IGOR DEKLEVA: OD DUA DO ORKESTRA

Classical and Modern Music

Format: Dvojni CD

Code: 114199

EAN: 3838898114199

From Duo to Orchestra

It began at 15 – the piano improvisation Appassionato pointed to possible paths of life decisions. Music - no doubt about it! The black and white keys had won out, but the creative well did not run dry. Instead it overflowed: a collection of short instructional pieces (some three hundred over the course of twenty years’ work to produce the first book for piano beginners published in Slovenia, “Dober dan Ciciban” (“Hello, Preschooler!”), as well as concert works for piano, featured on the 2010 CD Klavirski opus (Piano Works) released as part of the series Ars Slovenica by the Slovenian Composers’ Society, while more than 30 choir pieces are waiting to be recorded.

A kaleidoscope of different compositional impulses and directions are revealed on the current double album, as well as recent larger works – now that activities such as teaching at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, concert tours, participation in competition juries and master classes are mainly behind me, the lust to create can now strike. Every year this urge yields more and more fruit.

Considering the diversity of the Dekleva Duo’s activities, the piano duo is a particularly characteristic medium; my wife Alenka and I played these pieces in Slovenia and abroad, recording a number of LPs and CDs as well. At the beginning of Ballad the acoustic effects of harmonics dictated a four-handed approach on a single piano. Later on two pianos offer greater polyphonic independence and a larger sound. The Piano Journal wrote, "In Vibrations swift, hardly audible tonal repetitions and tremolos represent an innovative prolongation of piano sonority. Without precise ‘foot work’ and the use of sustaining pedal, above all in vibrating the right pedal, the performance of this composition cannot be accomplished to the piece's conclusion.”

A multi-decade collaboration with violinist Michael Gruber resulted in works for the violin, while accompanying numerous singers gave rise to the composition of many lieder. The Washington Post pleasantly commented on the first performance of Štirje temperamenti (Four Temperaments) in Washington, DC: “But the crowning work of the evening was a world premiere -- "Four Temperaments," by Igor Dekleva. This set of songs was hauntingly performed by soprano Kate Vetter Cain and pianist Jeffrey Chappell. The final song, ‘Cholera,’ mixed in elements of the Catholic requiem chant ‘Dies Irae’ with the Slovenian text in a heart-rending and twisted waltz.” Quite a few works for clarinet were produced following many years of studying that instrument, and the Slovenian Composers Society initiated a number of pieces for various chamber formations.

Svorni lok (1971) for chamber ensemble is an avant-garde, aleatoric work featuring note durations notated with lines. By stringing together denser tonal systems the molecular tension is increased. Just before the breaking point and collapse, the stretching forces relax and the nucleus slowly returns to a state of rest.

Symphonic works (and opera) were also just wishful thinking, but as the years of creativity passed, the time came for that as well. Slovenian Ballad has a somewhat unusual history. My fantasy of writing an opera was brought up during a discussion on a radio program featuring my work on November 10, 2010. “Well then, write the overture first,” suggested the host of the talk, Gregor Pirš - an independent symphonic work came in being instead. The folk song “Oče nebeški, glej" (“Heavenly Father, Look!”) is a common thread through the piece, growing into an apotheosis of sound at the end of the piece. There is already a draft for another piece, Plesna balada (Dance Ballad), part of a series planned for the next creative period.

The Concertino for piano and orchestra came about on the initiative of my colleague Marko Mihevc and was premiered July 8, 2012, on the Bled Festival in the scope of the Night of Slovene Composers. The KOS Chamber Orchestra was conducted by Jürgen Bruns. The Concertino was awarded the Prix Special on March 10, 2013, at the International Composers Competition in Luxembourg. An archival recording of the work for RTV Slovenia was made with conductor Simon Krečič on May 5, 2015.

The encore piece Appassionato embraces the creative period from 1948 to 2014, as a selection of pieces in the chosen field.

Igor Dekleva

IGOR DEKLEVA

A Slovene pianist, composer and teacher. As founder of the piano duo programme at the Academy of Music of Ljubljana, he has held the position of full professor since 1998. He studied composition in Belgrade and graduated from piano at the Academy of Music of Ljubljana under the mentorship of Prof. J. Ravnik. He obtained a PhD in piano performance under the supervision of Prof. H. Horak. In addition, he attended classes at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy (A. Cortot), the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich (1961–1963, master class by Prof. Erik Then-Bergh) and the Mozarteum (Prof. Carlo Zecchi).
He has performed in more than 1,600 concerts in Europe, the Americas, Asia (China), and Africa, both as a solo artist as well as part of a piano duo with Alenka Dekleva and violinist M. Grube. His discography consists of more than 30 albums.
His opus is comprised of works from diverse music genres: piano, chamber, vocal, choir, instrumental, and symphonic music, as well as numerous piano textbooks. He has received numerous awards both in Slovenia and abroad: the Betetto Award (1980), the title of international cultural ambassador of the American Biographical Institute (1980), the Ljubljana City Award (2004), the Slovene Life Achievement Award for his work in the field of university education (2012), the Luxembourg Prix Special for his composition Concertino for piano and orchestra (2013), to name just a few.
Together with F. Križnar, he described his journey through life in the book Živeti z glasbo (To Live With Music; DZS, 2006).

CD1

1.  Balada za klavirski duo (2008) (listen!)                                8:07
Ballad for piano duo                                                                                                          

2. Vibracije za 20 prstov in 3 pedale za klavir štiriročno (1997)    6:30
Vibrations for 20 Finger and 3 Pedals for piano four-hands                                  

3. Brillante za violino in violončelo (2007)                                      8:21
Brillante for violin and violoncello                                                                                

4. Igre menjav za klarinet in klavir (2012)                                       4:27
Games of Mutations for clarinet and piano     

5. Amabile za flavto in harfo (2008)                                               6:40
Amabile for flute and harp                                 

Trije samospevi za mezzosopran in klavir
Three Songs for mezzo-soprano and piano                                                                
6. I .  Sreča - Happines (Anton Trstenjak) (2002)                             3:57
7. II.   Onkraj svetlobe - Beyond the Sunlight (Igor Dekleva) (2000)  3:22
8.  III. Čebelice puščičarjem - Bees for Critics (France Prešeren) (1999)  1:59

Štirje temperamenti za mezzosopran, klavir in spremljevalni glas (2015)
Four Temperaments for mezzo-soprano, piano and accompanying voice

9.  I.   Melancholia                                                                          4:09
10. II.  Sanguis                                                                               2:30
11.  III. Phlegma                                                                               3:55
12.  IV. Cholera                                                                               3:17

CD2

1. Klasična uvertura za tri trobente (2003)                                    3:55
Classic uverture for three trumpets                  

2.  Tri anekdote za trobilni trio (2011)                                              5:29
Three Anecdotes for brass trio

3. Štiri kratkočasne skladbe za pihalni trio (2005)                           6:23
Four entertaining pieces for woodwind trio                  

4.  Prizvok za mezzosopran, rog in klavir (2001)                            4:33
Resonance for mezzo-soprano, horn and piano                        

5. Ljubavna pesem za kvartet flavt                                                  3:59
Love song for flute quartet

Pizzicato versa arco za godalni kvartet (2014)
Pizzicato versa arco for string quartet                                     
6 . I.                                                                                                  2:21
7. I                                                                                                    4:54

8. Scherzo fantastico za pihalni kvintet (2013)                                4:41
Scherzo fantastico for wind quintet                                                                     

9. Svorni lok za komorni orkester (1971)                                          5:56
Tension arch for chamber orchestra                              

10. Slovenska balada za simfonični orkester (2012)                        7:15
Slovenian Ballad for symphony orchestra

Concertino za klavir in orkester (2012)
Concertino for piano and orchestra

11.  I .    Uvertura                                                                               4:06
12.  II.    Romanca                                                                              4:35
13.  III.  Parodija                                                                                  3:38

14     Appassionato za klavir (1949)                                                  2:34
Appassionato for piano

Izvajalci/Performers: Klavirski duo Dekleva - Alenka in Igor Dekleva - CD1: 1, 2; Milan Hudnik (violončelo/cello) - CD1: 3; Andrej Kopač (violina/violin) - CD1: 3; Luca Ferrini (klavir/piano) - CD1: 4; Jože Kotar (klarinet/clarinet) - CD1: 4, CD2: 3, 9; Mateja Kremljak (flavta/flute) - CD1: 5; Tina Žerdin (harfa/harp) - CD1: 5; Nuška Drašček Rojko (mezzosopran/mezzosoprano) - CD1: 6 - 12; Andreja Kosmač (klavir/piano) - CD1: 6 - 12; Jernej Gantar (trobenta/trumpet) - CD2: 1; Urban Kolar (trobenta/trumpet) - CD2: 1; Anžej Ramšak (trobenta/trumpet) - CD2: 1; Mihajlo Bulajič (rog/horn) - CD2: 2; Jure Gradišnik (trobenta/trumpet) - CD2: 2; Uroš Polanc (pozavna/trombone) - CD2: 2; Damir Huljev (fagot/basoon) - CD2: 3; Matej Zupan (flavta/flute) - CD2: 3, 9; Irena Yebuah Tiran (mezzosopran/mezzosoprano) - CD2: 4; Klemen Golner (klavir/piano) - CD2: 4; Boštjan Lipovšek (rog/horn) - CD2: 4; Kvartet flavt/Flute quartet - Maša Bertok Duh, Vesna Jan, Alenka Jančar, Karolina Šantl Zupan - CD2: 5; Godalni kvartet Arcus – Andrej Kopač (violina/violin), Uroš Bičanin (violina/violin), Špela Pirnat (viola), Arslan Hamidulin (violončelo/cello) - CD2: 6, 7; Pihalni Kvintet Slowind - Aleš Kacjan (flavta/flute), Matej Šarc (oboa/oboe), Jurij Jenko (klarinet/clarinet), Metod Tomac (rog/horn), Fabio Calligaris (fagot/basoon) - CD2: 8; Franc Avsenek (viola) - CD2: 9; Maja Kojc (oboa/oboe) - CD2: 9; Vasilij Meljnikov (violina/violin) - CD2: 9; Andrej Žust (rog/horn) - CD2: 9; Igor Dekleva (klavir/piano) - CD2: 11 - 14; Simfonični Orkester RTV Slovenija, dirigent/conductor Simon Krečič - CD2: 10 – 13.