It is hard to place Antonija Pacek’s music into any category. Her music is as genuine as any music can be, and it connects to the listener’s deepest emotions. Some call it cinematic music, some call it neoclassical, but others believe that you just need to add lyrics to sing to it. It does not matter what you label it – the most important is that it came directly from the depths of Antonija’s heart and soul. She is a romanticist with a soft spot for minimalism.
A brand new single, “Hopeful” was published by YRR in Dec., hoping to give a ray of hope to Antonija’s good friend, who is battling cancer. “To You”, dedicated to love of her life, and “Touch” written after her encounter with Frances McDormand (at Ponta Lopud festival) were published in July and Oct. in 2022.
In June 2021, she signed a contract with Australian Yellow Rose Records (YRR) that published her fifth album, Seasons of Life, on March 18th, 2022. Rebecca Cullen (Stereo Stickman Magazine) reviewed the album: “Composer, artist and cinematically focused musician Antonija Pacek brings a refreshingly unpredictable edge of creativity to the neoclassical realm, with her superb, intimate yet powerful new album Seasons of Life.” The first single, “Lost”, from the newest album, was launched in Aug., “Sadness” feat. Sanja Romic, with her magic oboe, was published in Sept., and in Oct. 2021 came “Rain Drops” also feat. Sanja Romic. In Dec. 2021 YRR published “A Time for Peace”, a Christmas compilation, in which Antonija’s “Life Is…” was chosen. All singles are available on 54 major streaming platforms. An American classical music label Parma Recordings – Navona Records published Antonija’s forth album Forever in Oct. 2020. Take Effects Reviews wrote: “Forever often carries a captivating romantic spirit and an exceptional performance that will have you hanging on every note.” Antonio Gonzalez’ beautiful photography, “Windmill”, which was the picture of the day on NASA’s platform in April 2020, is on the cover of this album. On Spotify, Antonija’s music has almost half a million streams.
Her second album, Life Stories, was digitally released worldwide via spinnup (Universal Music Group) in June 2017. In April 2018, after Antonija’s Italian tour during which she promoted Life Stories album, L’Arena in Verona reviewed her concert, “Pacek, Revival of the Great Classics”, and Free magazine in Milan wrote a concert review with the title: “Symphony of Emotions”. Antonija also launched digitally her third album, IL MARE, on Dec. 7th, 2018 via spinnup (distributed to major streaming platforms). Italian DonnaD magazine reviewed it and wrote: [the album] “is a neoclassical masterpiece”. Il Giornale Milano wrote an article “The three styles of the keyboard, Einaudi, Allevi and Pacek – The plan is to tell emotion”. After Antonija’s concert at the Auditorium parco della musica in Rome in Feb. 2019, Scena Critica reviewed her concert and wrote: it was “a concert that goes directly to the soul” and it “creates an evocative poetic love”. She received a special review in May 2019, after her concert in Teatro dal Verme in Milan, from Vatican newspaper: “music close to meditation of angels”.
In July 2019, “Aloft” from “IL MARE” album, and since Winter 2021, “Almost Goodbye” from “Forever”, and “Springtime” from “Seasons of Life” have been broadcasted on Classic FM radio in London, and many compositions from “IL MARE”, “Life Stories”, “Forever”, and “Seasons of Life” albums have been broadcasted on Vienna Klassik Radio, TwentySound radio in Berlin, Whisperings Radio (USA), Shades of Classics radio (Canada), FM Classic NY, and a few others. Parma Recordings placed “Forever” on WCNY Classic FM (New York), CKUV and WRUV radios.
Antonija’s critically acclaimed, debut neoclassical piano album, Soul Colours, was published by Autentico Music in Germany. Soul Colours was signed by Warner Chappell, the music publishing arm of Warner Music. German critics referred to music from Soul Colours to be “beautiful like a radiant jewel”, “a female response to Ludovico Einaudi”, and “resembling Erik Satie’s as well as Keith Jarrett’s The Cologne Concert”. Antonija Pacek grew up in Croatia, studied psychology in Vienna and at the University of Cambridge, UK, and now lives with her family near Vienna.