Ratimir Martinović, pianist, university professor, founder, and artistic director of the International Festival KotorArt. According to critics, with “high intellect, brilliant technique, and original expression, while simultaneously possessing delicate lyrical and powerful dramatic sound with numerous alchemical tonal nuances,” he secures a special place and status among the artists of his generation.

Born in Kotor, Montenegro, Martinović began his musical journey under the mentorship of Emilija Sposojević and later studied with professors Frederik Stanković, Jokut Mihajlović, and Arbo Valdma in Novi Sad. His most formative guidance came from the renowned virtuoso Kemal Gekić, with whom he studied for seven years at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad and Florida International University in Miami.

Over the course of his career, Martinović has given more than 800 concerts at prestigious venues such as Stern Auditorium – Carnegie Hall (New York), Parco della Musica (Rome), Rudolfinum (Prague), Oriental Art Center and Jaguar Hall – Shanghai Symphony Hall (Shanghai), Glenn Gould Studio (Toronto), Lisinski Hall (Zagreb), Seoul Arts Center (South Korea), and Sava Center (Belgrade). He has collaborated with over 60 orchestras across Europe, Asia, North and South America, including the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Istanbul Symphony Orchestra, Mexico State Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Symphony Orchestras of Belgrade, Macedonia, and Montenegro, and the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, performing a repertoire that spans diverse musical epochs.

As founder and artistic director of KotorArt, Martinović has shaped a festival that often programmatically addresses social issues through culture and art, creating unique sound testimonies of our time. He is also the founder and director of the Wild Beauty Art Festival, held every summer in Montenegro’s Durmitor National Park, and co-founder and president of the ME&US Foundation (Montenegro and the United States), based in Santa Barbara, California.

In the field of education, Martinović became one of the youngest full professors in the history of the University of Novi Sad, teaching independently from the age of 24 and shaping generations of pianists. Together with the Mokranjac family, he also established the “Vasilije Mokranjac” Foundation, dedicated to preserving the legacy of the great Serbian composer and promoting his work in regional and international contexts.

As a recording artist, he released his first album in 2002, featuring works by Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms and Prokofiev. His double album of the complete piano opus of Serbian composer Vasilije Mokranjac (Naxos/Grand Piano, 2019) was praised for redefining performance standards. His latest album is a premiere publication of the newly established publisher Azure Sky from Hong Kong, with Bach’s Goldberg Variations (2024), receiving praise from international music magazines, such as American Record Guide, Fanfare, Music Web International, Records International and the Piano News magazine.