Miro Blažina-Pikutar, Marčana, 1905-1976

Miro Blažina-Pikutar. Source: Pernić, Renato (1997). Meštri, svirci i kantaduri. Istarski narodni pjevači, svirači i graditelji glazbala. Reprezent, Buzet.

Miro Blažina from Marčana owes his knowledge of making traditional instruments to his father who was also into carpentry and making of sopele. In his youth, Miro did not care much for the sopele and started playing in duo with his father only as an adult. He started making instruments relatively by accident. On one occasion he damaged his instrument so the need for a new one arose, and he decided to do it himself. After retirement he started making sopele, and unlike his father, he made a few bagpipes and dvojnice. Until 1960 he worked at the old family lathe powered by a foot peddle. To create the sopele he mostly used ash and maple, and to a lesser extent olive. Although boxwood was the best local wood for wind instruments, because of the lack of material of substantial thickness, Blažina created only a few instruments from this wood. Miro Blažina Pikutar is one of the few musicians and craftsmen of traditional instruments of his time who knew the notes. In addition to playing and making sopele, for many years he was a member of the evaluation committee of festivals of Istrian folk music.