Ježek Awards for singer-songwriter Domicelj, posthumously for satirist Hribar
Rogaška Slatina, 29 October - Tomaž Domicelj, a singer-songwriter whose career spans 57 years, has received the Ježek Award for 2023 and satirist Sašo Hribar, a popular radio host who died last month, has been awarded the Ježek Award for lifetime achievements posthumously.
Ljubljana
Popular radio host Sašo Hribar (1960-2023).
Photo: Boštjan Podlogar/STA
File photo
Ljubljana
Singer-songwriter Tomaž Domicelj.
Photo: Bor Slana/STA
File photo
The public broadcaster RTV Slovenija has been giving out the Ježek Awards since 1989 to creative and witty TV and radio creators.
A household name of the popular music scene, Domicelj, 75, has brought the poetry and lives of American and British protest poets to the attention of Slovenians, the jury said.
He has recorded more than 400 pieces for the broadcaster's archives alongside hundreds of his own songs while having been giving concerts throughout his long career.
"Domicelj connects his thoughts into lyrics that provide a basis for reflection for the attentive listener. He is a sharp ... but always critical observer of his surroundings."
Dimicelj was also praised as being witty and satirical, but for a good reason, while being at the same time a gentle and insightful master of the Slovenian language.
Hribar, who died of heart attack in September at the age of 63, was conferred the Ježek Award for lifetime achievements after he received the Ježek Award in 2006 for his satirical radio show Radio GA-GA and his TV show Hri-Bar.
He was praised as a unique personality on the Slovenian scene with exceptional oratorical and impersonation skills, humanistic breadth and excellent acting.
Hribar was a pioneer of satirical impersonation and the most recognisable radio personality who made his mark in the history of Slovenian entertainment broadcasts, the jury said.
"He said things that the rest of us did not dare, and he did so in a manner that touched our hearts," the jury said, adding that Hribar was a messenger of the truth.
The Ježek Award is named after author, director and actor Fran Milčinski - Ježek (1914-1988), one of the first satirists on TV Slovenija, then TV Ljubljana.
The awards were given out in Rogaška Slatina on Saturday evening at the Festival of Slovenian Chanson, which was won by Tomaž Hostnik with Dekle iz Zlatih Sanj (Girl from Golden Dreams). The awards ceremony coincided with RTV Slovenija's celebrations of the 95th anniversary of Radio Slovenija and the 65th anniversary of TV Slovenija.