Zvjezdan Ružić | A Storm in a Teacup
Concert premiere of the new original album

On August 14th, at the Open Air Theatre in Opatija, you are invited to a concert-cinematic spectacle and a truly unique artist – entirely his own, authentic, and ready to share with the audience the story of his storm.
A storm in a teacup.

Zvjezdan Ružićis a multi-award-winning pianist and composer, an exclusive Yamaha Piano Artist, recipient of five Porin Awards (often referred to as the Croatian Grammys)  for best original albums and six Status Awards for the best pianist in Croatia.

Zvjezdan’s new album, A Storm in a Teacup, features 33 original compositions – music that blurs the line between concert and cinema, between composition and personal confession. Zvjezdan’s orchestral cinematic music will arrive on the Open Air Theatre stage in Opatija with impressive production, a scene filled with rich visual and lighting effects, and a sonic scenography that fully follows the emotion of each piece.

Alongside Zvjezdan’s piano, the stage will host a vast array of orchestral instruments: organ, large orchestral percussion, mellotron, marimba, vibraphone, timpani, gong, tubular bells, accordion, and many other percussive elements – all in the hands of exceptional academic musicians, members of Zvjezdan’s supporting ensemble.

Zvjezdan’s work focuses on rich cinematic musical textures and emotional sonic landscapes that awaken intuitive film images in the listener. His music ranges from gentle, fragile balladic intimacy to monumental, almost cinematic explosions of sound – while building, in front of the audience, the soundtrack to an as-yet-unwritten film – the film of his life.

Throughout his prolific career, Zvjezdan has collaborated with artists such as 2Cellos, Harlem Gospel Choir, Josipa Lisac, Massimo Savić, Vlatko Stefanovski, Luko Paljetak, Matija Dedić, the Croatian Radiotelevision Jazz Orchestra, Neli Andreeva, and many others.

Zvjezdan has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls – from the legendary Budokan Arena in Japan, to UCLA Schoenberg Hall in Los Angeles and the renowned Cadillac Shanghai Concert Hall, to major venues across China, Australia, and Europe.

Zvjezdan will premiere A Storm in a Teacup in Opatija – his most personal and raw album to date, recorded in three cathedrals, the Yamaha Music Europe studio in Vienna, and two more acoustically unique locations.

This is the album where Zvjezdan, for the first time, openly tells his spiritual journey through music – the struggle through the storm: feelings of loss, despair, and fear, but also unshakable faith, strength, and, ultimately, the rediscovery of self.

In a time of digital perfection, artificial intelligence, and sterile production, Zvjezdan chooses a different path – offering the audience something genuinely human: fragile, honest, and immediate. The entire album was recorded in real spaces with natural acoustics, without any digital intervention.

The album was mixed at the legendary Westpoint Studios in London – the studio where artists like Adele and Kanye West have recorded and produced their albums. It was mastered in Los Angeles, by Robert Vosgien – the man behind the final production of albums by Queen, David Bowie, and many others.

On August 14th, at the Open Air Theatre in Opatija, you are invited to a concert-cinematic spectacle and a truly unique artist – entirely his own, authentic, and ready to share with the audience the story of his storm.
A storm in a teacup.“