Tripo Simonutti, the famous Yugoslav and Serbian violinist born in Kotor, graduated violin from the Music Academy of Belgrade, and completed his postgraduate studies in Prague, with professor Alexander Plocek. He has performed throughout the country and abroad in over 40 countries (Austria, Netherlands, Italy, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, France, Belgium, Hungary, Kuwait, Romania, Syria, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Iran, Egypt, Poland, Jordan, Iraq, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, China, Mongolia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Macedonia etc.)He participated in a great number of international and domestic festivals. He performed as a soloist with well-known orchestras: Greiz Philharmonic – Germany, State Philharmonic of Rostok – Germany, Beijing Guo Lian Orchestra – China, Mongolian State Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of RTS and Symphonic Orchestra of TV Podgorica, Serbian Army Orchestra Stanislav Binički, the chamber music orchestra Pro musica, the Belgrade Chamber Orchestra, The Chamber Orchestra of Niš, as well as Skopje Philharmonic, Belgrade Philharmonic, Niš Philharmonic etc.

He had numerous appearances for all the radio and TV stations in the country, as well as for Soviet, French, Chinese, Mongol, Bulgarian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Slovenian, Macedonian and other TV stations.

It is interesting to know that with 23 albums recorded in the region, Tripo Simonutti comes first per number of recordings of a single classical music artist in Yugoslavia. He also recorded three CDs, a dozen of tapes and video tapes as well as several CDs for Radio Belgrade.

The only Yugoslav biographical feature film on a classical music artist, “The Boy and the Violin“, was made based on the biography of this extraordinary artist in 1975 and won a number of recognitions and awards in the country and abroad.

In 1988 together with his daughters, Ana the pianist and Irena the violinist, Tripo founded the Trio Simonutti which was one of the most popular and most significant chamber ensembles of the region for more than two decades.

During its existence the trio held more than 2000 concerts in Serbia and abroad. 

Tripo was awarded a series of recognitions and awards. The most important are: Order of Labor with Silver Wreath by the President of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia “for the merits and the success gained by working for the progress of the country” (1975), The 13^th July Award  “for the highest artistic achievements in reproductive music” (1971) and the Vuk Karadžić Award (1988) for “exceptional contribution to the cultural development.” As a member of Trio Simonutti and as a soloist Tripo was also awarded the First Audience Award and the First Award of Association of Mongolian composers at the international festival The Golden Autumn in 1998 in Ulan Bator, Mongolia.The Cultural Educational Association of Serbia awarded Tripo the Golden Badge for his exceptional contribution to the cultural development.

In 2008 Tripo Simonutti received the Recognition for major contribution to the national culture of the Republic of Serbia. In 2015 Tripo’s decennial career has been crowned by the Life Work Award of the Association of Musical Artists of Serbia.

Tripo Simonutti  Critiques (excerpts)

“…In these times of haste and restlessness only great art and great artists can build us a bridge to a world of fantasy, world of idyllic dreamery where we can rest, heal, where we confirm once again to ourselves that being born and threading under the sun and stars are worth it. The audience experienced a miraculous tranquility achieved by the beauty of music at the concert of the extraordinary artist Tripo Simonutti…”

“…It would be difficult, although it may seem odd at a first glance, to talk about Tripo Simonutti’s performance, which is a term that colloquially denotes the interpretation. Here we are dealing with interpretation as a creation with temperamental gushes of sound polarities which in a single moment reminds us of the vivid presence of just born and untamable imagination…”

“…Outstandingly musical and emotional, tonally noble, stylistically authentic and technically precise…”

“…The audience is coming to the concerts because of him. They know he approaches the baroque reflectiveness and the romanticist sensibility, as well as the modern sound effects of the 20th centuries’ pieces with the same sensitivity. His interpretations simply always carry his personal mark…”