Skopje, 28 January 2022 (MIA) – A commemoration in honor of Macedonian conductor and composer Aleksandar Dzambazov, who died on January 25 aged 85, was held Friday in Skopje, where his song “Skopje Rhapsody” was played that replaced the traditional moment of silence. Dzambazov is considered a representative of the fourth generation of Macedonian post-war composers. “Aleksandar Dzambazov will be enshrined in the history of Macedonian contemporary music, his name was a synonym for Macedonian popular music for more than 50 years,” said Jane Kodzabashija, president of the Association of Composers of Macedonia. He was one of the few cultural workers who was immensely important for the artists here because he had a vision, added the composer Stojan Stojkov. Dzambazov’s catalog included a total of 982 works registered by the Musical Copyrights Association of Macedonia (ZAMP). “Dzambazov selflessly played a huge role in copyrights protection first as a member of the association of composers of Yugoslavia and later as a member of the ZAMP board,” revealed ZAMP director Antoaneta Tokovska Kotevska. His son, the famous entertainer Igor Dzambazov, thanked everyone attending the commemoration held amid a pandemic. “I feel the love you have for your favorite maestro. My family and I, we promise you we will take this love with us to transfer it to his eternal resting place,” he said. Born in 1936 in Serbia, Dzambazov spent his childhood and teenage years in Shtip and Skopje. After graduating from the music academy in Belgrade in 1960, he started working at the Macedonian Radio-Television as band conductor. Dzambazov is the founder of the Skopje festival of pop songs and the Golden Nightingale children’s music festival. In addition to composing classical music for orchestras and choirs, he also scored music for theater and film.