Dragan Djordjevic Suzuki

Behind the Music

A Lifetime of Music. 

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According to press descriptions and critics' reviews, Dragan Đorđević is one of the most original artistic personalities of his generation. Better known as Suzuki, Đorđević earned his nickname thanks to the famous Suzuki method, which helped him take his first musical steps when he was only six years old. He began his music education with the violin at the School for Musical Talents in Ćuprija, but two years later, he decided to pursue the cello. After his initial lessons with Professor Relja Ćetković, the cello became his permanent choice.

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Upon completing his studies at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade under the guidance of Sandra Belić, he went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studied with Professor Stefan Popov. During his time in London, he had the opportunity to perform with one of the world's most prestigious orchestras, such as the London Symphony Orchestra, and he also served as the guest solo cellist for the Royal Northern Symphony.

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After meeting the renowned Jang-Chang Choom in 2002, he decided to specialize in his class at the High School of Music in Essen, Germany. After a few years in Germany, he received the prestigious Honorary Diploma and, simultaneously, as a very young musician, was appointed as a professor of cello at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade.

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One of his priorities has been perfecting his performance under the guidance of the world's best cellists and music educators, such as Misha Maisky, Boris Pergamenchikov, David Takeno, David Grigorian, Nada Kecman, and members of the Belinger, Takacs, Melos, and Alban Berg quartets. With this continuous work and unique style, he became an early laureate of the international competition Jeunesses Musicales in Belgrade and later received numerous special awards at international competitions, such as Antonio Janigro and Markneurkirchen.

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In 2011, honored by an invitation from Maestro Valery Gergiev, he became the guest solo cellist of the Symphony Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre. Two years later, he returned to St. Petersburg to hold another concert, but this time he captivated the audience at the Mariinsky Theatre with a recital alongside pianist Vladimir Milošević.

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He is a member of the DOUBLE SENS ensemble, with whom he regularly performs and records for Deutsche Grammophon.

As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in the United States, China, Russia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania, Monaco, South Korea, Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Finland, and many other countries.

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Suzuki has nurtured chamber music and has been a member of the Rubikon Quartet, with whom he performed at prestigious events like the City of London Festival.

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Notable foreign festivals where he performed include BBC Proms, Festival Auvers-sur-Oise, Sion Valais Shlomo Mintz Festival.

In the region, there isn't a major festival where Đorđević hasn't participated, from BEMUS, where in 2016, he performed Shostakovich's concerto, to Ohrid Summer, Katja Popova Laureates, NIMUS, Zagreb Summer Evenings, NOMUS, Kotor-Art, and Celo Fest in Belgrade, BELEF, ARLEM, and the Bolshoi Festival.

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He has performed with orchestras such as the Bergische Symphoniker, Belgrade Philharmonic, Kammer Philharmonie Amade, RTS Symphony Orchestra, Kamerta Serbika, Bamber Chamber Orchestra, RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Vojvodina Symphony, Niš Symphony Orchestra, St. George Strings, Macedonian Philharmonic, Southeast European Symphony Orchestra, Plevenska Philharmonic, Dušan Skovran Chamber Orchestra, Kammerata Academika, and others throughout the region.

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He has collaborated with artists such as Itamar Golan, Julian Rachlin, Emil Tabakov, Tan Dun, Shlomo Mintz, Denis Shapovalov, Mikhail Sherbakov, Roman Simovic, Nemanja Radulović, Alena Baeva, Olga Sitkovecki, Bojan Sujdic, Mincho Minchev, Francesca Dego, John Adams, En Shao, Peter Skaltrup, Leslie Howard, and many others.

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He is an associate professor at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. Since 2015, Dragan Đorđević has been the artistic director of the School for Musical Talents in Ćuprija, and since 2019, the artistic director of the Festival of Musical Excellence "Ravanelius."

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Suzuki plays the cello of James and Henry Banks from 1797.