Classical and Modern Music
Format: CD
Code: 112133
EAN: 3838898112133
Foreign platforms:
Some music historians understand Mozart’s (1756-1791) piano concertos as a “diary” of the composer’s creative pulse, a compendium of concertante art of the second half of the 18th century and of the composer’s musical thinking and maturity in general. There is no doubt that with his piano concertos the composer not only perfected the genre but also, with the skilful combining of virtuosic brilliance and the symphonic compositional principle, brought
in to a point from which the concertante art of the 19th century could develop. Although the piano concertos display a high level of compositional creativity, the composer perceived them primarily as a medium for pianistic art, as a medium with which he could maintain his concertante reputation. Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, KV 414, is the first of three concertos (KV 413, KV 414 and KV 415) that were written in 1782 and together form a cycle. The Concerto KV 414 is the
first of Mozart’s works of this kind in which the introductory tutti to the first movement contains three thematic groups. Thus the light brilliance of the musical flow grows both from the character of the themes and from the dialogue of the protagonists. Mozart borrowed the theme of the second movement from the overture to the opera La Calamità dei Cuori by Johann Christian Bach, thus paying tribute to his role model, who passed away in 1782. In the concluding rondo the composer plays somewhat
with the expectations of the listeners, as the piano does not enter with the characteristic theme but rather with a unique improvisation on it.
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is one of the works that in a letter to his publisher the composer labelled as “not one of the best of the genre”. The reason was probably that a number of years elapsed between the work’s first performance and its publication, and during this time there was a shift in the composer’s musical language. It is most likely that Piano Concerto No. 2 (1795) was the first orchestral work with which the young
composer presented himself to the Viennese public. Until that point, he had been known as an outstanding pianist, and it was precisely this that had enabled him to be accepted in Viennese musical circles. Although the concerto bears the number two, it is actually the composer’s first work of this kind. The reversed order of the first two concertos is derived from the order in which they were published and does not reflect the order in which they were written. When Beethoven set out for Vienna,
his patron Count Ferdinand von Waldstein saw him off with the thought “may you receive Mozart’s spirit from Haydn’s hand”. The concerto is, in fact, an echo of Mozart’s piano concertos, works that Beethoven deeply admired, but at the same time it suggests a shift from the masterpieces of his great role model and a longing for a personal language. The first movement opens with a long orchestral exposition in which two contrasting themes confront each other, providing the material from which the
composer derives the continuation of the movement. The Largo is a spiritualised dialogue between the refined sound of the piano and the sonic dimensions of the orchestra. The concerto concludes with a lively rondo, whose emphasised rhythmic pulse carries all of the musical happenings.
Lucijan Marija Škerjanc (1900-1973) is one of those Slovene composers who left a powerful mark on Slovene musical culture of the 20th century, not only as a composer with a recognisable and artistically polished musical language, but also as a pianist, conductor, musical publicist and pedagogue. Disregarding musical-ideological doubts and conflicts, he managed Slovene musical happenings in a sophisticated way with a
broad musical and general humanistic outlook. After studying composition in Vienna with Joseph Marx, he went to Paris, where he furthered his studies with Vincent d’Indy. He also studied conducting with Felix Weingartner at the Basel Conservatory. He marked Slovene musical life primarily as a professor of composition at the Ljubljana Academy of Music, and somewhat later as the chancellor of the same institution, as a conductor of the Music Society’s Orchestral Society and especially as an
extraordinarily successful conductor of the Slovenian Philharmonic. Throughout his career he worked as a music writer and critic, writing numerous pedagogical handbooks as well as several monographs and treatises. Škerjanc’s musical language is derived from points of departure that are well known, proven and accessible to the listener. The idea of progress in music as a primary and binding category of musical creativity was foreign to him, although after the Second World War he did experiment
with the dodecaphonic technique of composing. Škerjanc’s musical language was above all traditional, refined and lyrical-melancholic. The Concertino for Piano and Strings was composed in 1949. The first movement, Allegretto grazioso, is based on sonata thinking, while the Adagio is a short, meditative intermezzo for solo piano. The concluding Allegro con spirito is a rondo with multiple themes, linked together with orchestral interplay and closing with a coda based on the first theme of the
movement.
Katarina B. HoČevar
(Translated by Neville Hall)
Pianist IRENA KOBLAR has been present on Slovene and international musi-cal stages for many years. Her dedication to art and indisputable talent, along with her brilliant technique, her musicality and the colourfulness of her performances, have earned her a place amongst the most individual pianists of her generation.
She gained her first professional music education in the masterclass of the Russian pianist and pedagogue Sijavuš Gadžijev, at the Centre for Music Education in Koper, Slovenia, before continuing her studies in the piano department (concert orientation) of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, in the class of the Russian pianist and pedagogue Alexei Lubimov. During this time, she undertook additional studies with other pianists and pedagogues, including Sergei Dorenski, Peter
Feuchtwanger, Solomon Mikowsky, John O’Connor and Eteri Andjaparidze. After receiving her master’s degree from the University Mozarteum in Salzburg in 2006, Irena Koblar moved to New York, where she furthered her studies with American pianist Jerome Rose at the Mannes College of Music, while at the same time being active as a concert pianist and pedagogue.
She has made numerous appearances at solo recitals and with chamber ensembles and orchestras both in Slovenia and abroad: in USA, Italy, Austria, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Belarus, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, etc. Her performances with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the RTV Bosnia and Herzegovina Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber String Orchestra of the Slovenian Philharmonic, the YMISO Symphony Orchestra, the Tartini
Quartet and thers have been a resounding success. Irena Koblar has received several first prizes at national and international competitions, the first of which was at the International Competition for Young Pianists in Verona, Italy, when she was just ten years old. This was followed by the Competition for Young Slovene Musicians in Ljubljana in 1995, the Val Tidone International Music Competition in Italy in 2001, etc.
Critics have written that her playing is “… gently clear, technically precise and emotionally moving…” (M. Paš, 2002, Radio Slovenia) and that she is dis- tinguished by “… a reliable technique and memory, a deep musicality and an interesting, youthfully nuanced and contrasting selection of musical works…” (F. Križnar, 2006, Radio Slovenia). A year later, referring to her first compact disc with works by D. Scarlatti, L. van Beethoven, J. Brahms, as well as additional
pieces by J. S. Bach and F. Chopin (the first superaudio CD and first surround sound DVD in Slovenia), the same critic assessed her interpretation and technique with the highest grade (5) in the Ljubljana newspaper Dnevnik. R. White (Guardian Unlimited, 2007) wrote of the CD: “… The keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti are increasingly available on CD… amongst the excellent recordings on offer, alongside the great pianists Vladimir Horvitz, Martha Argerich and Ivo Pogorelić as well as the
harpsichordist Kaun-Ae Lee… amongst the young pianists is a convincing performance by Irena Koblar…”, while R. Sherman (New York Times’ WQXR Radio, 2009) wrote that “… the Brahms in the performance of Irena Koblar is sensitive and warmly expressive”.
www.irenakoblar.com
Irena Koblar, piano
En Shao, conductor
RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra
COMPOSITIONS:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto N° 12, KV 414 in A major
1. Allegro 2. Andante 3. Allegretto
Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Concerto N° 2 in B flat major,
4. Allegro con brio 5. Adagio 6. Rondo. Molto Allegro
Lucijan Marija Škerjanc
Concertino for piano and strings
7. Allegretto grazioso (listen!), 8. Adagio, 9. Allegro con spirito (listen!)
