Serbia

The journey of the classical guitar in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia was long but transformative. From modest amateur beginnings in the 19th century, with Georgije Milanović’s pioneering guitar school (1842), the instrument slowly gained recognition. A breakthrough came with Prof. Jovan Jovičić, student of Andrés Segovia, who after WWII elevated the guitar to the concert stage, pedagogy, and research. In the 1960s–70s, systematic education was introduced in Belgrade and Pančevo, while the Faculty of Music in Belgrade founded its guitar department in 1985. Figures like Dušan Bogdanović further expanded both artistic and theoretical horizons. Despite challenges of the 1990s, guitarists kept the scene alive through concerts, collaborations, and festivals. Since 2000, Serbia has become a regional leader, with strong educational institutions, renowned performers, and internationally respected festivals such as the Guitar Art Festival in Belgrade. Today, Serbia’s guitar tradition thrives through its network of schools, festivals, composers, and performers who continue to shape and enrich the instrument’s role on the European and global stage.