         2. Tale Ognenovski Jazz Composition No. 5 (composer Tale Ognenovski) 6:07
                         3. Tale Ognenovski Jazz Composition No. 8 (composer Tale Ognenovski) 2:35
                         4. Brusnichko oro (composer Tale Ognenovski) 2:41  MP3 sample
                         5. Nevenino oro (composer Tale Ognenovski) 2:11
                         6. Bukovsko svadbarsko oro (composer Tale Ognenovski) 3:51
                         7. Talevo kasapsko oro (composer Tale Ognenovski) 3:50
                         8. Stevchevo oro (composer Tale Ognenovski) 10:36  MP3 sample
                         9. Sharsko oro (composer Tale Ognenovski) 3:46  MP3 sample
                       10. Tale Ognenovski Concert for Clarinet No. 1 (composer Tale Ognenovski) 29:21

Special Thanks To Mr. Dimce Cvetkovski, from Buffalo, New York, USA, dear friend of Tale Ognenovski and Stevan Ognenovski.
Cover Photography by: Stevan Ognenovski and Margarita Ognenovska
Graphic Design by: Stevan Ognenovski and Nikola Ognenovski
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Dimitar Dimovski at PROMUZIKA TRA-LA-LA STUDIO in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Produced by Tale Ognenovski and Stevan Ognenovski

See more music informations for the first Audio CD of Tale Ognenovski


   Buying info for the first Audio CD of Tale Ognenovski at: CD Baby, Amazon.com,  CD Universe,  Best Buy,  MusicBoleh,   Artistdirect.com,  CDNow.com , The Orchard

Buy tracks from Tale Ognenovski Audio CD entitled Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances And Classical Music at the iTunes Music Store. The link below will take consumers directly to music of Tale Ognenovski on iTunes. http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=4691673

REMARK: The link     http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=4691673

Available on iTunes

First CD Album of Tale Ognenovski entitled “Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music” was manufactured at Raintree (www.raintree.com) the leading provider of CD, DVD & cassette manufacturing and related services. Raintree also provides graphic design, pre-mastering services, remote recording & acoustic recording, all while adhering to that original credo.

Tale Ognenovski has been entered in the:
  All About Jazz  Artists Directory database

Amazon.com Customer CD Review

Reviewer: Erika Borsos

World-class Jazz Compositions & Traditional Macedonian Folk, April 24, 2004

Totally Different and Mesmerizing., May 21, 2003
“…All selections are written by Mr. Ognenovski. This album crosses all of the above genres with finesse. A don't miss, feel good recording. Check out the drums. Tops my list of jazz recordings,” Will  Grandy, Amazon.com Reviewer from Canada.

Undisputed King of the Macedonian Clarinet, June 12, 2003
“…Tale Ognenovski is an undisputed leader and innovator of Balkan style improvisational jazz on the clarinet… Tracks 1, 2 & 3 are called "Tale Ognenovski Jazz Compositions No. 1, No. 5 & No. 8." The first reminds me of American jazz, such as played by Bennie Goodman & his band in the 1940s. Gradually, in a very fluid fashion, the music changes to Macedonian tunes and melodies. No. 5 & No. 8 have exotic musical phrases that only a master musician can create on a Balkan clarinet. My favorite tunes are the folk dances which demonstrate his innovative skills using the minor musical scale, unique rhythms and melodies that predominate in the Balkans. The titles of the tunes, "Brusnichko Oro", "Nevenino Oro", "Bukovsko svadbarski oro", "Talevo kasaspsko oro" ... sound as mysterious and enticing as the music itself…"Tale Ognenvovski Concert for Clarinet No. 1", is an amazing musical labyrinth, an extravaganza of magnificent proportions and dimensions. Although it lasts about 29 minutes, there is nothing boring or repetitive within the entire musical fete. It is a meditative exploration on the clarinet of a new musical form, a fusion of modern Westernized jazz improvisations with ancient Balkan rhythms and melodies…” Erika Borsos, Amazon.com Reviewer from USA.

Slammin', June 22, 2003
“The feel on this set truly eased me&made me feel all the instrumentation from start to finish.the pipes were on point&had a rhythm that moved&grooved to me.the drumming was tight as well.together with His Son&Grandkids Tale leads the way on this Tightly Blend of Different musical styles&bring them all together as one.the kind of music on a Mellow Summer day that truly hits the spot.even though Tale Ognenovski is the Composer&is Leading the way to Quote Sly&The Family Stone this is truly a "Family Affair".Highly Enjoyable.”  Maximillian Muhammad, Amazon.com Reviewer from USA.

MusicWeb (UK) CD Review
 “...The clarinet playing of Tale Ognenovski is much celebrated in his part of the world but he also toured in the west many years ago and even performed at Carnegie Hall. He is undoubtedly an exceptional artist and the predominant image created in my mind is of Benny Goodman playing the superb Contrasts he commissioned Bartók to write for him, but with a folk rather than a classical emphasis. All the pieces are credited as being written (arranged?) by Ognenovski...”  Neil Horner FULL STORY

Press notices: Audio CD album of the Musical Genius Tale Ognenovski – related articles in the newspapers in Republic of Macedonia 

"The Musical Genius Tale Ognenovski is one of the Greatest Instrumentalists and Composers in Word Music…In the new Audio CD, Tale Ognenovski in unique way in Word Music made the connection between Oriental and Western Music…" From an article entitled, “World Music, Fascinate fusion of Classical and Oriental Music“, written by “Sekoj petok” magazine and published on January 25, 2002, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. FULL STORY

"World music critics have been written that hi is the greatest clarinetist of all time, demonstrating unique skill, an unapproachable technique , a wealth of invention and amazing improvisational virtuosity.” From an article entitled, ““Tale Ognenovski, virtuoso of the clarinet, kaval and zourla - Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music, as a result of 73 Years of Work“,  written by Milica Dzarovska and published in the newspaper “Vest”, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on January 28, 2002. FULL STORY

"This Audio CD album is confirmation that Tale Ognenovski is the greatest clarinetist of all time in the World, demonstrating unique skill, a wealth of invention, amazing improvisational virtuosity, and outstanding musical competence...  The album can be ordered at Web site http://www.cdstreet.com...”   From an article entitled, “Mix of Macedonian Folk Dances and World Jazz of the old Maestro... “, written by Sonja Stoilkovska and published in the newspaper “Dnevnik ”, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on January 31, 2002. FULL STORY

“Tale Ognenovski is one of the greatest instrumentalists and composers in word of music. He made the connection between the two "UNCONNECTABLE" worlds - the Orient and the West - with melodies…” From an article entitled, “Virtuoso for the World Books with Macedonian Sign“, written by Greta Odzakova and published  in the newspaper “Vecher” , Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on February 2, 2002. FULL STORY

““Nobody in the world can play clarinet like Tale Ognenovski. His music is incredible. His improvisations and solos are out of this world…”, says Dimce Cvetkovski, the sponsor of the  Album entitled “Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music”.... Tale Ognenovski's contributions to our and world music are enormous...” From an article entitled, “New Audio CD of Tale Ognenovski – Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music with the clarinet virtuoso... “, written by Tina Ivanova. and published in the newspaper “Utrinski Vesnik ”, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on February 8, 2002. FULL STORY

“The  album of the legend of Macedonian music, Tale Ognenovski,   virtuoso soloist on the clarinet, reed pipe ("kavalche"), small bagpipe ("gajdarka") and zourla ("zurla")., entitled “Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music,”  has been released by record label Independents Records from USA...  His performances on the album are phenomenally…”   From an article entitled, “Music - Tale Ognenovski – Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music“, written by  “Glas” magazine, and published on February 25, 2002 , Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. FULL STORY

“"His performances are ideal and the sound he produces is a revelation in just how beautifully the clarinet can be played. His composition range, virtuosity, and originality with a clarinet made him a luminous cult hero, musical genius in the musical world history. Tale Ognenovski is a genius, a brilliant musician and Musical giant,” written by Stevan Ognenovski and published in the book entitled, “Tale Ognenovski, Virtuoso of the Clarinet and Composer”…".  From an article entitled ‘Tale Ognenovski, World Virtuoso of the Folk, Jazz, and Classical Music",  written by Mileva Lazova and published in the magazine “Makedonsko Sonce” , Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on November 29, 2002, FULL STORY

“…In the newspaper “Vecher” we were written an article about Tale Ognenovski and his new Album entitled “Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music”. The Album was released by record label: Independent Records from USA. Legend of Macedonian music, Tale Ognenovski is the greatest clarinetist, reed piper, zourlist and small bagpiper of all time  and one of the Greatest Composers in World Music…” From an article entitled, "Album of Tale Ognenovski in “Jugoton””, published in the newspaper ‘Vecher’, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia on December 28, 2002.

““… remarkable music on both orthodox and unorthodox instruments - a raucous and unforgettable pipe…  (virtuoso pipe ("kavalche") and the clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski )… The house was completely sold out, and others no doubt would follow the same pattern," from an article written by John Martin entitled "Ballet: Yugoslav Folk Art ‘Tanec’ Dancers Appear at Carnegie Hall in Display of Tremendous Skill," and published in The New York Times, New York, on January 28, 1956. “…” From an article entitled, "And the muses sleep when Tale perform”, written by Valentina Gorgievska and published in the newspaper ‘Vecher’, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia on July 30, 2003. FULL STORY

Promotion of the Audio CD of Tale Ognenovski on the television programmes

The television programme 'Folk Plus' of Macedonian Radio Television on February 8, 2002, was dedicated to Tale Ognenovski’s Audio CD,  entitled “Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music”, released by record label Independents Records from USA.  The journalist, Vesna Trajchevska said: “The critics in the world commented that Tale Ognenovski is Musical Genius and the best instrumentalist in the world..." FULL STORY

The television programme 'Utrinsko ogledalo' of Macedonian Radio Television.  on February 10, 2002, was dedicated to Tale Ognenovski’s Audio CD ,  entitled “Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music”, released by record label Independents Records from USA.  “. Tale Ognenovski performed solo on the small bagpipe and zourla his own composition “Sharsko oro”, the track from the album accompanied by his son Stevan on the drum. Second part of this composition was played by his son Stevan and grandsons Nikola and Kliment on the reed pipe accompanied by Tale Ognenovski on the reed pipe. The journalist, Sinolichka Dzambazova said: “You are one of the greatest Ambassadors in the presentation of the valuable things that Macedonia possesses: Macedonian complex rhythms… The critics in the world commented that Tale Ognenovski is the best instrumentalist in the world…" FULL STORY

Concert at Carnegie Hall, New York City, January 27, 1956
Unforgettable Pipe and Clarinet of Tale Ognenovski Appear at Carnegie Hall
"There are some winning songs, too, and some remarkable music on both orthodox and unorthodox instruments - a raucous and unforgettable pipe (virtuoso pipe ("kavalche") and clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski) ... Written by John Martin, The New York Times, January 28, 1956, Title: "Ballet: Yugoslav Folk Art.  'Tanec' Dancers Appear at Carnegie Hall in Display of Tremendous Skill".

         Wave Audio Samples
W. A. Mozart: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, in A Major,  KV 622, soloist on clarinet Tale Ognenovski, accompaniment on piano by Tanja Shopova (35.56 sec, 197KB)
E. Cavallini: Concert "Fiori Rossiniani", soloist on clarinet Tale Ognenovski, accompaniment on piano by Ladislav Palfi (30.79 sec, 170KB)
R. Wagner: "Adagio for Clarinet", soloist on clarinet Tale Ognenovski, accompaniment on piano by Tanja Shopova (33.97sec, 188KB)
JAZZ improvisations, composer Tale Ognenovski, soloist on clarinet Tale Ognenovski (25.62sec, 142KB )

Tale Ognenovski is the greatest clarinetist, reed piper, zourlist and small bagpiper of all time, demonstrating unique skill, a wealth of invention, amazing improvisational virtuosity and outstanding musical competence in all areas of music.
Tale Ognenovski’s numerous musical works belong to different genres; together, his folk dances and classical and jazz compositions established the clarinet as an instrument capable of the highest range of expression in solo music.

Ognenovski’s compositions are extremely skilful and he exploits the sounds of different sounding registers of the instrument very effectively. He is one of the greatest exponents of composers of clarinet music and is the finest exponent of players of the clarinet. His performances are superb, and the sound he produces reveals just how beautifully the clarinet can be played.

Tale Ognenovski’s Macedonian folk dances have been performed in Switzerland (Mechanlizenz), France (Sacem), Sweden (Gema), Finland (Teosto), Great Britain, Denmark, Austria and others.

Legendary artist Tale Ognenovski performed as clarinet and pipe soloist in Folk Dances in the world-famous Carnegie Hall, a symbol of artistic excellence, on January 27, 1956. There, he bewitched the audience with his performances as clarinet and pipe virtuoso soloist.
One of the longest and the most triumphant tours in the history of world music
During an 84-day tour throughout the United States of America and Canada, Ensemble ‘Tanec’ travelled 10,000 kilometres and performed 66 concerts in 53 different towns. They were described as a Great Cultural Event by the American press, with articles appearing in The New York Times, The New York Daily Mirror, The New York Herald Tribune, The New York World Telegram, The New York Daily News, Boston Traveler, Boston Globe, Chicago Daily News, Chicago Daily Tribune, Saint Louis Globe Democrat, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union, The Milwaukee Journal, Washington News, Baltimore Sun,  The Christian Science Monitor, Denver Rocky Mountain News, Life, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Globe and Mail, The Washington Post and the Times Herald. This particular tour is one of the longest and the most triumphant tours in the history of world music. Ensemble ‘Tanec’ twice repeated this great success, first with their tour of Germany from August 15 until October 27, 1956 during which they performed 72 concerts and second, with their tour of France from September 20 until November 25, 1959 during which they performed 83 concerts. There were two further concerts in Dortmund, Germany on September 18 and 19, 1959.

Raymond Guillier, director of his own company ("Les grands spectacles internationaux Les productions Raymond Guillier") and manager of Ensemble ‘Tanec’s 1959 tour of France, commented that no other Ensemble in the world could perform Macedonian folklore as well as ‘Tanec’, because every Macedonian girl and boy from the Ensemble gave their whole heart to the Dance, and a prime example of this was the clarinetist Tale Ognenovski. This was a particularly notable comment, since Raymond Guillier had organized many concerts in Paris and elsewhere in France for some of the best Ensembles in the world.

In December 1952, Tale Ognenovski played a solo clarinet accompaniment with the outstanding pianist Nino Cipushev. They performed the classical concert "Concert Polka for Clarinet" by Miler Bela in the "Police House" in Skopje with great success. Miler’s concert consists of complicated parts that demand great virtuosity, and many cadenzas that are difficult to perform. Tale Ognenovski performed this concert magnificently, and in doing so became the first clarinet soloist to perform a classical concert for the clarinet in the Republic of Macedonia. This was a memorable event in the history of music of the country.

He learned to play many different instruments: besides the clarinet and pipe ("kavalche") , he played the saxophone , the horn ("zurla") , the oboe, the small bagpipe ("gajdarka") , the fagot and the drum ("tapan") with great dexterity.

Tale Ognenovski received numerous awards and honours , all amongst the most prestigious in the world of performing arts. The most significant awards were:

1.) First Award Clarinet as the best clarinetist at the First Macedonian Festival of Folk Dances and Songs, Skopje, October 6-10, 1948, ahead of musicians from 453 folk dance groups. "The First Award Clarinet was received by Tale Ognenovski from Bitola…" appeared under the title "Awards received by choirs, folk dance and song groups, solo singers and players who participated at the first Republic of Macedonia Festival of Folk Dances and Songs", published in the newspaper "Nova Makedonija" on October 13, 1948.

2.) First Award at the Yugoslav (Former Yugoslavia) Folk Music Festival in Opatija, Croatia , September 9-12, 1951, together with 11 other members of the folk dance group from the Bitola village of Nidzopole, ahead of 85 folk dance groups from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia and Croatia. In the cultural newspaper "Kulturni radnik" Number 10-11, published in October 1951 in Zagreb, Croatia, Dr. Vinko Zganec wrote, under the title "Yugoslav Musical folklore at the Festival in Opatija", "the clarinet (the virtuoso clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by the Stevan Ognenovski) and the large drum provided a most effective combination for the folk dance from Kozjak, as did the clarinet with the small drum for the folk dance "Teshkoto" from Nizhopole. The Yugoslav Folk Music Festival in Opatija had been specially arranged for the members of the Conference of the International Folk Music Council. "...We were privileged to see and hear for ourselves the beauty and variety of Yugoslav folk art at the wonderful Festival which had been especially arranged for the members of the Conference...there were moments during the Festival performances when we could recognize the magic of song and dance...an astonishing pageant of costume and custom, of ritual and social dance, of songs and instrument playing by 700 performers..." These comments appeared under the headings: "EDITORIAL" and "SOME IMPRESSIONS OF THE YUGOSLAV CONFERENCE AND FESTIVAL", published in the Journal of the International Folk Music Council, Vol. IV, pages 1-2, London, March, 1952.

3.) "Estradna nagrada Jugoslavije" ("Yugoslavian Stage Award"), the greatest award in former Yugoslavia for musical stage artists, from the Association of Stage Artists of Yugoslavia, (signed by the composer Miljenko Prohaska), Zagreb, Croatia, October 31, 1978.

4.) "Pochesna Estradna Nagrada na Makedonija" ("Macedonian Stage Award with Honours"), the greatest award in the Republic of Macedonia for musical stage artists, from the Association of Stage Artists of Macedonia, (signed by Bozhidar Noev), Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, May 27, 1996.

5.) "Blagodarnica" (This is an honorary award) for life long work from the folk radio "Radio Ros", (signed by the director Aleksandar Dimitrov), December 7, 2000.

6.) Tale Ognenovski received a Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Honors at Annual “10 Folk Biseri”  (“The Ten Folk Pearls”) Awards, sponsored by Macedonian Radio Television. He was on stage in Skopje, February 19, 2002, to personally receive his Lifetime Achievement Award   in front of the more than 700 spectators at the Macedonian National Theatre. This event was broadcast live to the millions spectators in Republic of Macedonia, Europe and Australia by Macedonian Television. The journalist, Eli Tanaskova said: “Tale Ognenovski is a great instrumentalist and composer for clarinet. He made the connection between Oriental and Western Music with extraordinary technique and wealth of invention. This year is the 80th anniversary of his birthday,  73th  anniversary of his playing on the reed pipe, 65th anniversary of his playing on the clarinet and 46th anniversary of his performances at world-famous Carnegie Hall in New York on January 27, 1956. The journalist, Boris Chorevski said: “Tale Ognenovski has composed 150 Macedonian folk dances.  His son Stevan and his grandsons Nikola and Kliment began playing his music, accompanying him as members of his Orchestra. In this “10 Folk Biseri” Awards Ceremony, Tale Ognenovski said: “Thank you very much to you respectable audience and to Macedonian Radio Television for this Prestigious Lifetime Achievement Honors at Annual “10 Folk Biseri” Awards. These days the journalists from many Macedonian newspapers has been written “Tale Ognenovski is the greatest clarinetist of all time in the World, demonstrating unique skill, a wealth of invention, amazing improvisational virtuosity, and outstanding musical competence in many areas of music…” . Special thanks to my son Stevan who wrote my biography in the book : “Tale Ognenovski virtuoso of the clarinet and composer” and he is author of my Web site. My Audio CD album entitled, "Jazz, Macedonian Folk Dances and Classical Music" is the best album for all time for instrumental music.My album has been released in USA. I wish you good health to all of you.” Tale Ognenovski earned rapturous applause from the audience. Annual “10 Folk Biseri”  (“The Ten Folk Pearls”) Awards, sponsored by Macedonian Radio Television were heralded as great cultural event by the Macedonian press: Vest, Nova Makedonija, Dnevnik, Vecher, Utrinski vesnik…

7. Tale Ognenovski won top honors as the winner of 11 Oktomvri award, the highest and the most prestigious national award in
   Republic of Macedonia.
  October 11 awards for special and eminent achievements in the areas of science, culture, art and journalism were handed at the Macedonian Parliament on Saturday, October 11th., 2003. Institute of Macedonian language "Krste Misirkov" from Skopje and Professor Dr. Ljupco Ajdinski, teacher of the handicapped, are the winners of the award in the area of science and education.
The winners of October 11 award for 2003 in the area of culture and art are Tale Ognenovski, the clarinet virtuoso, and Zoica Purovska-Velevska, prima ballerina from Skopje. Present at this ceremony on October 11, 2003 at Macedonian Parliament were Mr. Boris Trajkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Branko Crvenkovski, Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Nikola Popovski, President of the Parliament of Republic of Macedonia , Mr. Kiro Gligorov, the First  President of Republic of Macedonia, Mrs. Radmila Shekerinska, Deputy to the President of the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, Ms. Liljana Popovska, Vice president of the Parliament of Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Hari Kostov, Minister of the Interior, Members of the Parliament of Republic of Macedonia including Ms. Ganka Samoilova – Cvetanovska and Mr. Tito Petkovski…
The informations for Winners of 11 Oktomvri Awards were published at: Macedonian Radio (September 26, 2003), MIA (Macedonian Information Agency, September 26, 2003), http://vesti.mt.net.mk, newspapers: “Nova Makedonija”, “Vecher”, “Dnevnik”, “Utrinski Vesnik” and”Vest” (October 11 and 13, 2003), magazine “Makedonsko Sonce” (October 10, 2003), Macedonian Television, A1 Television, Sitel Television, Telma Television, Kanal 5 Television (October 11, 2003)…
October 11 awards for special and eminent achievements in the areas of science, culture, art and journalism was heralded as great cultural event by the Macedonian press: Nova Makedonija, Vest, Dnevnik, Vecher, Utrinski vesnik...

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Tale Ognenovski’s recordings for Radio Television Belgrade, Jugoton and Macedonian Radio Television are unique compositions based on Macedonian folk music but in places influenced by oriental, jazz and classical music. His pieces have a highly complex pattern of rhythm and attractive melody that is incomparable with any other kind of music known today. Tale Ognenovski’s contributions to world music are enormous. His remarkable music of consistently high quality is unique.

On February 25, 1999, the Tale Ognenovski Web site http://www.taleognenovski.com.mk/index.html was listed on Anne Bell’s Clarinet Website Index on the Internet under http://www.sneezy.org/anne_bell/ABCClar.htm, together with another 20 world famous clarinetists. The actual address is:

http://www.anne-bell.woodwind.org/ABCClar.htm#P&T

I. TALE OGNENOVSKI’S BRILLIANT CAREER AS A MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER

This is the story of one of the most extraordinary figures in the history of world music.

Tale Ognenovski is one of the world’s most innovative and renowned professional instrumentalists, and is the greatest clarinetist of all time. His compositions of various kinds of music made him a musical phenomenon. On January 27, 1956, Tale Ognenovski, Macedonian clarinetist and composer, appeared with the Macedonian Ensemble ‘Tanec’ at Carnegie Hall in New York City. He toured throughout North America and Europe, and amazed audiences with his brilliant musical ability.

Tale Ognenovski’s remarkable international career has enabled him to make a significant contribution to the world of music with his own style and unique abilities. With the clarinet and pipe ("kavalche"), he demonstrated inimitable technique, a wealth of invention and outstanding musical competence.

1. Musical genius Tale Ognenovski

Tale Ognenovski was born in the village of Brusnik near Bitola in the Republic of Macedonia on April 27, 1922. His music styles include Macedonian folk dances, classical music and jazz.
He is bandleader of the Tale Ognenovski Orchestra.

During his career, he appeared with the Macedonian State Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs ‘Tanec’ on some of the world’s most prestigious concert stages. These include appearances in New York City (Carnegie Hall, January 27, 1956 and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, April 11 and 12, 1956), Boston (Symphony Hall, January 1, 1956), Chicago (Chicago Civic Opera House, February 4 and 5, 1956), Philadelphia (Academy of Music, February 7, 1956), Washington, D.C. (Constitution Hall, February 9, 1956), Baltimore (Lyric Theater, February 10, 1956), Pittsburgh (Syria Mosque Theater, February 12, 1956), Detroit (Masonic Auditorium, February 18, 1956), Indianapolis (Murat Theater, February 20, 1956), Saint Louis (Municipal Auditorium, February 26, 1956), Kansas City (Music Hall, February 29, 1956), Colorado Springs (City Auditorium, March 3, 1956), Denver (Auditorium Arena, March 4, 1956), San Francisco (Opera House, March 7 and 9, 1956), Los Angeles (Philharmonic Auditorium, March 12, 13 and 14, 1956), Houston (City Auditorium, March 28 and 29, 1956), New Orleans (Civic Theatre, April 1, 2 and 3, 1956), Atlanta (Tower Theatre, April 5, 6 and 7, 1956), Toronto (Massey Hall, February 13, 1956), Bonn (Town Theater, October 29, 1956), Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Paris, (September 20-22, 1959) Le Havre, Nantes, Lille, Geneva (July 9 and 10, 1959.), Berne (July 7 and 8, 1959.)...

The brilliant musician Tale Ognenovski performed in a multitude of concerts in the United States (65 concerts, from January 22, 1956 till April 12, 1956), Canada (Toronto Massey Hall, February 13, 1956), Germany (74 concerts, from August 15, 1956 till October 27, 1956 and September 17 and 18, 1959 in Dortmund), France (83 concerts, from September 20 till November 25, 1959), Switzerland (Berne, July 7 and 8, Geneva, July 9 and 10, 1959), Bulgaria (November and December, 1955), Romania, (9 concerts, December, 1957 and January 1958), Albania (9 concerts, October, 1957), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia. The public and audiences greeted ‘Tanec’ wherever they performed with great warmth, and showed their appreciation with huge applause. Tale Ognenovski and all other members of the Ensemble became international ambassadors of music.

During his career, Tale Ognenovski composed and arranged 150 Macedonian folk dances. They were recorded at the studio of Macedonian Radio Television. 138 are solo pieces on the clarinet and 12 are solo pieces on the pipe ("kavalche"). The majority of them are his own compositions.

Most of these folk dances that were recorded on gramophone records or cassettes were performed by his own Tale Ognenovski Orchestra, with others performed by various orchestras of Macedonian Radio Television, the Galevski-Nanchevski Orchestra, the Kocho Petrovski Orchestra and the Pece Atanasovski Orchestra. With his own Tale Ognenovski Orchestra, he recorded 17 gramophone records with famous singers (Gramophone producers: RTB, Jugoton, Beograd Disk, and Diskos). As a performer with other orchestras, he recorded more than 30 gramophone records with famous singers.

Several Macedonian folk dances that he composed, including "Bitolsko svadbarsko oro", "Bitolsko oro", "Pelistersko oro" and "Resensko oro" were performed in many countries.

2. Tale Ognenovski’s unique talent and musical genius.

Tale Ognenovski inherited his great talent and musical genius from his great-grandfather Ognen and grandfather Riste, both of whom were excellent players on the pipe ("kavalche"), and from his father Jovan who was an excellent player on the bagpipe ("gajda"). At every celebration in his village of Brusnik, his father Jovan invited to his home the clarinetist Sterjo, accompanied by two other musicians who played the violin and drum, or the clarinetist Lambo, together with two other musicians who played the violin and drum (Lambo’s son Tode played the drum). On these occasions Tale’s father Jovan played the bagpipe. When little Tale was six years old he began to accompany them playing the "daire" (some kind of little drum).

It was during these moments that Tale began to love playing musical instruments. He began to play on the pipe ("kavalche") at the age of 7 (1929) when he also made his first musical composition . These particularly happy times in Tale’s life were broken suddenly, in 1933, when his father Jovan died. By the time Tale was 15 (1937) he was an excellent player on the pipe. During one celebration in Brusnik he asked the clarinetist Vasil Talevski to lend him his clarinet. Tale began to play the clarinet for the first time, and all the villagers who were present, including Vasil Talevski, Mile Karangelevski and the priest Spase were amazed at how well he played.

It was then that one of the most successful careers in the world of music began. Tale’s grandmother Mara and mother Vanka provided some money to buy Tale his first clarinet, and the priest Spase helped them to order it from Celje, Slovenia. Tale began to play the clarinet at many celebrations and concerts in villages and the town of Bitola with many other musicians. His youngest brother Cane was also very talented musically. He was a great singer of Macedonian folk songs and also an excellent drummer.

From 1946 till 1951 he played in the Cultural-Educational Societies of "Svetlost" and "Stiv Naumov" in Bitola, and folk dance groups from the villages of Brusnik, Dihovo, Nizhopole, Rotino and Lavci. Always a lover of classical music, Tale Ognenovski was prepared to study alone to learn to play classical music on the clarinet. He performed many times in radio broadcasts on Radio Bitola. He received the First Award as the best clarinetist at the first regional Bitola Festival of Folk Dances and Songs, held on October 9-11, 1947. From November 1, 1948 till December 30, 1948, he was a member of the Folk Orchestra of Radio Skopje at the invitation of Mr. Vasil Hadzimanov and Mr. Nikolaj Galevski. This was after he had received the First Award Clarinet as the best clarinetist at the first Macedonia Festival of Folk Dances and Songs, held in Skopje in 1948. He played many times with the Radio Skopje Studio Folk Orchestra, and many of these performances were broadcast.

From 1949 to 1951, at the invitation of Mr. Angel Saldziev, Assistant Director in the Ministry of Science and Culture in Republic of Macedonia, Tale Ognenovski toured the Republic of Macedonia accompanied by folk dance groups from the villages of Brusnik, Dihovo, Nizhopole and Lavci, and the "Chalgii" orchestras of Radio Bitola and Radio Skopje. Mr. Angel Saldziev was the manager of these tours, which were at the time significant musical events in Macedonia.

Tale Ognenovski won First Award at the Yugoslav (Former Yugoslavia) Folk Music Festival in Opatija, Croatia, September 9-12, 1951, together with another 11 members of the Folk Dance Ensemble from the Bitola village of Nizhopole. This was out of 85 folk dance groups from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia and Croatia. From 1951 till 1954, Tale Ognenovski worked as a member of the "Police Wind Orchestra".

3. In 1952, Tale Ognenovski became the first clarinet soloist in the history of the Republic of Macedonia to
    perform a classical concert for the clarinet.

In December 1952, Tale Ognenovski as clarinet soloist, together with the superb pianist Nino Cipushev as accompaniment, performed the classical concert "Concert Polka for Clarinet" by Miler Bela in the "Police House" in Skopje with outstanding success. This classical concert by Miler Bela consists of complicated parts with many cadenzas demanding great skill and expertise from a clarinet soloist. With his superb performance, Tale Ognenovski became the first clarinet soloist in the history of the Republic of Macedonia to perform a classical concert for the clarinet. This was a notable event in the history of Macedonian music.

He staged further classical performances throughout his career. On May 24, 1953, he played clarinet soloist in the classical concert  "Concert Polka for Clarinet" by Miler Bela with Gligor Smokvarski’s arrangement for the "Public Police Wind Orchestra", comprising about 30 musicians and conducted by Micho Kostovski. The concert was performed in the Radio Skopje building, and broadcast directly to the nation via Radio Skopje.

Periodically, from 1949 till 1960, he played solo clarinet with the Small Radio Skopje Orchestra conducted by Nikola Galevski on an honorary basis. These concerts were also broadcast nationally by Radio Skopje. From November 15, 1951 till 1954, he worked with the "Public Police Wind Orchestra". From 1954 till 1956, he worked with the "Public Town Skopje Orchestra," and from 1956 till 1960 with the Macedonian State Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs ‘Tanec’.

4. Tale Ognenovski as a virtuoso clarinet soloist performed Macedonian folk dances with Ensemble ‘Tanec’ in the
    film "Rhythm and Sound," 1955.

In Vardar Film’s 1955 production of "Ritam I zyuk (Rythym and Sound), Tale Ognenovski as a virtuoso clarinet soloist performed the Macedonian folk dances "Zhensko Chamche" and "Beranche" with Ensemble ‘Tanec’. In the film, "Zhensko Chamche" begins with some technically very complicated, solo improvisations by Tale Ognenovski that do not appear in the original version of the folk dance.

By the end of 1955, Tale Ognenovski worked with the "Police Wind Orchestra". There followed a request by Emanuel Chuchkov, the director of Ensemble ‘Tanec’, to the manager and conductor of the "Police Wind Orchestra", Micho Kostovski, for Tale Ognenovski to be a guest soloist of the Ensemble. Their first tour was to Bulgaria (November and December, 1955), followed soon after by a tour throughout the United States of America and Canada (66 concerts, between January 22, 1956 and April 12, 1956). During the period July 1, 1956 and September 1, 1960, while employed by Ensemble ‘Tanec’, he toured Germany (74 concerts, from August 15, 1956 until October 27, 1956 and September 18 and 19, 1959 in Dortmund), Albania (9 concerts, October, 1957), Romania (9 concerts, December, 1957 and January 1958), Switzerland (Berne, July 7 and 8 and Geneva, July 9 and 10, 1959) and France (83 concerts, from September 20 until November 25, 1959). He also toured with the Ensemble throughout the former Yugoslavia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Slovenia, Serbia and Croatia; everywhere they performed, Ensemble ‘Tanec’ and Tale Ognenovski earned rapturous applause.

From 1960 to 1967, Tale Ognenovski worked with "Radio Television Skopje".

During the years 1962 to 1965, Tale Ognenovski took part in a review programme by Radio Skopje entitled "A Competition of the Towns". He also performed as a musician for Radio Skopje, was a leading instrumentalist with the folk orchestra, and coordinator of auditions and the selection of singers from all the towns in the Republic of Macedonia.

As a member of the folk orchestra, he played Macedonian folk dances as a clarinet soloist at the First Festival of Yugoslavian (Former Yugoslavia) Folk Music that was broadcast on radio in Skopje, Macedonia (April 14-16, 1967). During 1967, he recorded as accompaniment on the clarinet many records on magnetic tapes with the "Tancov" Orchestra of Radio Television Skopje.

As a clarinet soloist with Radio Television Skopje’s Folk Music Orchestra, he played other Macedonian folk dances that were broadcast on television by "Television Zagreb", Zagreb, Croatia. (1966) .

During the 1960s Tale Ognenovski played as clarinet soloist in many Macedonian folk dances and songs in numerous theatrical performances at the Macedonian National Theatre.

5. In 1966, Tale Ognenovski became Head of the "Folk Music Orchestra" of "Radio Television Skopje"

In 1967 Tale Ognenovski retired, but he continued to play on an honorary basis in the "Chalgii" Orchestra on "Radio Television Skopje" until 1979.

He performed his own compositions of Macedonian folk dances as clarinet and pipe soloist at a special concert marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of Radio Television Skopje, performed in the Universal Hall in Skopje on December 19, 1969 .At this concert, Tale Ognenovski demonstrated his rich talent by performing with all three, different folk music orchestras of Radio Television Skopje, namely the Folk Music Orchestra, the "Chalgii" Orchestra and the Authentic Folk Instruments Orchestra. The audience that jammed the Universal Hall to capacity gave enthusiastic applause. The concert was a great success, with many other famous singers and instrumentalists taking part.

During the 1960’s, Tale Ognenovski performed at many concerts in the Former Yugoslavia with the orchestra of the legendary Kocho Petrovski. The orchestra included among its members Dr. Aleksandar Vasevski and Slobodan Nikolovski. During 1970s Dr. Aleksandar Vasevski was president or secretary of the "Association of Stage Artists of Macedonia".

As clarinet soloist, Tale Ognenovski performed his own compositions of Macedonian folk dances on the television programme "Yugoslavia, Good Day" broadcast on "Television Zagreb" in Croatia, February 27, 1975.

He appeared as a special guest clarinet soloist at the concert marking the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Cultural Artistical Society "Ilinden" in Bitola, held in the "House of Culture", Bitola in December, 1985. His performances on the clarinet of many of their own, brilliantly composed Macedonian folk dances accompanied by "Ilinden" itself, earned him rapturous applause from the audience.

He appeared as a special guest clarinet soloist at the concert marking the anniversary of the founding of "Radio Television Belgrade" held in the "House of the Syndicate" in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1989. He played as clarinet soloist two Macedonian folk dances, both of which he composed: Bitolsko svadbarsko oro, and Brusnichko oro. He had as accompaniment the Folk Music Orchestra of "Radio Television Belgrade" conducted by the famous violinist Jasharevic. Tale Ognenovski received great applause for his virtuoso playing on the clarinet. This concert was broadcast live on "Radio Belgrade".

Some of the crowning events of Tale Ognenovski’s professional career were his performances as soloist on concerts broadcast on television by Macedonian Television. These include Mozart’s ‘Clarinet Concerto in A Major K.622’ and Wagner’s ‘Adagio for Clarinet’, performed in 1987 and accompanied by the excellent pianist Tanja Shopova, and Cavallini’s concert ‘Fiori Rossiniani’ performed in 1970 and accompanied by the legendary pianist Professor Ladislav Palfi. He demonstrated brilliant technique and beautiful tone on each occasion.

           Wave Audio Samples
W. A. Mozart: Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, in A Major,  KV 622, soloist on clarinet Tale Ognenovski, accompaniment on piano by Tanja Shopova (35.56 sec, 197KB)

E. Cavallini: Concert "Fiori Rossiniani", soloist on clarinet Tale Ognenovski, accompaniment on piano by Ladislav Palfi (30.79 sec, 170KB)

National Macedonian Radio broadcast numerous folk music programmes in which were included Macedonian folk dances  composed and/or arranged him, and in which he was virtuoso clarinetist and pipe soloist. Three Macedonian folk dances were included in the programme "Sunday folk hit", broadcast on May 2, 1999. These were "Pelistersko oro", "Poljansko oro" and "Kumovo oro - chochek", all his own compositions. Also included in the programme was a biography of Tale Ognenovski edited by Orce Gelevski.

Many musicians from Macedonian Radio Television worked together with Tale Ognenovski with the recording of numerous folk dances and songs. These included Nikolaj Galevski, Angel Nanchevski, Kocho Petrovski, Ivan Terziev, Blagoja Deskovski, Aleksandar Piperkov, Ljupcho Pandilov, Stevo Teodosievski, Todor Petrovski-Tosho, Aleksandar Sarievski, Naser, Suljo, Dimitar Najdenov Taki, Hustref Said, Tosho Gjorgjevic, Metodija Zafirovski-Smolski, Hilmi Baki, Raim Baki , Apostol Gelevski, Pece Atanasovski,Dimitar Bugarski, Dragi Simonovski, Dimitar Krstevski, Risto Vasilevski, Vasil Ivanovski-Javasho, Pero Jarchev, Muarem Sakipov, Mamet, Dragi Anchevski, Angele Dimovski, Tihomir Veskovski, Mahmud Muzafer, Nikola Cvetkovski, Mile Kolarovski, Todor Pavlovski , Ljupcho Ilievski, Petar Lukic, Todor Trajchevski, Petar Petrov, Liljana Avtovska, Borche Polizovski, Slobodan Serafimovski, Vlado Dimitrovski, Mendo Dear, Kosta Smilevski, Mladen (Mladjo), Vesel Chun, Medo Chun, Moamed Chun, Amet Eminov, Aki Memedov, Mefail Sakipov, Moamer, Tome Chrchev, Redzep Pampurovski, Moarem Sali, Slobodan Nikolovski, Kurto, Borche Grujovski, Vlado Hristov and Dimitar Krcovski.

Tale Ognenovski, genius virtuoso of the clarinet has, in his life-time, composed and arranged 150 Macedonian folk dances, including Brusnichko oro, Poljansko oro, Stevchevo oro, Kasapsko oro, Nevenino oro, Kumovo oro chochek, Resensko oro, Talevo svadbarsko oro,  Bukovsko svadbarsko oro, Drachevsko oro, Zajachko oro, Pelistersko oro, Caparsko oro, Bitolsko svadbarsko oro, Oreovsko oro, Nevenino lavchansko oro, Sharsko kozarsko oro, Veleshko zhensko oro, Zhensko krsteno oro, Adana oro, Bitolsko oro, Pelagonisko oro, Mominsko oro, Ohridsko oro,  Beranche oro, Mashkoto oro, Nevestinsko oro, Kavadarsko oro, Skopski chochek, Zhensko kichevsko oro, Egejsko oro, Prilepsko svadbarsko oro, Deverovo oro, Ristevo oro, Prespansko oro,  Berovsko zhensko oro, Negotinsko mashko oro, Gevgelisko zhensko oro, Delchevsko zhensko oro, Kumanovsko oro and Galichko oro. The majority of them are his own compositions.

As a composer, Tale Ognenovski was particularly innovative. He composed his music by treating rhythms differently and dividing them into more flexible units. He made many studio recordings for Macedonian Radio Television as a virtuoso clarinet and pipe soloist (folk, jazz, and classical music), and countless radio and television broadcasts.

Tale Ognenovski was a member of the Composers’ Association of Yugoslavia (Former Yugoslavia) from 1963 till 1990.

41 of Tale Ognenovski’s compositions had been recorded on 20 gramophone records up until May 28, 1973 (source: a letter dated May 28, 1973 from the Composers’ Association of Yugoslavia (Former Yugoslavia)). Tale Ognenovski had composed 128 pieces of musical up until March 29, 1988 (source: a letter dated March 29, 1988 from the Composers’ Association of Yugoslavia (Former Yugoslavia)).

He has played on the clarinet in many concerts performing with the following Orchestras and Ensembles: the cultural-educational societies in Bitola of "Svetlost", "Stiv Naumov", "Ilinden"; folk dance groups from the villages of Brusnik, Dihovo, Nizhopole, Rotino and Lavci; the Radio Bitola orchestras; the Macedonian State Ensemble of Folk dances and Songs "Tanec"; cultural art societies: "Vlado Tasevski" and "Kocho Racin"; the academic culture and art society "Mirche Acev; other Ensembles of folk dances and songs including "Orce Nikolov", "Goce Delchev", "Dom na gradezhnici Skopje", "Hor na invalidi Skopje" and "Dom na borci i invalidi Skopje"; the Macedonia Radio and Television folk music orchestras: the Folk Music Orchestra, the "Chalgii" Orchestra and the Authentic Folk Instruments Orchestra; the Orchestra of the legendary Stevo Teodosievski and the Ljupcho Pandilov Orchestra.

He made his recording debut as a composer with the Galevski-Nanchevski Orchestra in 1963, with three Macedonian folk dances all composed by him, and in which he played solo clarinet: "Bitolsko svadbarsko oro", "Bitolsko oro" and "Pelistersko oro". The record (EP 14700) was produced by "RADIO TELEVIZIJA BEOGRAD" (Radio Television Belgrade, Belgrade, Yugoslavia).

6. In 1965, Tale Ognenovski established his own "Tale Ognenovski Orchestra"

The year 1965 saw Tale Ognenovski establish his own "Tale Ognenovski Orchestra" in Skopje, and "RADIO TELEVIZIJA BEOGRAD" produce the record EP 14711 . On this record, he gives solo clarinet performances of his four compositions, Prespansko oro, Kumovo oro, Deverovo oro and Dihovsko oro, accompanied by the "Tale Ognenovski Orchestra".

The members of Tale Ognenovski Orchestra were: Blagoja Deskovski, Slavcho Gjurchilov, Dragi Bogatinov, Mile Serafimovski, Kiril Zivkovski, Borche Polizovski, Sime Fonchev, Mile Serafimov, Hilmi Baki, Raim Baki, Muarem Sali, Redzep Pampurovski, Pande Kominovski, Ilija Stavrevski, Mladen Stojanovic, Dimitar Bugarski, Pancho Musev, Aki Memedov, Rushan, Mefail Sakipov, Hustref Said, Mile Brzanov, Aristid Filaktov, Moamed Chun and Vlado Dimitrovski.

"The gramophone record epy-3914, which was recorded with your Ensemble..."
In 1967 a letter, reference ‘My/Mlj’, was sent by Jugoton, producers of gramophone records in Zagreb, Croatia to Tale Ognenovski. In this is written:

"Dear Mr. Ognenovski. The gramophone record epy-3914, which was recorded with your Ensemble and with the singer Anka Gieva, is produced and already delivered to the market. We are sending you two records, one for you and one for Mrs. Anka Gieva. We wish you further great success in the future and send you our regards."

"Resensko oro" performed by Tale Ognenovski as solo clarinetist is recorded on the LP "YUGOSLAVIAN FOLK DANCES"

The Macedonian folk dance "Resensko oro" is available on the Jugoton LP "YUGOSLAVIAN FOLK DANCES" ("PLESOVI NARODA JUGOSLAVIJE"), reference number LPYV-S-806. "The tracks on this record contain instrumental, musical folk-dance accompaniments arranged for the public... The aksak rhythm appears in the musical accompaniment of the Macedonian "Resensko oro" (A-4, composed and performed by Tale Ognenovski as solo clarinetist, accompanied by his Tale Ognenovski Folk Ensemble), in a three-beat rhythm, with the extended first unit..." wrote Dr Jerko Bezic on back cover of this record.

7. The 35th anniversary of the founding of "Radio Television Skopje"
"...Tale Ognenovski who has demonstrated his rich talent by performing with all three different folk music orchestras..." - LP ULS-578

In 1979, the LP reference number ULS-578 was produced by Radio Television Skopje (and manufactured in JUGOTON, Zagreb, Croatia). The LP contains 15 Macedonian folk dances and songs, one of which is the Macedonian folk dance "Veleshko zhensko oro", composed and performed by the virtuoso clarinet soloist Tale Ognenovski.
Some text is written on the back cover of this LP in both Macedonian and English language.

A part of this text reads:

...The basic form in which it presents both songs and dances is the so-called level of improvisation which being both inspiring and inventive is relatively close to the common folk way of playing music, which in conditions of live folklore helps the song not to become petrified. This orchestra also fosters differing styles and arrangements. Besides Nikola Galevski, a number of talented instrumentalists have contributed greatly to the qualitative growth of this ensemble. We should certainly mention the names of Angel Nanchevski, Pero Jarchev, Kocho Petrovski, Ljupcho Pandilov, Ivan Terziev, Stevo Teodosiievski, Tale Ognenovski and Blagoja Deskoski - who is in charge of this orchestra - and others.

                                                                      THE "CHALGII" ORCHESTRA

...Firmly principled in its style, and adaptable to the "chalgija" sound of as many of our folklore regions as possible, the orchestra has always selected as its members the best instrumentalists from all three different "chalgija" schools, that is, from the Skopje, Veles and Bitola schools. Its rich repertoire ranges from this and last century’s old-town songs and dances to those with patriotic motives created during the Liberation war. As "chalgija" is also characteristic of the folklore of other nationalities and ethnic groups who live in Macedonia, the orchestra has produced many Turkish, Albanian, Vlach and Gypsy songs and dances working together with a number of top singers and groups that cultivate this style. However, the orchestra’s instrumentalists themselves have often successfully managed to blend their own group singing into this orchestra. To mention a few: Ordan Hristov, Emin Memedov, Bekir Hadzi Kune, Jashar, Aki Memedov-Chun, Taki Najdenov, Koce Pandilov and Tale Ognenovski who has demonstrated his rich talent performing with all three different folk music orchestras.

…Unique in its sound and very skilful in its ability to create styles and regional sound combinations, this ensemble is a truly spirited performer of our centuries-long authentic music treasure. Working together with many eminent singers and talented individuals from this area who have accurately interpreted our country songs, it has created a large repertoire. The manager of the orchestra is Pece Atanasovski, a well-known master on the bagpipe even outside of Yugoslavia. Among the other well-known instrumentalists, we should mention Todor Boshov, Mile Kolarov, Tale Ognenovski, Nikola Cvetkovski, Meophail Sakipov, and Angele Dimovski.

With their numerous performances and tours both in Yugoslavia and abroad, the Radio Skopje folk music orchestras have played a great part in the presentation of Macedonian folk music, and its beauty, to the world.

Tale Ognenovski’s wife Nevena Ognenovska, was the main source of his strength and motivation. She had supported his great music career. She died in  1972. He dedicated two of his compositions to her, and gave her name Nevena to the Macedonian folk dance "Nevenino oro" (composed by Tale Ognenovski, and available on the LP and cassette "Tale Ognenovski, clarinetist, plays dances", with the respective reference numbers LPY-61143 and CAY 321 , and produced by Jugoton in 1975; also, the record "Macedonian folk dances played on clarinet by Tale Ognenovski accompanied by his Ensemble", reference number EPY-3851 , and produced by Jugoton in 1967, and "Nevenino Lavchansko oro", composed by Tale Ognenovski and recorded on magnetic tape by Macedonian Radio Television in 1983.

8. "TALE IS UNIQUE. During the past couple of decades he has continuously demonstrated his skill at original
       and superb interpretation displaying the passion of one that is in love, and the style of a virtuoso" - a comment
       by Gjoko Georgiev on LP 1439 RTB, produced in 1979.

The LP record "Macedonian folk dances played by Tale Ognenovski" ("Makedonski igraorni ora sviri Tale Ognenovski") reference number LP 1439 STEREO was produced by Radio Television Belgrade in Belgrade in 1979. On the back cover of this record Gjoko Georgiev, the well-known editor of music for Radio Television Skopje, wrote this article entitled "TALE IS UNIQUE" in Macedonian:

"This record allows you to hear the unique, famous, music personality, the solo clarinetist Tale Ognenovski. When hearing the music, you will feel exhilarating folklore all around you, of the sunny, sad and bright legend of the south being transferred into music. These days Tale is a recognised poet and interpreter of Macedonian folk dances and songs. He will live on in the Macedonian folk dances contained on this record. During the last couple of decades he has continuously demonstrated his skill at original and superb interpretation, displaying the passion of one that is in love, and the style of a virtuoso. But he has taken this further, by managing to combine both classical and folk music in the same performance, while keeping their particular styles separate. He demonstrated this while performing Ernesto Cavallini’s Concert "FIORI ROSSINIANI", Weber’s Concert in ef-mol and Mozart’s Concert in A Major accompanied by Ladislav Palfi on the piano and broadcast on Radio Television Skopje. He has performed many times in public and played jazz styles based on music by Yugoslav composers, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw...

In this particular area of music, we learn that Tale Ognenovski first began to play the clarinet in Brusnik near Bitola; he then drifted through the Pelagonia plane, crossed over the Vardar and toured throughout Macedonia, thence throughout America, Canada and many European countries. As he grew so he enlightened audiences and became wealthy, never again to possess the hands of a poor village boy from the mountains of Pelister. This record is only a small example of Tale’s work, but enough to make you aware of his strength and talent"

9. This Macedonian clarinetist is an extraordinary musician" - Ilustrovana Politika

"…Radio Television Belgrade released a LP of Macedonian folk music, on which are performances by the extraordinary clarinetist Tale Ognenovski. His music repertoire is folk dances, jazz (besides others he includes works by Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw), concerts from Weber, Mozart and Cavallini...This is Tale Ognenovski who began to play the clarinet in the village of Brusnik near Bitola, who with this wooden instrument toured the world and received well-deserved applause wherever he performed. The names of the folk dances which Tale Ognenovski plays will not be given; this is unnecessary because this is a particularly good record that proves that this Macedonian clarinetist is an extraordinary musician", from the magazine "Ilustrovana Politika", under the title, "New records - Macedonian folk dances", published in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 1979.
(This commentary is a message to the reader on the release of the record RTB LP 1439 STEREO).

It is a phenomenon that Tale Ognenovski has the right amount of embouchure and vibrato for every type of music.

"... It is not widely known both in Yugoslavia and around the world, that the renowned virtuoso clarinetist Tale Ognenovski is a concert clarinetist. Indeed, it is not widely known that Tale Ognenovski can play other styles of music such as jazz, improvising in the style of Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw, or dance music. It is a phenomenon that Tale Ognenovski has the right amount of embouchure and vibrato for every type of music. He maintains a perfectly level tone for classical music when it is required. It is particularly amazing that he can change the shade and the vibrato in a single moment. The standard is that one timbre and one kind of vibrato exclude all others." From an article by Professor Ladislav Palfi, the famous pianist, in a letter dated May 23, 1973.

10. Tale Ognenovski’s triumphant success at the International Folklore Conference in Istanbul, Turkey, 1977.

At the International Folklore Conference organized by the International Folklore Committee in Istanbul, Turkey, 1977, on the subject of "Folklore on the Radio" was Dushko Dimitrovski, Editor of the Folk Music Department for "Radio Television Skopje" from the Republic of Macedonia. He was there as a representative of Yugoslav Radio Television (Former Yugoslavia). He used records produced from magnetic tapes to present folklore material in his presentation entitled " ‘Chalgii’ music in Macedonia".

This folklore material was prepared in Skopje by ethnomusicologists Dushko Dimitrovski, Kiril Todevski and Metodija Simonovski. From the magnetic tape material were presented the recordings of two Macedonian folk dances: "Kasapsko oro", arranged by Tale Ognenovski, and "Kumovo oro chochek", composed by Tale Ognenovski and performed by him as clarinet soloist accompanied by the "Chalgii" orchestra of Radio Television Skopje. This created great interest not only amongst the delegates of the Conference but also around the world. The Department of Folk Music from "Belgium Radio" sent a letter to "Radio Television Skopje" asking them to send them this folk material so that it could be especially broadcast on "Belgium Radio". Source: An article entitled, "One item of music material presented in Istanbul creates great interest in the world about "Chalgii" music", from the magazine "Ekran", published on December 2, 1977 and the TV programme "Black and White", journalist Irena Spirovska, broadcast on "Radio Television Skopje".

11. On August 8 and 9, 1992, Tale Ognenovski played on the clarinet his own compositions of Macedonian folk
      dances at celebrations marking the 600th anniversary of the founding of the village of Brusnik.

Mr. Kiro Gligorov, President of the Republic of Macedonia and Mr. Petar, Metropolitan of the Macedonian Orthodox Church were present at celebrations marking the 600th anniversary of the establishment of the village of Brusnik, near Bitola, on August 8 and 9, 1992.
Tale Ognenovski played on the clarinet his own compositions of Macedonian folk dances accompanied by the Culture and Arts Society "Ilinden" from Bitola. Tale Ognenovski amazed all those present at the celebration with his marvellous solo performance on the clarinet.
The celebration was recorded and shown on "Macedonian Radio Television" in the programme "Amidst the village - 600 years of Brusnik", 1992. The Macedonia Radio Television journalist Suzana Trajkovska commented about the programme, "Tale Ognenovski is a virtuoso of the clarinet..."

12. "Maestro Tale Ognenovski plays classical music brilliantly on the clarinet - Mozart, Weber...etc. He plays
         everything; it doesn’t matter how difficult or complicated it is." - Violeta Hadzi Skerleva, Ekran

"Maestro Tale Ognenovski plays classical music brilliantly (this is the opinion of experts of classical music) on the clarinet - Mozart, Weber...etc. He plays everything; it doesn’t matter how difficult or complicated it is. In the records it says of his debut, first with the pianist Nino Cipushev, and later with the famous pianist Ladislav Palfi, that the way Tale Ognenovski plays the most complicated classic music is on a par with that of the most famous clarinetists in the world. Experts of classical music have said that Tale Ognenovski’s skill with the clarinet is nowhere near that of the most famous classical music clarinetist in the world. On the contrary." Journalist Violeta Hadzi Skerleva wrote this in her article " Skopje. First Clarinetist of ’94 Tale Ognenovski, a portrait" published in the magazine "Ekran", Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, October 20, 1994.

13. Tale Ognenovski is a synonym for a completely different style of music .

"Each different musician who develops his or her own style of music becomes a synonym for that music; for example, Kocho Petrovski, Stevo Teodosievski, Ljupcho Pandilov, Angel Nanchevski, Aleksandar Sarievski, Tale Ognenovski, Pece Atanasovski, Ivan Terziev, Blagoja Deskoski, Petar Lukic, Zoran Jovanovic, Petar Kargov, Ilija Pejovski-Bas and others", from the article "Macedonian Radio Television in Words and Pictures", published by Macedonian Radio Television in 1994 in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of their founding.

The 50th anniversary of the founding of "Macedonian Radio Television"
"Kasapsko oro", the folk dance arranged by Tale Ognenovski, and with him playing solo clarinet accompanied by the "Chalgii" Orchestra from "Macedonian Radio Television", was released in 1994 on the cassette, "Anthology of Macedonian folk music - Maestro players", reference number MP 21176, to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of Macedonian Radio Television. It was produced by the Music and Cassette Department of Macedonian Radio Television; the editor was Mate Grujovski and the chief editor, Jane Kodjabashija.

The 50th anniversary of the "Musical Copyright Society of the Republic of Macedonia"
Tale Ognenovski’s 150 compositions have been protected by the Musical Copyright Society of the Republic of Macedonia ("SOKOM-ZAMP"), the director of which is Mr. Zoran Vaskovski. Tale Ognenovski was invited by the society to a concert of the Orchestras of "Macedonian Radio Television" marking its 50th anniversary, on December 3, 1997. The Folk Music Orchestra, the "Chalgii" Orchestra and the Authentic Folk Instruments Orchestra all performed.
At the concert, which was shown on Macedonian Television on January 6, 1998, the legendary singer Jonche Hristovski said:
"Respected guests. I have the honour to greet genius maestro of the clarinet Tale Ognenovski who is present with us today". Tale Ognenovski received great applause from the audience, and offered his thanks to them and to Jonche Hristovski. The audience were given a brochure, written by Kiril Todevski of Skopje on December 3, 1997. In the document, that gave an account of the history of the Folk Music Orchestras of "Macedonian Radio Television", reference was made to the best creative instrumentalists; these were Nikolaj Galevski, Tale Ognenovski, Pece Atanasovski, Kocho Petrovski, Angel Nanchevski, Ivan Terziev, Ljupco Pandilovski, Mile Kolarovski, Nikola Cvetkovski, Hilmi Baki, Blagoja Deskovski, Todor Trajchevski, Mefail Sakipov, Angele Dimovski, Hustref Said, Raim Baki and others.

14. Tale Ognenovski made his debut at the Skopje Summer Festival on June 29, 1998.

Before the debut of the Skopje Summer Festival,the journalist, Liljana Stoilkovska said: "Respected guests. I have the honour to present to you the great virtuoso on the clarinet, Tale Ognenovski who, 50 years ago, at the first Macedonian Republic festival of Folk Dances and Songs received First Award as the best clarinetist. I wish you good health in the future, and many more years playing the clarinet". Tale Ognenovski offered his thanks for these good wishes on his 50th anniversary. He played as virtuoso clarinet soloist, two Macedonian folk dances, his arrangement ‘Kasapsko oro’ and his composition ‘Brusnichko oro’. He received great applause from the audience.

Tale Ognenovski is a member of the "Association of Stage Artists of Macedonia". The president of the Association is Mr. Vojo Stojanoski.

This Balkan Folklore was so rich.
"…When I left for America in 1979, I realised that this Balkan folklore was so rich. I always find Macedonian music most interesting. I have rare gramophone records by Kiril Manchevski, Pece Atanasovski and Tale Ognenovski that I have collected every time I’ve been here..." commented Miroslav Tadic in an interview for the magazine EKRAN entitled "Interview with Miroslav Tadic". It was published on October 22, 1998, and the journalist was Ljubomir Grbevski.

In their January 1997 issue, the editors of GUITAR PLAYER magazine voted Miroslav Tadic one of the top thirty, most radical and individual guitarists in the world.

15. The 50th anniversary of the founding of Ensemble ‘Tanec’.

The Ensemble of Macedonian folk dances and songs ‘Tanec’ performed its anniversary concert at the Macedonian National Theatre on December 11, 1999. Present as special guests were Tale Ognenovski and other former members of the Ensemble. Its director, Mr. Boshko Trenevski, said that all its former and current members were praised for their very successful foreign tours and for their affirmation of Macedonian Culture. The concert’s patron was the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia. Present at this concert were Mr. Ljubco Georgievski, Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia, his Grace the Archbishop of Ohrid, the Macedonia G.G. Stefan, Government Ministers of the Republic of Macedonia and representatives of foreign Embassies.

16. Book "Tale Ognenovski Virtuoso of the Clarinet and Composer" written by Stevan Ognenovski

The content of the biography of Tale Ognenovski in these WEB pages is similar to that of his biography,  published in the book on December 2000 and entitled "Tale Ognenovski Virtuoso of the Clarinet and Composer", and written by the same author, Stevan Ognenovski. Publishing house is MATICA MAKEDONSKA (Editor in chief and Director Rade SILJAN; Editor Dejan PAVLESKI; Cover Stevan OGNENOVSKI  M.Sc.; Design editor Niko P. TOZI), Skopje, Republic of Macedonia; ISBN  9989-48-312-4 ; 406 pages (format A4). The book is published in both Macedonian and English.
The content of the book are: the biography of Tale Ognenovski and music notation of compositions of Macedonian Folk Dances, Jazz and Classical Music (all composed by Tale Ognenovski)
FULL STORY
Book "Tale Ognenovski Virtuoso of the Clarinet and Composer"

17. "Everything that has a connection with the clarinet and this man is far from ordinary. Perhaps it is a miracle,
        this dexterity; perhaps he is a genius, or something more than that...." - Elizabeta Matic on the television
        programme ‘Good morning, good day’, Macedonian Radio Television.

18. "The impossible becomes possible: two, ‘usually non-complimentary’ parallel-existing worlds of sounds –
       Europe – The Orient – are, in Tale Ognenovski’s music, naturally brought closer together, understand each
       other and merge..." - Dushko Dimitrovski , book ‘For Our Music’

The prodigy, however, is called Tale Ognenovski… Both Jesus Christ’s: "I came not to do away with the Bible, but to fulfil and continue it", and Michaelangelo’s: "The Artist must adopt strict, artistic rules at first, to be able to break them afterwards"… could well apply to Ognenovski. Absolutely masterly and limitless imagination and music inventiveness are only ‘potka’, a condition, a starter, tonal ‘organon’, for his creative accomplishments.... As a virtuoso playing ‘Chalgija’ music (in his child-hood, as a shepherd, he played the pipe (‘kavalche’); later, as an educated musician he played Cavallini, Weber and Mozart). Tale Ognenovski, at the same time, navigates himself effectively all around the world of classical music.

As if the ingenious knowledge of the ‘chalgija’ universe, but also with the live primordial in the rustic sound, together with the vivid, creative touch of the mysteries of European classical music idea, had predetermined the outstanding talent of Ognenovski to make one, perhaps unconscious, but in musical and historical terms, more than far-reaching creative step forward. In other words if without telling in advance, we approach carefully and analytically the ‘chalgija’ opus created by the Maestro, we will discover with surprise and great delight that Ognenovski is (probably) the FIRST, and (surely) THE FARTHEST REACHING contemporary who first made the connection between the two "UNCONNECTABLE" worlds – the Orient and the West - with words and melodies...

19. "Musical Genius Tale Ognenovski is on an equal level musically with other World Musical Legends " – ‘Nova
       Zora’

"Here began the creation of the great heritage of Macedonian Culture which Tale Ognenovski has left. This great heritage put the musical genius Tale Ognenovski on an equal level musically with other world musical legends. Somebody said that Tale Ognenovski was better than Mozart...Tale Ognenovski is the first and the longest surviving person who has managed to connect the two ‘unconnectable’ Music Worlds of the Orient and the West..." This appeared in an article entitled "The Great ‘Chalgii’ opus of the Maestro Tale Ognenovski". It was published in the magazine ‘Nova Zora’ in Bitola, Republic of Macedonia, in November, 1994.

20.  "Year by year he developed into a real virtuoso and artist . He created his own style of interpreting folk
        dances('ora').

His particular characteristic involved his own creative improvisations called 'maninja'. At the same time as he was performing music like this, he started composing his own folk dances. As a composer, he kept the traditional folk expression. Many years of performing with the orchestras of Radio Television Skopje, with Ensemble 'Tanec' and with other folk ensembles helped him create 'Ognenovski's style' when producing his own Macedonian folk dances. These are easily recognizable by their exuberant melody and rich rhythms in correlation with the traditional style..." - Kiril Todevski

21. Tale Ognenovski translated whatever came into his head directly into the clarinet.

On June 16, 1998, an interview with Tale Ognenovski was recorded for the television programme ‘Good Day, Macedonia’ on Macedonian Television. During the interview, the journalist Tatjana Stojchevska Manchevska asked Tale Ognenovski to play some jazz music. He performed some jazz music that he composed right there and then without any prior planning. He demonstrated his amazing musical talent as a clarinet and pipe player and composer performing jazz music on this programme.
JAZZ improvisations, composer Tale Ognenovski, soloist on clarinet Tale Ognenovski (25.62sec, 142KB )
 

II. ENSEMBLE ‘TANEC’ IN NORTH AMERICA

1. ‘Tanec’s triumphant arrival in New York City on January 20, 1956.

Ensemble ‘Tanec’ was the first dance company from Yugoslavia (the former Yugoslavia) to perform in America. The Ensemble arrived in New York City on January 20, 1956. The following day, on January 21, The New York Times newspaper ran an article entitled, "Cernogorka, Anyone? Yugoslav Dancing Troupe Shows How It Is Done". It commented, "...Members of the Yugoslav National Folk Ballet dancing on board the liner Israel yesterday, after they arrived here... The forty-member group, which has attracted much attention in Europe, will give a recital in Carnegie Hall on Friday evening...The company will perform folk dances from Macedonia, Croatia, Herzegovina, Albania and Serbia in native costume."
Ensemble ‘Tanec’s North American tour was sponsored by International Artists in association with Charles E. Green and Lee V. Eastman.

‘Tanec’s sixty-six performances in North America attracted much attention in the North American press.

CHOREOGRAPHIC VIGOR FROM MACEDONIA
"Members of the Yugoslav National Folk Ballet, which starts an American tour with a single performance of native dances and music at Carnegie Hall on Friday" from an article, "Choreographic Vigor from Macedonia" that appeared in The New York Times, January 22, 1956.

2. ‘Tanec’s triumphant appearance on American television

‘Tanec’s American tour began with their debut on one of the most popular television programmes in the United States, the Ford Foundation TV Programme "OMNIBUS", on January 22, 1956. This programme was seen by millions of Americans. This TV debut of ‘Tanec’ on CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) Television Network, one of the largest radio and television broadcasting companies in the United States, created great interest in all 66 concerts in many towns throughout the United States.

A copy of this programme may be viewed free of charge on a videocassette at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

On the LIBRARY OF CONGRESS’ Internet Web site, http://catalog.loc.gov with Keyword = Ansambl za narodni igri i pesni Tanec is written:

Main Title: Omnibus. IV, vol. 15 / TV-Radio Workshop of the Ford Foundation; Producer, Robert Saudek.

Published/Created: United States: CBS Television Network, 1956-01-22

Contents: The Yugoslav national folk ballet / directed by Elliot Silverstein; with the Tanec dance troupe from Macedonia
                 (20 min,)...

3. "Appear at Carnegie Hall... remarkable music... - a raucous and unforgettable pipe (virtuoso pipe and clarinet
      soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski)" From an article by John Martin,
      The New York Times

"There are some winning songs, too, and some remarkable music on both orthodox and unorthodox instruments - a raucous  and unforgettable pipe (virtuoso pipe ("kavalche") and the clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski)." From an article entitled, "Ballet: Yugoslav Folk Art ‘Tanec’ Dancers Appear at Carnegie Hall in Display of Tremendous Skill", written by John Martin and published in The New York Times, January 28, 1956.

The Carnegie Hall concert on January 27, 1956 was performed on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756. Two hundred years later, on January 27, 1956, another genius of music, Tale Ognenovski, performed as a clarinet soloist performing pipe folk dances in the world-famous Carnegie Hall. Together, he and the other members of the Ensemble ‘Tanec’ appeared at Carnegie Hall in a display of tremendous skill, which was a sheer joy to watch.

Carnegie Hall first opened its doors in 1891. The music hall opened officially on May 5,1891, with a five-day Music Festival during which the composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky conducted several of his works. Carnegie Hall is the most prestigious concert hall in the United States of America. Many of the world’s best-known musicians, orchestras and their conductors have performed concerts in Carnegie Hall. These include Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli, Elton John, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Sviatoslav Richter, Edith Piaf, Tina Turner, Sergej Rachmanianoff, Artur Rubinstein, Vladimir Horowitz, Mstislav Rostopovich, Enrico Caruso, Placido Domingo, Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, Gustav Mahler, The Beatles and Herbert von Karajan. .

Wonderful folk music, rich in temperament and wonderful rhythm...Carnegie Hall’s concert evening would remain unforgettable

"Pittsburgh, February.
The Macedonian Ensemble for folk dances and songs ‘Tanec’ has already been performing in America for several weeks... All the concerts have had record audiences. In many towns, including Pittsburgh, they are sold out at least one week before... The American public has shown a great deal of interest in this tour, which has allowed everyone to see the great richness and beauty of Yugoslavian folk art. For America, this art form is quite new - totally original - never before viewed on the mainland.. Theeeeeeee public is quite taken with this art; its influence is so direct and human. The American public have expressed this through their frenetic applause...
The following day, immediately after the performance in Carnegie Hall, the press wrote numerous compliments. Almost all articles in the newspapers were written in superlatives. Every impression of the concert was that this concert evening would remain unforgettable..." This article, written by Naum Nachevski, appeared in the newspaper "Nova Makedonija", Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on February 18, 1956, under the title, "TANEC receive applause in America".

"Pittsburgh, February
...From conversations with the Artistic Director of Ensemble "Tanec", Professor Asparuh Hadzi Nikolov, I have discovered that wherever the Ensemble performed they received stormy applause - It is rare in the papers for a talented group to pass without any negative remarks. He told me, "Not only have we not received any negative comment, almost all of the articles that have appeared have been in superlatives..."  from an article entitled ‘ Letter from America; The unforgettable days,’ written by Naum Nachevski, and published in the newspaper "Nova Makedonija", Skopje, Republic of Macedonia" on February 18, 1956.

4. Tale Ognenovski added his own improvisations...the unique Sopska Poskocica earned an encore...

Following every concert of ‘Tanec’s’ North American tour, critics in almost every newspaper commented about the Macedonian folk dance ‘Sopska Poskocica’, "...in the case of one dance, Sopska Poskocica, it was nothing more than a demonstration in dancing. As such it was highly effective...A dance like Sopska Poskocica is produced to demonstrate...The speed at which it is danced, and the tremendous energy and precision of the six men who dance it, makes it unique…It earned an encore..." Tale Ognenovski was a virtuoso clarinet soloist in ‘Sopska Poskocica’ (‘Shopska Podripnuvachka’) but he also helped arrange the music for he added his own improvisations to some parts of the dance. This has also been the case with others dances where Tale Ognenovski has performed as virtuoso clarinet and pipe soloist.

Tale Ognenovski performed as a virtuoso clarinet and pipe ("kavalche") soloist
The majority of Ensemble ‘Tanec’s programme comprised Macedonian folk dances and songs, while the remainder being Serbian and Croatian dances and songs, and one Albanian dance. Tale Ognenovski played as virtuoso and clarinet and pipe (‘kavalche’) soloist for most parts of the programme, including the Macedonian folk dances ‘Bride’s Dance’ (‘Nevestinsko Oro’), ‘Chupurlika’, ‘Shopska Podripnuvachka’, ‘Kopachka’, ‘Shepherd’s Dance (‘Ovcharsko Oro’), ‘Soborski Igri’, other Macedonian songs, Serbian folk dances and songs and ‘Shote’, an Albanian folk dance.

5. Tale Ognenovski’s solo playing on the clarinet and pipe (‘kavalche’) created frenetic applause in the sold-out
     concert halls

"The Professional Ensemble ‘Tanec’ has toured the United States and Canada. Their performances, and especially those of the clarinetist Tale Ognenovski have amazed the public. Tale Ognenovski’s solo playing on the clarinet and pipe (‘kavalche’) generated great public enthusiasm and attracted frenetic applause in the sold-out concert halls. This is the opinion of our fellow countrymen in the United States and Canada who have had the privilege to be present at the concerts performed by the professional Ensemble ‘Tanec’...Many of our emigrants have been asking for gramophone records of Tale Ognenovski..." These comments appeared in a letter no. 07-328, dated May 18, 1973, from ‘the Association of Emigrants from Macedonia’, (‘Matica na iselenici od Makedonija’), Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, and signed by Trajan Baftirovski, the Secretary of the Association.

Congratulations Tale, we will forever remember the whole Ensemble...
Ensemble ‘Tanec’ performed in one of North America’s most beautiful opera houses, the Civic Opera House, (the Lyric Opera) in Chicago on February 5, 1956. The Opera House was built in 1929.
Present at the concert were Tale Ognenovski’s uncle, Petar Hristov, and his family from Saint-Louis, Missouri and Tale Ognenovski’s friend, Jandre Kunovski, and his family from Gary, Indiana. After the fascinating concert, a photograph was taken of Tale Ognenovski and Jandre Kunovski together with his family in front of the Opera House. On the back of this photograph Jandre Kunovski wrote, ‘5 February 1956, Chicago, Remembering our meeting Tale in Chicago. Congratulations Tale, we will forever remember the whole Ensemble’.

Tale Ognenovski’s recording debut as a clarinet and pipe soloist accompanying the Orchestra of Ensemble ‘Tanec’ in the United States
Some parts of Ensemble ‘Tanec’s repertoire were recorded on LP record during their tour of the United States. This excellent LP includes a selection of eight folk dances and songs. This was Tale Ognenovski’s recording debut as a clarinet and pipe soloist.

6. Concert in Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada, on February 13, 1956.

Before the start of Ensemble ‘Tanec’s’ concert in Massey Hall, Toronto, Canada an February 13, 1956, the Artistic Director of the Hall told professor Asparuh Hadzi Nikolov, the Artistic Director of the Ensemble, that it was a tradition that every performer at Massey Hall played the Canadian National Anthem at the beginning of every concert. Professor Hadzi Nikolov replied that it would not be possible for the Ensemble to play the Canadian National Anthem right then, but that if they had been given a score for the Anthem the previous day, then it would have been played.
Tale Ognenovski overheard this conversation and announced that the National Anthem would be played immediately from the score. He was given the score and, as he had a ‘B’ clarinet, he began to play one tone with transposition above, with other members of the Ensemble, Ivan Terziev (flute), Nikola Galevski (violin), Aleksandar Sarievski (harmonica), Todor Pavlovski Totka (guitar) and Reshat Muharemof (drum) accompanying him without transposition, which is an easier way to play. It was a highly successful rendition of the National Anthem and the concert was as spectacular as the other concerts in the United States. Only the greatest instrumentalists in the world could play a composition like the Canadian National Anthem without any preparation in advance and with transposition one tone above.

7. Tale Ognenovski is the number one clarinetist

Musical genius Tale Ognenovski performed in the world-famous Carnegie Hall as clarinet and pipe virtuoso soloist. His phenomenal success in Ensemble ‘Tanec’s’ 66-concert tour of the United States and Canada in 1956 launched a new era in his highly successful, 60-year career. The zenith of his career was his historic performance with Ensemble ‘Tanec’ at the concert in Carnegie Hall on January 27, 1956.

This concert by Tale Ognenovski and the Ensemble is one of the most celebrated events in the history of Carnegie Hall, and it marked the acceptance by the American public of Macedonian, Serbian, Croatian and Albanian Folk Dances and Songs. Ecstatic applause followed Ensemble ‘Tanec’s successes throughout North America. At the end of concerts, the audiences surrounded the members of Ensemble "Tanec", congratulated them for their display of tremendous skill, and asked for their autographs. Many of them told Tale Ognenovski that he was the number one clarinetist.

8. Macedonia is the Centre of the Folk Universe

‘Tanec’s triumphant appearance on American television, in the Ford Foundation ‘Omnibus’ programme on January 22, 1956 in New York City opened America’s doors to a wealth of Macedonian musical talent. What followed would be called a Musical Sensation. ‘Tanec’s performances at Carnegie Hall and at other famous concert halls were displays of tremendous skill, the likes of which North America had never seen before. Tale Ognenovski and other members of the Ensemble arrived as foreign ambassadors, but they received the warmest welcome and the most enthusiastic reception possible in North America. In their commentaries, the North American press gave such magnificent descriptions of the Ensemble’s performances that it could be concluded that Macedonia was the ‘centre of the folk universe’.

Since it first opened in 1894, Massey Hall, with its capacity of 2700 seats, has been famous in Canada, the U.S. and Europe for its outstanding acoustics. Massey Hall’s first hundred years reads like a Who’s Who of the 20th century: Enrico Caruso, Winston Churchill, Booker T. Washington, Arturo Toscanini, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Bob Dylan, Harry Belafonte, Keith Richards, Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti...

9. The Metro Goldwyn Mayer Company prepared a special banquet for Ensemble Tanec

During the three-month tour across the USA (from January 22 to April 12,1956), concerts were performed in many cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. After three fascinating concerts in the Philharmonic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California on March 12, 13 and 14, 1956, a group of Hollywood artists invited all members of Ensemble ‘Tanec’ to visit the Metro Goldwyn Mayer studio in Hollywood. In the main MGM studio, Tale Ognenovski and other members of the Ensemble were photographed together with June Allyson, one of the most famous stars of the screen in the U.S. The Metro Goldwyn Mayer Company prepared a special banquet for the members of Ensemble ‘Tanec’.

10.  Carnegie Hall was our greatest triumph
"Roska Dilevska, one of the members of ‘Tanec’, said: "Carnegie Hall was our greatest success. Everywhere we have received frenetic applause for our triumphs. After the concerts, the audience surrounded us...Almost everywhere they asked for our autographs. Amongst those strange admirers and lovers of the art, there have been both well-known and lesser-known actors, singers, painters, our emigrants, students, schoolboys...During our visit to Hollywood at the invitation of the Metro Goldwyn Mayer company, we had the rare opportunity to walk through wide streets of cowboy film set-ups, and see model castles, miniature models of boats and many other well-known things from films which have fascinated us with their grandiosity; and there are still many hundreds more wonders to see. We have seen other film studios, and Metro Goldwyn Mayer prepared a special party for us..." from an article entitled "After returning to the country", written by D. Stojanova, and published in the newspaper "Nova Makedonija" on April 27, 1956.

11.  ‘TANEC’s performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York , April 11 and 12, 1956
After the tremendous success in Carnegie Hall, even though only one performance in New York was planned for in the contract with the American tour managers, Ensemble ‘Tanec’ made two additional two performances in the city, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on April 11 and 12, 1956.
The Brooklyn Academy of Music has been the hub of performing arts activities in Brooklyn since it opened for business in 1861. The Opera House has a 2000-seat auditorium with excellent acoustics.

12.  One of the longest and the most triumphant tours in the history of world music

During an 84-day journey throughout the United States and Canada Ensemble ‘Tanec’ travelled ten thousand kilometres and performed 66 concerts in 53 different towns. This tour is one of the longest and the most triumphant of tours in the history of world music. Ensemble ‘Tanec’ twice repeated this giant success, first with their 72-concert tour of Germany from August 15 until October 27, 1956, and secondly with their 83-concert tour of France from September 20 until November 25, 1959. They played two concerts in Dortmund, Germany on September 18 and 19, 1959.

Members of ‘Tanec’ who participated in the concerts in the United States and Canada from January 22 until April 12, 1956, were the following: Doncheva Todorka, Vishinova Radmila, Krstic Dushica, Stojanova Zora, Arsova Desanka, Peshic Olga, Shijakovic Vera, Markova Lenche, Stojanova Radica, Videc Blaga, Ilieva Vaska, Kolarova Ljubica, Dilevska Roska, Petrushevski Dragan, Sarievski Aleksandar, Matevski Dojchin, Dobeski Krsto, Kolarovski Atanas, Livrinski Stanko, Mihajlovski Mihajlo, Cherepovski Trpe, Eftimovski Doncho, Vishinski Stanimir, Micevski Cvetko, Todevski Spase, Georgievski Stevo, Atanasovski Pece, Etemov Kemal, Georgievski Dushko, Velevski Blazhe, Pavlovski Todor, Jusufov Muharem Reshat, Terziev Ivan, Galevski Nikolaj, Hristovski Jonche, Ognenovski Tale and Tasevski Slave.
The Artistic Director was Prof. Asparuh Hadzi-Nikolov, and the Regisseur, Dimce Najdeski.

13.  A Significant Cultural Event in America...In New York ‘Tanec’ performed three very successfully concerts and
       made their television debut...
"The performances by Ensemble ‘Tanec’ throughout the United States were reviewed as a Significant Cultural Event in America. In New York they had performed three very successful concerts and made a television debut… The public was amazed during the performances of ‘Tanec’..." wrote The Boston Globe; "The concert created stormy applause from 2000 spectators..." wrote the Saint Louis Globe Demokrat; "The concert was magnificent..." wrote the San Francisco Chronicle; "...The greatest success was SHOPSKA POSKOCHICA (the clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski)....""""""""" wwwwwwwrote the Washington News from Washington, D.C.; "...The concert was not only magnificent art but a Great Event," wrote the Union from San Diego, California. " ...The Auditorium Arena concert of Ensemble ‘Tanec’ is the most extraordinary event of the year...the most excellent are "Soborskite igri" (the clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski)" wrote the Denver Rocky Mountain News." The above all appeared in an article in the newspaper "Nova Makedonija",published on April 24, 1956 and entitled "Success of Macedonian Folk Ensemble ‘Tanec’."

14. "Ballet: Yugoslav Folk Art ‘Tanec’ Dancers Appear at Carnegie Hall in Display of Tremendous Skill" - John
        Martin, the New York Times

"The Yugoslav National Folk Ballet ‘Tanec’, which has been touring Europe with great success, made the reason quite clear last night in a performance at Carnegie Hall that was a joy and delight...This particular group, part of a national movement toward the revival of the folk arts, comes from Macedonia, but its dances and songs come also from Serbia, Croatia and Dalmatia...Among them are the endless vivacity and the tremendous skill of a thoroughly ingratiating company and some brilliantly spectacular and wonderfully unfamiliar dances. To be sure, they possess all the qualities common to folk dancing, but they have great individuality and a wide variety besides...These sturdy, spirited and forthright men can dance not only as fast as you please, but also as slowly, which is harder and can be much more exciting. In number after number they do rapid and fairly incredible phrases with inexhaustible vigor...But all the dances are ravishing, and their range is truly astonishing. There are some winning songs, too, and some remarkable music on both orthodox and unorthodox instruments - a raucous and unforgettable pipe (virtuoso pipe ("kavalche") and the clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski), a charming lyric bagpipe, drums large and small, played with two kinds of sticks at the same time or else by the fingers alone...The evening is not only wonderful art but also a superb show. Surely one performance in New York is not enough. The house was completely sold out, and others no doubt would follow the same pattern," from an article written by John Martin entitled "Ballet: Yugoslav Folk Art ‘Tanec’ Dancers Appear at Carnegie Hall in Display of Tremendous Skill," and published in The New York Times, New York, on January 28, 1956.

15. "Carnegie Hall was shaking from stormy applause... "Shopska podripnuvachka" (The virtuoso clarinet soloist
         was Tale Ognenovski – remark made by Stevan Ognenovski) was even repeated, and to repeat a
         performance on the American stage is a really rare and exclusive event." - Stjepan Pucak in Nova
         Makedonija

16. "The first performance at Carnegie Hall in New York is regarded as a really sensational success." - Naum
         Nachevski, Nova Makedonija

17. "Venerable Carnegie Hall fairly vibrated as the audience blistered its palms in appreciation." - Robert
         Coleman, the New York Daily Mirror

"These perfect artists performed many marvelous dances, and the astonished audience greeted them with long applause. The program was filled with folk dances and songs. In the past we have had some interesting concerts from the East and West but none of them had been as successful and been so well-received by the public as the Yugoslav Folk Ballet ‘Tanec’. Venerable Carnegie Hall fairly vibrated as the audience blistered its palms in appreciation..." wrote Robert Coleman in the New York Daily Mirror on January 28, 1956.

18. "The freshest, gayest, most expert dance affair ...Transcontinental tour at Carnegie Hall."- William Hawkins,
         the New York World Telegram

"Last night this Yugoslav National Folk Ballet preluded a transcontinental tour at Carnegie Hall... This is the freshest, gayest, most expert dance affair that has come over the horizon in years. We have been afforded many novelties from the Orient and the Occident but none of them won a more enthusiastic reception than the Yugoslav National Folk Ballet." From an article written by William Hawkins, and that appeared in the New York World Telegram on January 28, 1956.

19. "Tanec, a Macedonian group, is a lively, handsome and magnificently skilled company… accompanied
         sometimes by a shepherd’s pipe (Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski) which surely
         pierced the air of classical Greece… An audience which jammed Carnegie to capacity cheered and applauded
         the folk dancing with as much enthusiasm as if it had been witnessing classical, theatrical ballet at its most
         glittering." - Walter Terry, the New York Herald Tribune

Concert at the Symphony Hall, Boston, January 30, 1956
An impressive evening
"Everyone present this evening can be satisfied even with the most demanding taste of the public, because the group of Yugoslav dancers, singers and musicians performed one really impressive evening...Rhythm and complicated steps were masterly performed and excited the public... The performers were awarded with long enthusiastic applause " – from an article in the Boston Traveler, Boston, Massachusetts, February 1, 1956.

20.  Concerts at the Chicago Civic Opera House, Chicago, February 4 and 5, 1956
       ‘fill up the Civic Hall with enthusiasm’
"The Yugoslav National Folk Ballet consists of young dancers, singers and musicians who filled up the Civic Hall with enthusiasm with their dances and songs..." – from an article that appeared in the Chicago Daily News, Chicago on February 6, 1956.

The three concerts in Chicago were performed in the 3000-seat Civic Opera House on February 4 at 8:30 pm and on February 5, 1956 at 2:30 pm. and at 8:30 pm.

21.  Concerts at the Chicago Civic Opera House, February 4 and 5, 1956
      "Yugoslav Ballet a Colorful Addition to International Dance...Called Tanec, which is the Macedonian word for
        dance, this group of 37 dancers, singers and musicians is akaleidoscope of the Balkans..." – Claudia Cassidy,
        the Chicago Daily Tribune

Concerts at the Chicago Civic Opera House, Chicago, February 4 and 5, 1956
Every folk dance performed was in complete coordination with the orchestra
"The arrival of Tanec in Chicago had been awaited by more than 10,000 people who had bought their tickets a few weeks earlier. This was Tanec’s first time in America. There were only three concerts in Chicago. Several million people got to know about our folk dances from reports and photographs, from a very successful debut on American television and from reviews in the newspapers about the concert in New York (Carnegie Hall)... CHUPURLIKA (the clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski) was greeted with stormy applause and received several encores. Every folk dance performed was in complete coordination with the orchestra and made the whole concert dynamic, live, interesting..." wrote Gjorgi Iliev from Chicago in an article entitled "Letter from America", appearing in the newspaper "Nova Makedonija" on February 19, 1956.

22.  Concert at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, February 7, 1956
       "Clarinet (the virtuoso clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski)...provided
        most of the accompaniments in various combinations." - Samuel Singer, The Philadelphia Inquirer

23.  Concert at the Constitution Hall, Washington, D.C., February 9, 1956
      "Sopska Poskocica (the virtuoso clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski)
        is unique and demanded a repetition" - Paul Hume, The Washington Post and Times Herald

24.  Concert at the Massey Hall, Toronto, February 13, 1956
      "Spectacle in Massey Hall... Nor was the performance without spectacle...the music, whether for singing or
       dancing, had the same spontaneous folk quality and an exotic character... Sopska Poskocica (the virtuoso
        clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski – remark made by Stevan Ognenovski) it was no more than a show-off
       dance. As such it was highly effective... musicians may take anactive part... " - John Kraglund, The Globe and
        Mail

25.  Concerts at the Opera House, San Francisco, March 7 and 9, 1956
      "The music itself - including several indigenous instruments - is worth the price of the show, and never more so
       than in a number titled simply "Macedonian Tune," which in its intricate rhythms and plaintive melody should
       at least make Dave Brubeck send out an emergency call for Darius Milhaud..." - R. H. Hagan, the San
       Francisco Chronicle

"THIS SPECTACLE IS MAGNIFICENT YOU MUST SEE IT"
"THIS SPECTACLE IS MAGNIFICENT YOU MUST SEE IT", MELODY MAKER, London - these words were printed in the Los Angeles Times on March 10, 1956 in a poster announcement from the "MARY BRAN" company advertising Ensemble Tanec performances in the PHILHARMONIC AUDITORIUM in Los Angeles. The announcement also included the comments: "JOY and DELIGHT * SPECTACULAR * WINNING SONGS * TREMENDOUS SKILL * STUNNING * WONDERFUL ART * REMARKABLE MUSIC * ASTONISHING * Superb Show, First Time in America, The YUGOSLAV NATIONAL FOLK BALLET, 40 DANCERS, SINGERS, MUSICIANS on the STAGE. Only Three Unique Performances PHILHARMONIC AUDITORIUM Tomorrow and Tuesday, March 13 and Wednesday March 14, 8:30 p.m. Also Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Thursday, March 15, 8:20 P.M., Los Angeles Times, March 11, 1956." These words appeared in an advertisement in the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles on March 10, 1956.

26.  Concerts at the Philharmonic Auditorium, Los Angeles, March 12, 13 and 14, 1956
       "The Yugoslav National Folk Ballet - known at home as Tanec - excited a large audience... this group would
        be hard to beat... They are accompanied by a group of musicians consisting of a violinist, guitar and accordion
        players, a flutist, a clarinetist (the virtuoso clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan
        Ognenovski) and a double bass, though drums of different types are frequently involved, as well as a
        shepherd’s reed pipe (the virtuoso pipe soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski)
        and an instrument called the Zourla"- Albert Goldberg, the Los Angeles Times

27. "As vigorous a display of dancing as the U.S. has ever seen" – Life magazine

"A hundred years ago on the rugged roads of Macedonia, bands of brigands used to plunder the caravans of rich merchants and, like Robin Hood, pass on some of their spoils to the poor... this spring, the Yugoslav National Folk Ballet is making a first, and highly successful tour of the U.S. The skilful troupe of 40 dancers and musicians was founded to perpetuate their country’s culture. All the dances are derived from the wedding rites, harem ceremonials...Together they make as vigorous a display of dancing as the U.S. has ever seen." These words appeared in an article in Life magazine, USA, entitled "Dance, Bouncing Brigands, Yugoslavs come to U.S." on April 9, 1956.

YESTERDAY, TIME WASN’T MONEY
"...I can’t remember ever seeing anything better of this style" wrote the Baltimore Sun; "...Applause from the public says more than these 500 words. YESTERDAY TIME WASN’T MONEY," ran The Milwaukee Journal. "Here is a question of great art, and we must say that we are lucky to see this art," ran The Christian Science Monitor on March 30, 1956. The above appeared in an article entitled "The Newspapers in United States on Tanec" and was published in the newspaper "Nova Makedonija" on May 11, 1956.

FULL STORY
ENSEMBLE "TANEC" IN NORTH AMERICA
 

III. ENSEMBLE ‘TANEC’ IN GERMANY

1. Tale Ognenovski, clarinet and pipe virtuoso soloist with Ensemble ‘Tanec’ toured Germany in 1956

Tale Ognenovski, clarinet and pipe virtuoso with Ensemble ‘Tanec’, toured Germany from August 15 until October 27, 1956. The Ensemble performed 72 amazingly successful concerts in many towns, including Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Bonn, Gottingen, Munich and Wiesbaden, and every performance was a sell-out. As part of their tour of France in 1959, they performed two concerts in Dortmund, Germany on September 18 and 19, 1959, playing to an audience of 7000 on each occasion.

Tale Ognenovski performed as a virtuoso clarinet and pipe ("kavalche") soloist
The majority of the programme of Ensemble Tanec’s German tour comprised of Macedonian folk dances and songs with the rest made up of Serbian and Croatian dances and songs and one Albanian dance. Tale Ognenovski played as virtuoso clarinet and pipe ("kavalche") soloist for most of the programme, in particular in the Macedonian folk dances ‘A Bride’s Dance (Nevestinsko Oro)’, ‘Chupurlika’, ‘Shopska Podripnuvachka’, ‘Kopachka’, ‘The Shepherd’s Dance (Ovcharsko Oro), ‘Soborski Igri’, in Macedonian songs, Serbian folk dances and songs and ‘SHOTE’, an Albanian folk dance. Tale Ognenovski was a virtuoso clarinet soloist in ‘Shopska petorka’ but also an arranger of the music because he added his own improvisations in some areas of the dance. This is the case with other dances that Tale Ognenovski performed as virtuoso clarinet and pipe soloist.

2. "I’ll never forget...the man with the pipe (the virtuoso pipe soloist was Tale Ognenovski – remark made by
      Stevan Ognenovski)..." – the Hildesheim press, Germany

3. "Success of Tanec in West Germany" - Nova Makedonija

"Bonn, October 2.
Yesterday evening, during their three-month cross-country tour of West Germany, the Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs ‘Tanec’ performed a successful concert in Bonn Town Theatre. Even though Ensemble Tanec is the third Ensemble to perform in this theatre in the last 18 months, every seat was full. Present in the audience were the Mayor of Bonn, many prominent politicians, diplomats and domestic and foreign journalists. The Ensemble performed songs and dances from Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The audience heartily welcomed the performers, asking for the entire programme to be performed again. Bonn’s newspapers are full of numerous compliments as to the artistic quality of the concert. During this tour the Ensemble has visited almost all the larger towns in West Germany and also many tourist towns." This article, entitled "Success of Tanec in West Germany" appeared in the newspaper ‘Nova Makedonija’ on October 30, 1956.

4. "The folklore experts were interested in our particular folk dances… perhaps the following can stand out as the
      most successful: "SHOPSKA" (Shopska podripnuvachka – the virtuoso clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski -
      remark made by Stevan Ognenovski), "SHOTE" (the virtuoso clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark
      made by Stevan Ognenovski)..." - Nova Makedonija

5. "About 7000 people at each of the two concerts in Dortmund" - K. Gavrish, NovaMakedonija

"...Ensemble ‘Tanec’ performed two concerts in Dortmund. At the beginning of these concerts about 7000 people were present..." These words appeared in an article written by K. Gavrish and entitled, "Following the return from their French tour, TANEC wins over the audience" and published in the newspaper ‘Nova Makedonija’, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia on December 6, 1959.

FULL STORY
ENSEMBLE "TANEC" IN GERMANY
 

V. ENSEMBLE ‘TANEC’ IN FRANCE

1. Tale Ognenovski was clarinet and pipe virtuoso soloist with Ensemble ‘Tanec’ during
their tour of France

Tale Ognenovski was clarinet and pipe virtuoso with Ensemble "Tanec" during their tour of France from September 20 until November 25, 1959. They performed 83 concerts in 58 towns and cities in France including Paris, Le Havre, Nantes, Poitiers, Clermont-Ferrand, Lille, Cherbourg, Toulon, Toulouse, Rennes, Bourges, Chaumont, Solon de Provence, Laval, Brest, Lorient, St. Nazaire, Angers, Tours, Limoges, Pont a Mouson, Bourgen Brest, Belfor, St Entienne, St Brieuc, St Malo, Vendome, Gien, Orleans, Niort, La Rochelle, Marmonde, Mont de Marson, Dax, Tarbes, Agen, Albi, Pau, Carcassonne, St Gaudens, Beziers, Perpignan, Arcachon, Nimes, Grenoble, Lyon, Villeurbone and Gueret. They performed with amazing success to full houses everywhere. The Ensemble twice had performances broadcast on television, on September 21 and 22, 1959.

20 million people would have seen them on the most popular programme on French Television. Radio Paris recorded a 45-minute programme of Macedonian folk dances and songs. The Manager of Ensemble ‘Tanec’s tour of France was Mr Raymond Guillier, also Director of his own company ‘Les grands spectacles internationaux Les productions Raymond Guillier’ of 129 Boulevard Massena, Paris. He specialised in managing international shows in Paris.

Tale Ognenovski performed as a virtuoso clarinet and pipe ("kavalche") soloist
The majority of the programme of Ensemble Tanec’s French tour comprised of Macedonian folk dances and songs with the rest made up of Serbian and Croatian dances and songs and one Albanian dance. Tale Ognenovski played as virtuoso clarinet and pipe ("kavalche") soloist for most of the programme, in particular in the Macedonian folk dances ‘A Bride’s Dance (Nevestinsko Oro)’, ‘Chupurlika’, ‘Shopska Petorka’, ‘Kopachka’, ‘The Shepherd’s Dance (Ovcharsko Oro), ‘Drachevka’, ‘Chifte Chamche’ and ‘Soborski Igri’, in Macedonian songs, Serbian folk dances and songs and ‘SHOTE’, an Albanian folk dance. Tale Ognenovski was a virtuoso clarinet soloist in ‘Shopska petorka’ but also an arranger of the music because he added his own improvisations in some areas of the dance. This is the case with other dances that Tale Ognenovski performed as virtuoso clarinet and pipe soloist. Tanec included, as part of their tour of France, two performances in Dortmund, Germany, on September 18 and 19, 1959. About 7000 people were present at each concert.

Some of Ensemble ‘Tanec’s concert repertoire, including Macedonian folk dances and songs, was recorded during the tour on LP record. The virtuoso clarinet and pipe soloist on this excellent LP record, recorded in France in 1959, was Tale Ognenovski.

2. "What ‘Tanec’ is playing in the spirit of Macedonia, believe me no other Ensemble in the world can perform...
      Your girls and boys put their whole heart into the dance. I’ll tell you why I think this is so. I know that the
      clarinetist Tale..." - Raymond Guillier, Vecher

"Everyone who went to the concerts by Ensemble ‘Tanec’ in Paris and other towns and cities in France during the tour in 1959 of a little over two months was fascinated. Yes, audiences opened wide their hearts and didn’t think anything of their hands while applauding your folk dancers. What ‘Tanec’ is playing in the spirit of Macedonia, believe me no other Ensemble in the world can perform. All great professional Ensembles in the world possess something special. Your girls and boys put their whole heart into the dance. I’ll tell you why I think this is so. I know that the clarinetist Tale (Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski) after every concert played clarinet solos and amused us well into the early hours. This hasn’t been the case with any other member from any other Ensembles. I want to present Tanec every year to the people of my country..." said Raymond Guillier (Director of his own company, ‘Les grands spectacles internationaux Les productions Raymond Guillier, 129 Boulevard Massena - Paris" - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski) Manager of international exhibitions in Paris, France. The above appeared in an article entitled ‘Your dance fascinates me….’, written by M. Georgievski, and published in the newspaper ‘Vecher’, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia on September 14, 1964.

Macedonian Folklore is the best in the world
Raymond Guillier commented that no other Ensemble in the world could perform Macedonian folklore as well as ‘Tanec’, because the Macedonian girls and boys from the Ensemble put their whole heart and soul into the dances, and a good example of this was the clarinetist Tale Ognenovski. This was a very important comment because Mr. Raymond Guillier had organized many concerts in Paris and France for all the best Ensembles in the world.

3. "Brilliant first performance of the National Ballet of Macedonia... Everyone in the audience applauded as if
       they were four people ... "It must be understood that you have to be professional and have extraordinary
       soul and inspiration to play ‘Drachevka’ (the virtuoso pipe soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by
       Stevan Ognenovski), ‘Berovka’ (the virtuoso clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan
       Ognenovski)..." Le Berry Republicain

4.  "The first performance of the National Ballet of Macedonia achieved tremendous success" - La nouvelle
        republique du Centre

5. ""TANEC" wins over the public... " - K. Gavrish, Nova Makedonija

"Which performance has been the most successful? "Shopska petorka", (the virtuoso clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski) "Drachevka" (the virtuoso pipe soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski), "Sedenka" (the virtuoso pipe soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski), Serbian (the virtuoso clarinet and pipe soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski) aanddddddddd CCCCCCCroatian dances…" said Cvetko Micevski. "... It must be understood that you have to be professional and have extraordinary soul and inspiration for playing ‘Drachevka’ (In this Macedonian folk dance, the virtuoso pipe soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski), ‘Berovka’ (In this Macedonian folk dance, the virtuoso clarinet soloist was Tale Ognenovski - remark made by Stevan Ognenovski)..."TANEC" conquests the public...The newspaper ‘Le Nouvelle Republique’ commented, "The first performance of the National Ballet of Macedonia was a tremendous success...Everyone in the hall applauded enthusiastically..." This came from an article entitled ‘TANEC wins over the audience,’ written by K. Gavrish, and appearing in the newspaper ‘Nova Makedonija’, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia on December 6, 1959.

FULL STORY
ENSEMBLE "TANEC" IN FRANCE
 

V. ENSEMBLE ‘TANEC’ IN SWITZERAND

1.  Tale Ognenovski performed as virtuoso clarinet and pipe soloist with Ensemble ‘Tanec’ during their tour of
     Switzerland during the period July 7-10, 1959

The concerts were performed in Berne on July 7 and 8, 1959 and in Geneva on July 9 and 10, 1959 with tremendous success.

2. Tale Ognenovski made his debut on a special programme broadcast on Swiss Television.

Tale Ognenovski made his debut on a special programme broadcast on Swiss Television. Playing as virtouoso clarinet soloist, he performed his personally composed Macedonian folk dances ‘Bitolsko oro’ and ‘Brusnichko oro’ with great success.

On their return from the triumphant tour of the U.S.A.
"In the illuminated gardens of Port Gitana, on July 9 and 10 at 8.00 pm, a spectacle selected for ‘Gitan’. This evening, on their return from the triumphant tour of the U.S.A., and for the first time in Geneva, the Yugoslavian National Folk Ballet Tanec. Two hours of sumptuous spectacle, 40 dancers and instrumentalists, 400 prestigious national costumes, lighting effects…" This announcement appeared in the ‘Tribune de Geneva’, Geneva, Switzerland, under the title: ‘Dans les jardins illumines de Port Gitana Bellevue, BALLETS NATIONAUX FOLKLORIQUES YOUGOSLAVES: TANETZ, deux heures d’un somptueux spectacle" ("In the illuminated gardens of Port Gitana Bellevue, National Yugoslav Folklore Ballet Tanec, two hours of sumptuous spectacle"). The announcement was published in the ‘Tribune de Geneve’ on June 8, 1959.

3. "Nothing here that resembled classical dances of our Western World...a spectacle in the open in Port Gitana
      Bellevue, Geneva…" - Ed. Mt. Tribune de Geneve

"...We were presented with remarkable spectacles performed by the Yugoslavian National Folk Ballet ‘Tanec’ from Macedonia... It was a rare opportunity to have a show in the open-air in Geneva. For this occasion, Gitan installed lighting effects that vied with ingenuity... Nothing here that resembled classical dances of our Western World... They have the rhythm of the dances of their country in their blood.... We preferred to give a general impression of this spectacle, which accentuated the originality and the qualities of this ensemble." The above appeared in an article written by Ed. Mt. and entitled, ‘A Port-Gitana les ballets nationaux yougoslaves’, (‘In Port-Gitana, National Yugoslav Folklore Ballet’). It appeared in the ‘Tribune de Geneve’, Geneva on July 11, 1959.

FULL STORY
ENSEMBLE "TANEC" IN SWITZERLAND
 

Tale Ognenovski is undoubtedly one of the greatest composers the world has ever seen.

With his compositions of Macedonian folk dances, classical, and jazz music, he made the connection between the two ‘unconnectables’ - oriental and western music. He is a genius of the clarinet. He has amazed audiences with his virtuoso solo clarinet performances not only of various Macedonian folk dances, such as Brusnichko oro, Poljansko oro, Kasapsko oro, Zhensko krsteno oro, Adana oro, Nevenino oro and Bukovsko svadbarsko oro, but also of classical music by Mozart, Cavallini, Wagner and Weber.

He combines beautiful tone with brilliant, unique technique. He has made many studio recordings for Macedonian Radio Television both as a virtuoso clarinetist and pipe soloist playing folk, jazz and classical music, and a countless number of radio and television broadcasts. His recordings for Radio Television Belgrade, Jugoton and Macedonian Radio Television are unique compositions based on Macedonian folk music but occasionally with some influence of oriental, jazz and classical music. His pieces contain highly complex, rhythmic patterns and attractive melodies that are incomparable with any other kind of music known today.

He is clarinet virtuoso in folk, jazz and classical music. Everyone who has listened to his performances of unique Macedonian folk dances and classical and jazz music, has concluded that he is one of the most innovative and important figures in the history of music in the world. He has appeared in many televised concerts broadcast in Europe and North America and has, as an international Ambassador of music, created new musical horizons for the clarinet.

He is musically innovative and has revolutionized the sounds of folk, jazz and classical music. He is a remarkable improviser who possesses great harmonic knowledge and total technical command of rhythm variation, making anything possible. He created his own, solo-improvisations called "manjinja" (cadenzas), which were fresh, radical, and totally distinctive. They were related to the original version, but had not destroyed it.

Tale Ognenovski lives in Skopje in the Republic of Macedonia. He has been playing the clarinet professionally for the past 63 years, from 1937 through to the present day. His clarinet is a ‘Buffet-Crampon’; he uses Vandoren 5RV and 5RV Lyre Clarinet Mouthpieces and Vandoren Clarinet Reeds.

Tale Ognenovski has opened up new possibilities for the clarinet that no one could have predicted. Like his other clarinet works, the end result of Tale Ognenovski’s Clarinet Concerto No.1 is an expression of his own amazing virtuosity. Every register of the clarinet finds eloquent expression in this concert. With this classical concert this creative musical genius continues to extend the river of great beauty that is classical music. He possesses complete perfection and wisdom.
Tale Ognenovski’s Clarinet classical composition is far more than a demonstration of the clarinet’s tonal qualities, as well as what is technically possible with a clarinet - these he had already explored and favoured in his compositions of Macedonian folk dances. It is also a display of imaginative power, a colourful, almost romantic emotion, and sensitive feeling. This concert includes some very creative and technically demanding solos, and the clarinet soloist needs extremes in his range, tonal control, technique and dynamism.

Tale Ognenovski composed numerous musical works from different genres: folk dances, classical and jazz music, which established the clarinet as an instrument capable of the highest range of expression in solo music. His music demands a virtuoso of the clarinet, and exploits among other things the deeper sounds of different sounding registers of the instrument very effectively.

His virtuoso and complex compositions are both interesting and fascinating for people to listen to and to admire. He has made solo performances and recorded pieces with many orchestras. He has been featured in many televised concerts broadcast in Europe and United States. His unique style with the clarinet has earned him an international reputation. His genius is ably demonstrated through his musical interpretations, compositions and band leadership. His compositions and clarinet interpretations are some of the most spectacular in the world of music.

Tale Ognenovski became a surprise sensation with his performances as a clarinet and pipe virtuoso soloist at the concert with Ensemble ‘Tanec’ at world-famous Carnegie Hall on January 27, 1956.

His legend will live forever. His music has become a large part of the lives of many people. His music has moved their souls and touched their hearts. Music, which will forever be played and forever be loved, has brought tears to their eyes and smiles to their faces.

His composition range, his virtuosity, and his originality with a clarinet have made him a brilliant cult hero, a genius in the musical world. He is a genius, a brilliant musician and a giant of music.

Watch the Web sites:

ENSEMBLE "TANEC" IN NORTH AMERICA

ENSEMBLE "TANEC" IN GERMANY

ENSEMBLE "TANEC" IN FRANCE

ENSEMBLE "TANEC" IN SWITZERLAND

TALE OGNENOVSKI HAS PERFORMED CLASSICAL MUSIC SINCE 1952

PRESS NOTICES: TALE OGNENOVSKI - RELATED ARTICLES IN THE PRESS

TALE OGNENOVSKI RECEIVED NUMEROUS AWARDS AND HONOURS, ALL AMONG THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS IN THE PERFORMING ARTS

TALE OGNENOVSKI IS UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF THE GREATEST COMPOSERS OF MUSIC IN THE WORLD

SOME COMMENTS ABOUT TALE OGNENOVSKI’S BRILLIANT CAREER AS A MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER

FEEDBACK FROM VISITORS TO THE TALE OGNENOVSKI WEB SITE

TALE OGNENOVSKI’S DISCOGRAPHY

Book "Tale Ognenovski Virtuoso of the Clarinet and Composer
 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author of this Web site wishes to express his sincere gratitude to: My dear friends Mrs. Susan Prefontaine from Buffalo, New York, USA and Mr. Dimce (Jim) Cvetkovski from Buffalo, New York, USA for the copies of the North American newspapers and the Journal of the International Folk Music Council, and for the information about the Wesleyan Cinema Archives; My dear friend Mr. Georges Andres from Bourges, France for the copies of the French newspapers: "Le Berry republicain" and "La nouvelle republique du Centre"; My dear friends Mrs Suzana Jolevska and Mr Zoran Jolevski, Ph.D. from Skopje, Republic of Macedonia and their friend Mr. Zhivko Velkov from Geneva, Switzerland for the copies of the Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve; My dear friend Mrs. Radmila Vishinska, folk dancer in Ensemble ‘Tanec’ for the photograph of all the members of the Ensemble taken in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio, Hollywood on March 12, 1956 and for the photograph from Paris; My dear friend Mr. Stanko Livrinski, folk dancer in Ensemble ‘Tanec’, for the names of the towns included in its tour of France in 1959; My dear friend Roska Badeva, daughter of the legendary singer Nikola Badev, for the two photographs of Nikola Badev with Tale Ognenovski, and for the poster commemorating the 25th anniversary celebrations concert of Radio Television Skopje, 1969; "Kinoteka na Makedonija" for the prints from the Vardar film "Ritam i zvuk" (Rhythm and Sound) and for the special showing of this film for the author of this book and for Tale Ognenovski on May 31, 1999; Ensemble ‘Tanec’ for the timetable of their 1956 North American tour; Wesleyan Cinema Archives for their information as to who owns copies of the Omnibus programme, including that broadcast on January 22, 1956, when the Ensemble performed on American CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System) television. These may be viewed free of charge only at Wesleyan Cinema Archives or at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Stevan Ognenovski, the author of this Web site, expresses his sincere gratitude, firstly, to his dear friend Mrs. Susan Prefontaine for her English corrections of the text of this Web site (about half of the text of index.html and other Web sites), secondly, to his friend Mr. Christopher Bridge, for his proofreading the final English text.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

                                  T H E  A U T H O R
                               Stevan Ognenovski M. Sc.

Born in 1948 in the village of Brusnik near Bitola, Republic of Macedonia.
He received a B.Sc. degree in electronics engineering (Graduate Engineer, Dipl. Ing. degree in electronics engineering) and M.Sc. degree in computer science, both from The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing from the University of Zagreb, Croatia. He has written articles about the artistic works of his father Tale Ognenovski in the newspapers: "Nova Makedonija" (on November 10, 1997), Vecher (on October 7, 2002) and Utrinski Vesnik (on October 7, 2002),  in the newsmagazines: "Denes" (on October 29, 1998 and on October 10, 2002), Makedonsko Sonce (on November 15, 2002) and Makedonsko Delo (on November 22, 2002). He wrote articles for his father published at: AllAboutJazz.com (http://www.allaboutjazz.com) and  mi2n (http://www.mi2n.com) Music Industry News Network.  He published the biography of Tale Ognenovski on the Internet on September 18, 1998. He is author of the  book entitled: “Tale Ognenovski Virtuoso of the Clarinet and Composer.” Publishing house is MATICA MAKEDONSKA. The book is published in both Macedonian and English. CV of Stevan Ognenovski, M.Sc., author of the Web site of Tale Ognenovski, Musical Genius, Clarinetist and Composer

My thanks to my dear father Tale Ognenovski, to my lovely wife Margarita and to my dear sons Nikola and Kliment for their support and understanding during my writing this biography.
 
 

I am very proud to bring information about Tale Ognenovski to the Internet. 
 

If you have any feedback for Tale Ognenovski please Email me at steveogn@t-home.mk  and I will be glad to forward the mail.
 

           Thank you for visiting the Tale Ognenovski Web site.

Feedback on this biography has been received from visitors to the Tale Ognenovski Web site. The authors have agreed to their being published.

...I listen the tapes of your father. They are very old, but the music is still so beautiful. I would be very interested in the classical recordings... thank you so much for your web site, January 18, 1999... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TALE OGNENOVSKI, THE WORLD’S GREATEST CLARINETIST! YOUR FRIEND, Susan Prefontaine

My name is Dimce Cvetkovski . I was born on November 7, 1957 (in the village of Arvati near Krani in Prespa). I came to the United States on February 20, 1970. I was 12 years old.. My wife’s name is Gerrie (Geraldine) who is American. I also have 3 sons Steven (14 years old), Jeffrey (12 years old and Scott (9 years old) ...Nobody in the world can play the clarinet like Tale. I have listened to a lot of clarinet music from many countries but nobody comes close to Tale. He is simply the BEST... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE BEST CLARINETIST IN THE WORLD!... Tale is my hero. His music is incredible. His approach to every note is so unique. His improvisations and solos are out of this world, and no one can even come close. It is true that when listening to Tale, his music takes you to different worlds and different dimensions...
Jim (Dimce) Cvetkovski

Thank you for establishing this wonderful web pageas a tribute to your father, Tale. I must tell you that Tale has always been one of my heroes and my role model in clarinet playing. I am a Croatian-American living in Cleveland, Ohio, USA... your father sets the standard for originality and good taste. I was surprised to find out that your father had published the book, Makedonski Ora. How can I get a copy? I would very much like to get one. I am particularly excited about the collection of scores (notes) that your father published because I have begun to work with a chalgija ensemble of violin, dzhumbush, ut and tarabuka in New York and Boston and want to teach them some of your father’s tunes... Vlado Mahovlic

I wonder if there are any available recordings of your Father? Perhaps some of his records have been re-issued on CDs. I am very interested in buying any such recordings. Thank you. Ian Price

What a fabulous web page!!!! My name is Larry Weiner, I made my first trip to Makedonia in 1966 (when I was 23) and have been back there 3 times since then. I never met your father but have many, many of his recordings and love his music...  Many thanks for a wonderful web page and the tribute to your dad; he’s a great musician. Larry Weiner

Congratulations on a wonderful and informative piece on your father. I am very moved and appreciate your detailed information. I first met Tale in Los Angeles 1956, when Tanec was on tour, and in particular I was impressed with his clarinet music. He will remember me, because I became the first Amerikanka (Croatian descent) who became a dancer with Tanec in 1957... Please give my dear and sincere regards to Tale... Elsie Ivancich Dunin

I congratulate you on the web page dedicated to your father. I can only say, that it is wonderful and excellent. I am a clarinetist and I play here in Australia, where I live. My descendants are from Bitola. I want Stevce to greet Tale a lot from me. I wish him good health. He really is the best clarinetist of all time in Macedonia and in the World.
With great greetings, Toni Becvinovski

I was very interested by your web site about your father. Do you know where I can find his recordings? Also, as I play professionally Balkan music (among others), I am greatly interested by his book "Makedonski Ora". Is it still available, and if not, is it possible to obtain a photocopy? Best wishes Georges Andres

My compliments for this very nice homepage about the Macedonian folk music culture and your famous father Tale Ognenovski... Greetings from Dick Saarloos

I am Ilija Petkovski from Holland and I accidentally found the web site of your father. I like this web site especially. I adore the music of this web site because I play it myself. I want very much to buy all cassettes from your father from MRT, but I don’t know how: Do you have some idea? Many greetings from Holland Ilija Petkovski

Dear Stefche, ... I met the music of Tale, when I was a child of 10. My heart flickered when I listened to his music; my soul was travelling in other time and space then, and even now, right up to the present day. He is one of the best musicians in the universe. People can be taught music at schools, and they can read books, but that divine secret is known to the souls of only very sensitive men. That great, deeply rich, exceptional soul is Tale Ognenovski. I bow down to him... Zlatko Origjanski

I saw your Web page on the Internet and decided to write... I am proud to have several of your recordings in my collection! I was surprised to read that you were born in the village Brusnik, Bitolsko.  Many of my friends’ families originate from Brusnik. Brusnik and the villages around it gave birth to many good musicians...I was glad to see that the traditional Macedonian music from the Bitola area lives on through you. Thank you from preserving this rich heritage of ours! Since I was a small child this place (Bitolsko), has been dear to me. I hope that one day soon you will visit Granite City and bring back the beautiful music that is a part of my beautiful heritage and is now lost in Granite City. I will now close this letter with my best wishes to you for a long life, much happiness and many years of playing music. All the best, Marvin Moehle

Sincerely Congratulations for « 11 Oktomvri » Award of  Mr. Tale Ognenovski. Many good wishes for his health and his long life and to receive other deserved awards.
Valentina Gorgievska, Newspaper “Vecer”, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, October 12, 2003
Email:   valentinagorgievska@yahoo.com

Dear Stevan,
My congratulation to your father for the prestigious “11 Oktomvri” Award.
I am very happy that he is recognized for his hard work and his tremendous accomplishments (which will no one ever match in this world).
He is a special man with special gifts and talents. His knowledge and versatility of music are unsurprised. No one can even come close to the way he plays the clarinet. No one.
CONGRATULATIONS!
All the best to everyone.
Dimce Cvetkovski, Buffalo, New York, USA, October 27, 2003.
E-mail:  shihandc@yahoo.com