Rest in peace Willi Resetarits - Vili Rešetarić!

27.04.2022

Press release: Hrvatski centar / Croatian Centre, Vienna, 25. IV. 2022

He has left us - "our" Willi, suddenly and much too early, a great person for Austria, benefactor, initiator, the national conscience of this country. But for us Croatians he was a little bit more. He showed us that feelings, origins and memories of childhood are ultimately still stronger than the pressure to assimilate, than the great power to adapt to the majority. He is living proof that no politics can destroy what is in the heart and soul and what his Croatian family, his origins, put in his cradle, what his mother gave him.

Together with her, he made one of the strongest political statements on stage when he appeared at Heldenplatz in 1995 at the magnificent "Festival of Freedom" on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. At the peak of his career as Dr. Kurt Ostbahn, he sang the Croatian folk song from Stinatz "Lipo ti je čuti", knowing full well that several tens of thousands of people had expected something quite different. But the stage was his, and so was the audience - in every "role" or genre he performed, he was "him".

He had to travel far to find "home" again. He succeeded not least with his four "čeks" (Filček, Palček, Tomček and Rupček), i.e. with the BasBariTenori, to whom he was also a fatherly friend. In doing so, he brought great joy not only to himself, but also to many of us and his audience in these always "special" performances and concerts!

The highlight of the summer of 2005 in southern Burgenland, Christian Kolonovits' musical "Coming Home", was also the breeding ground of Willi Resetarits' Croatian musical revival. With the then "boys" from the folklore ensemble "Kolo Slavuj", Filip Tyran, Tome Janković, Palo Malý and Ruben Gludovacz, the BasBariTenori were formed there. With them, a new music genre was born in our circles, which took off like an arrow and in no time reached the hearts and souls not only of us Croatians, but also of the majority population throughout Austria and beyond.

For all this and his work, especially in the humanitarian field, he received, among other prestigious awards, the Cultural Award of the Croatian Centre "Metron" for the year 2018 - ad personam and also as part of the vocal ensemble BasBariTenori. The occasion was his 70th birthday (21.12.2018) as well as the released debut album of the ensemble, the CD "Hometown Records", which fulfilled many high expectations with regard to the vocal performance and the top arrangements of old and new traditional Croatian songs.

Meetings with Willi Resetarits were always unique and special experiences, and we will miss him incredibly, everywhere and in everything.

Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones, his fellow musicians, comrades and comrades-in-arms in humanitarian work and all those who worked with him, and we offer our deepest condolences.

+++++HRVATSKI++++++++++

IZJAVA za MEDIJE, Hrvatski centar, Beč, 25. IV. 2022.

Otišao je, čuda prerano i naglo "naš" Vili Rešetarić, velikan za Austriju, do­bročinitelj, pokretač, nacionalno dušno spoznavanje, savijest ove zemlje. Ali za nas Hrvate i Hrvatice je (bio) još ča to već. Nam je pokazao da je ćut, da je porijeklo, da su uspomene na ditinstvo koncem konca ipak jači od pri­ti­ska asimilacije, od silne mo­ći prilagodjivanja svemu ve­ćinskomu. On je živi dokaz za to, da bilo ka politika ne mo­re zničiti to, ča je u srcu i ča je u duši i ča mu je majka, ču su mu hrvatski rodjaki polo­žili u zipku, ča mu je majka dala sobom.

Skupa s njom je dao i jedan od najjačih političkih statementov na pozornici, kada je 1995. na Heldenplatzu pri veličanstvenoj "Fešti slobode" prilikom 50. obljetnice završetka II. Svitskoga boja, na vrhuncu svoje karijere kao dr. Kurt Ostbahn, jačio hrvatsku narodnu jačku iz Stinjakov "Lipo ti je čuti", znajuć da je nekoliko deset tisuće ljudi očekivalo ča potpuno drugoga. Ali pozornica je bila njegova, a tim i publika - u bilo koj "ulogi" ili u bilo kom žanru se pojavio, svenek je on bio "on".

Morao je daleko otputovati, da bi mogao opet domom najti. Ne na zadnje sa svojimi četiri „-čeki“ (Filček, Palček, Tomček i Rupček), dakle s BasBariTenori, kim je bio i očinski prijatelj, mu se je to i ugodalo, a s tim je na­činio ne samo sebi nego i mno­gim nam na veliko veselje!

Vrhunski dogodjaj 2005. ljeta na jugu Gradišća, mjuzkl »Coming Home« Kristijana Kolonovića je bila i zip­ka hrvatskoga muzičkoga prepo­roda Vilija Rešetarića. S tadašnjimi „dičaki“ iz folklornoga ansambla Kolo-Sla­vuja, Filipom Tyranom, Tomom Jankovićem, Palom Malýjem i Rubenom Gludovcem su tada rodili BasBariTenore, skupa s njimi je nastao novi žanr muzike u naši krugi, ki je štartao kao iz strijele i je u najkraćem roku stigao u srca i duše ne samo nas Hrvatov i Hrvatic nego i većin­ske publike širom Austrije kao i izvan nje granic.

Za sve ovo i druga životna postignuća primio je - uz druge znamenite nagrade i Kulturnu nagradu Hrvatskoga centra "Metron" za 2018. ljeto, i to on osobno kao i vokalni sastav BasBariTenori. Povod je bio njegov 70. rodjendan (21.12.2018.) kao i objavljen skupni muzički prvijenac, cd „Hometown records“, kim su udovoljili mnoga visoka očekivanja s pogledom na njev pjevni kapacitet i vrhunske aranžmane starih i novijih tradicionalnih hrvatskih jačak.

Susreti s Vilijem Rešetarićem su bili svenek jedinstveni i posebni doživljaji i nevjerojatno će nam faliti, u svemu, i ovde i onde.

U misli smo kod njegove obitelji i rodbini, kod njegovih kolegov i kolegic muzičarov, suborcev u humanitarni posli i kod svih, ki su s njim djelali i im ovim putem izražujemo naše diboko sužalovanje.