Silence of the Balkans is Goran Bregović

Goran Bregovic

Goran Bregović is one of the most internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Balkans. He currently splits his time between Paris and Belgrade, where he settled down during the Yugoslav Wars.Bregović has composed for such varied artists as Iggy Pop and Cesária Évora...

's live album recorded at his concert in Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 on December 30, 1997.

As part of the EU's ongoing initiative, Thessaloniki was designated European Capital of Culture

European Capital of Culture

The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....

 for the year 1997, and Bregović's performance came as part of the city's final showcase.

Silence of the Balkans

It's called the 'Silence of the Balkans' but actually is the record of the sounds, the rhythm and the breath of the Balkans and Georgia, but in different interpretation. A train leaves froms the old railway station of Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 and by passing all Balkan countries, stops in various cities and arrives in Thessaloniki. The last train stop, Thessaloniki, is also the last stop of the Cultural Capital of Europe, Thessaloniki 1997.

The performance has 2 levels. One that is live inside the stadium, and one film recorded in each train stop by Boris Milicović. At the performance of the last song, 3 children (one from Serbia, one Muslim and one from Croatian) from an orphanage in Sarajevo, call for peace.

Live performances from: the Municipal Orchestra of Thessaloniki (47 people), the Choir of Thessaloniki (50 people), 4 Bulgarian singers that work with Bregović in all lives performances, the Bulgarian dance ensemble 'Filip Kutev), 45 dancers from Greece, a polyphonic group from Albania, the former Yugoslavia singer Zdravko Čolić

Zdravko Colic

Zdravko Čolić , is a pop singer popular across the entire area of former Yugoslavia. Originally from Sarajevo, since 1992 , his home is in Belgrade, Serbia...

, the group of Aristidis Moshos,

Track listing

1. Silence 1
2. Delicious Solitude
3. Train
4. Silence 2
5. Wedding
6. Ederlezi
   Ederlezi (song)
   "Ederlezi" is a popular traditional folk song of the Roma minority in the Balkans.The song got its name after Ederlezi which is a Spring festival, especially celebrated by Roma people in the Balkans, Turkey and elsewhere around the world. This holiday celebrates the return of springtime. Ederlezi...
   
   
7. Silence 3
8. Chupchik
9. Babylon
10. Green Thought
11. Silence 4
12. Mocking Song