in his honour, composer david wilde wrote a piece for solo cello, "the cellist of sarajevo", which was recorded by yo yo ma. paul o'neill described smailović's performances as the inspiration for "christmas eve/sarajevo 12/24" by savatage and the trans-siberian orchestra. folk singer john mccutcheon also penned a song in his honour, "in the streets of sarajevo." the south african singer and songwriter coenie de villiers wrote a song in afrikaans, called "die tjeiis van sarajevo (the cellist of sarajevo)", which was included in his 2011 album "hart van glas (heart of glass)."