The Role of the Third Program of Radio Belgrade in the Presentation, Promotion, and Expansion of Serbian Avant-Garde Music in the 1960s and 1970s

Abstract

This article details the various activities at the Third Program of Radio Belgrade that contributed to the presentation, promotion, and expansion of ‘new music’ in Serbia (then a constituent republic of the SFR Yugoslavia) during the 1960s and 1970s. These activities ranged from the foundation of the first professional Electronic Studio in Serbia in 1972 to the organisation of concerts by soloists and ensembles, mostly from abroad, specialising in performing the most advanced contemporary music at the time. Moreover, the music broadcast on the Third Program inspired the most adventurous Serbian composers to embark on mastering the newest compositional techniques and the latest technologies of that time. My aim is to discuss the numerous ways in which the Third Program contributed to the development and flourishing of the avant-garde music scene in Serbia.