Vlatko Stefanovski

Macedonian guitarist and composer Vlatko Stefanovski first took up the instrument at age eleven. While still a teenager immersed in English language and literature studies, he assembled Leb I Sol, the country’s most prominent rock ensemble. That group blended rock, jazz, and Macedonian folk traditions, influences that would shape every phase of Stefanovski’s own work. He remained with the band across the 1970s and 1980s even as he launched parallel solo projects, and from the late 1970s onward he also composed scores for animated shorts such as the 1979 film Cirkus, for features including the 1985 release Smeker, and for the 1989 ballet Zodiac.

Once Leb I Sol dissolved toward the end of the 1980s, Stefanovski concentrated on independent recordings and partnerships with fellow musicians. His first solo album, Cowboys & Indians, appeared in 1994 and highlighted the wide-ranging, deeply felt character of his guitar playing. The 1996 project Sarajevo supported UNICEF’s efforts on behalf of children, while the largely acoustic 1999 album Krushevo was created in tandem with Macedonian-American guitarist Miroslav Tadic. Stefanovski continues to perform with the Balkan-jazz ensemble Balkan Impressions and maintains an active schedule scoring productions for film, theater, and ballet, among them the music for Stole Popov’s 1997 feature Gipsy Magic, which received the Grand Prix at France’s Montpellier Film Festival.