Conductor Aleksandar Markovic receives Croatian Interlace
The Belgrade-born conductor, now chief conductor of the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra, was honored for promoting Croatian composers' music in his work with the Croatian Radio Television orchestra.
A conductor who has led orchestras in Innsbruck and Brno, and now heads the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra, has received a decoration from the country whose music he has performed for years. Aleksandar Markovic (51), born in Belgrade, was awarded the Order of the Croatian Interlace by Croatian President Zoran Milanovic. News of the award was published on October 17, 2026.
The decoration was given for special merit in promoting the music of Croatian composers, through outstanding performances during a long collaboration with the Croatian Radio Television Symphony Orchestra. Milanovic also honored other individuals and organizations from culture, science and sport, but their names were not released alongside the news about Markovic. The date and place of the ceremony were not announced, and the announcement includes no statement from the recipient or the president.
Who is Aleksandar Markovic?
He studied conducting at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, in the class of Leopold Hager. At the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, where he attended a master course in conducting, he received an Honorary Diploma. He was a scholarship holder of the Herbert von Karajan Foundation, and in 2003 he won first prize at the 7th Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors in Katowice, Poland.
From Innsbruck to Warsaw
From 2005 to 2008 he was chief conductor of the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck. From 2009 to 2015 he served as music director and principal conductor of the Brno Philharmonic, and in the 2016/17 season he was music director of Opera North. Today he is principal guest conductor of Sinfonia Varsovia and chief conductor of the Vojvodina Symphony Orchestra. Three earlier permanent posts, in Austria, the Czech Republic and Great Britain, came before his current engagements in Poland and Serbia, so his career, from Vienna to Siena and beyond, still unfolds mostly on European podiums.
Which orchestras has he worked with?
The list of guest appearances is long. It includes, among others:
- Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
- symphony orchestras of Birmingham, Ireland, Odense, Bournemouth and Malmo
- BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
- orchestras of Croatian Radio Television and Radio Prague
- Qatar, Slovenian and Slovak philharmonic orchestras
- Belgian National Orchestra
- Munich Radio Orchestra
- Beethoven Orchestra Bonn
- Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin
Other notable engagements include the Spanish Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden and Stuttgart philharmonics, the Staatskapelle Halle, the Vienna and Prague symphony orchestras, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Brunswick State Orchestra. He has also conducted the Janacek Philharmonic of Ostrava, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and the ensemble Kremerata Baltica.
From the region, the list names the Belgrade and Zagreb philharmonics, along with the Croatian Radio Television orchestra, the ensemble tied to the award.
