KOMORNI GODALNI ORKESTER SLOVENSKE FILHARMONIJE

KOMORNI GODALNI ORKESTER SLOVENSKE FILHARMONIJE & ZAGREBAČKI SOLISTI: BITKA - BATTALIA

Classical and Modern Music

Format: CD

Code: 113611

EAN: 3838898113611

    Foreign platforms:

12,41 EUR

"I have always believed that the arts, per se, and their exponents, artists, have a broader role to play in the public arena. But it must be totally apolitical, nonpartisan and free of issue-specific agendas. It is a role of the highest possible order; bringing peoples and their cultures together on common ground, where the roots of peaceful interchange can imperceptibly but irrevocably take hold."
http://www.castletonfestival.org/

These words of the recently departed great maestro Lorin Maazel could serve as an excellent tribute to this common project, which brings together two important cultural institutions and two important public institutions of Slovenia and Croatia: the Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra and the Zagreb Soloists, as well as Slovenian and Croatia Radio-Television.


Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber, an Austrian composer of Czech descent, spent most of his creative life in Salzburg, where he held the position of Kapellmeister with the local Archbishop. He was known as an exceptional violinist, a fact confirmed by his compositional opus, which, in addition to vocal works, includes very demanding compositions for the violin. Biber was fond of using unconventional compositional techniques, such as scordatura (modified tuning of the strings) and polytonality, as well as extended instrumental techniques for achieving unusual sonic effects, such as col legno (playing with the wooden part of the bow), snap pizzicato in the cellos and bass, and playing with paper inserted between the strings. All of these sonic effects are employed in the composition Battalia. Music historians fail to agree entirely on the motivation for the composition. Some view it as the composer’s response to the Thirty Year War in Europe, which raged throughout Europe in the first half of the 17th century, while others claim that the composition is dedicated to Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, fertility and theatre. There is no doubt, however, that Battalia was a pioneering work in the field of programme music, in which Biber represented diverse battle motifs, adopting a range of means and techniques that were not exploited more widely until the avant-garde composers of the 20th century. Amongst all of the compositional techniques employed, the most unusual is probably the tonal cacophony for eight voices, which, in the second movement of the eight-movement work, illustrates the unmelodious singing of soldiers around the campfire. The eight short movements, performed without a break, bear the following titles: Sonata, The Profligate Society of Common Humour, Allegro, March, Presto, Aria, The Battle and The Lament of the Wounded.

Composer Nana Forte studied composition at the Ljubljana Academy of Music with Prof. Marko Mihevc. After graduating in 2005, she furthered her studies at the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden and at the Berlin University of the Arts. In 2009, she completed her postgraduate studies in the class of Prof. Walter Zimmermann. Her compositions have been performed throughout Europe at various concerts, international festivals and competitions, such as Rheinsberger Pfingstwerkstatt Neue Musik, Weimarer Frühjahrstage für zeitgenössische Musik, the Zagreb Music Biennale, Young Euro Classic – Berlin, the Slowind Festival 2008, Festival Randspiele Zepernick and the Belgrade International Review of Composers. Mantra was commissioned by the Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra. The composer comments on the work: “At the request of the Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra, to whom I dedicate this composition, I have sought inspiration in the culture of the “Magical East”. The work is based on the characteristic features of the mantra, but not in a strict sense. The word “mantra” comes from Sanskrit and is composed of two parts: “mana” means mind, consciousness, while “tra” means to set free. So, loosely speaking, “mantra” means to free one’s mind. Characteristics of a mantra, such as the repetition of individual rhythmic-melodic formulas, low repeating notes and the characteristic melodic line, served as inspiration in the compositional process and assisted in creating the form and the melodic-rhythmic structure. The final product is not a mantra in its strict form, but rather a story depicted by the stream of thoughts during the repetition of the mantra, a battle of the spirit and consciousness, both trapped in the shackles of repetitive daily routine but on the path to achieving freedom and a higher, more profound awareness of the self and everything that surrounds us.”

Argentinean composer of Jewish descent Osvaldo Golijov studied composition in Israel with Mark Kopytman and in the USA, where his teachers were George Crumb and Oliver Knussen. His compositional style draws inspiration from various music styles, genres and cultures. He grew up in La Plata (Argentina), where he was constantly surrounded by classical chamber music and Jewish liturgical and klezmer music, as well as by the new tango “invented” by Astor Piazzolla. Today, Golijov is one of the most frequently performed contemporary composers. Last Round was commissioned by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group and was first performed in Birmingham in 1996. It was composed following the death of the great master of Tango, Astor Piazzolla, who was at the peak of his creativity when he died of a stroke in 1992. Golijov envisaged the piece as an idealisation of the bandoneon, an instrument that served Piazzolla to evoke the features of the tango. The bandoneon was invented in Germany to serve as a portable church organ. After finding its true home in the slums of Buenos Aires, the instrument returned to Europe and conquered Parisian high society. The first movement of Last Round bears no title and symbolises the act of the violent compression of the bandoneon’s bellows, while the second movement, a seemingly endless sigh of the opening of the bellows entitled La muerte del ángel (The Death of an Angel), is actually a fantasy over the refrain of the song “My Beloved Buenos Aires”, composed by the legendary Carlos Gardel in the 1930s.

Sir Michael Tippett, who studied composition, piano and conducting at the London Royal College of Music, is today considered one of the most prominent and original English composers of the 20th century. All of his works are permeated with an exceptional rhythmic energy and a complex harmonic language. His most important works include the oratorio A Child of Our Time from 1939, Fantasia Concertante On a Theme of Corelli for a string orchestra from 1953, and Concerto for Double String Orchestra composed in 1939. Concerto for Double String Orchestra has three movements following the scheme Allegro con brio – Adagio cantabile – Allegro molto. A feature of all of the movements is the contrast between the radiant sound of both string orchestras and the individual appearances of the string groups. Both of the fast movements, Allegro con brio and Allegro molto, are conceived in sonata form, modelled on the sonata movements of Beethoven, whom Tippett greatly admired. This form can be traced in the appearance, development and recapitulation of the central theme. The lively opening of the first movement is an excellent example of the rhythmic and melodic counterpoint that is a key characteristic of Tippett’s compositional technique, deriving from the composer’s study of 16th century music with its apparently free rhythm, while the movement’s accents and crescendos can be attributed to the influence of jazz music. Further evidence of Tippett’s taking Beethoven as a model can be found in the second movement, Adagio cantabile, which is conceived in the same way as the second movement of Beethoven’s String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95, “Il Serioso”. The movement begins with a solo violin melody. The central part of this tripartite movement is devoted to a fugue, which is interrupted by the reappearance of the initial melody, which closes the movement. The final movement commences with the same rhythmic energy as the first movement. Rapid Scottish rhythms dominate in the central section, eventually transforming into the melodious cello line, after which the melody is taken up by the violins and the initial atmosphere returns. The coda appears with a completely new melody, rounding off the movement and the composition, a work that is full of rhythmic energy and dance melodies, mesmerising with a joyous dialogue between the two orchestras.

Composer Uroš Krek is regarded as one of the greatest Slovenian musical personalities of the 20th century. After graduating in composition and conducting from the Ljubljana Academy of Music, he worked as a music programme editor at Radio Ljubljana, and was later employed as an assistant at the Institute of Ethnomusicology and a professor of composition at the Ljubljana Academy of Music. He was a full member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, a corresponding member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts and a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. From 1988, he was an honorary member of the Slovenian Philharmonic, and, from 1995, he held the title Professor Emeritus of the Ljubljana University. Krek composed symphonic, chamber and choral music, as well as music for theatre, performing arts and film. His Sonatina for Strings is undoubtedly one of the most frequently performed Slovenian works for string orchestra. According to the composer, its divertimento character served to entertain the audience, while also offering performers an opportunity for pleasant music making. This is partly why the work has been embraced by the Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra from its very beginnings. The three movements follow traditional musical forms. In terms of invention, they are of equal weight and mutually contrastive. The first movement, Allegro vigoroso, is composed in sonata form and is characterised by short motifs in numerous variations that are passed between the different string groups. The central Adagio is a slow, extremely beautiful and lyrical movement in three parts. The concluding Allegro vivo is an irrepressible, free-flowing con brio in rondo form, with a cantabile central section. Referring to the work, the composer wrote: “Sonatina was commissioned by Antonio Janigro for his Zagreb soloists ensemble. As I understood his stated preference, the piece was intended to allow for rather light music making: the pleasure of performing for the musicians and entertainment for the audience. Therefore, one should not look for expressively or dramatically loaded sections in the work, but simply see it as music written by a composer to find respite …”.

mag. Klemen Hvala
Artistic Director

Translated by: Neville Hall

 

The Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra consists of fourteen string musicians, members of the Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra was founded in 1993 with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia with the purpose of performing on those stages in Slovenia that are unable to accommodate a full symphonic orchestra. During the eighteen years of its existence, the Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra, recast as a society in 1999, has given about 400 concerts in Slovenia and abroad. It has performed at the Ljubljana Summer Festival, the Maribor Festival (Musical September Festival), at the Musica Danubiana Festival, the Slovenian Music Days, and in Ljubljana as part of the ISCM World Music Days “Slovenia 2003”. The concerts in Dubrovnik (Dubrovnik Summer Festival), Zadar, Zagreb (the Zagreb Summer Festival and the Zagreb Baroque Festival), Samobor, Opatija (Biennial of Contemporary Music), Novi Sad, Klagenfurt, Ohrid, Podgorica (Festival A Tempo), Gorizia, Trieste, and Madrid (Veranos de la Villa) were received with consistent enthusiasm by both, audiences and critics. As a society it has stimulated musical creativity, the production of new compositions, score editions, as well as promotional CDs from its onset. The orchestra has collaborated with numerous Slovene musicians of international acclaim, such as the pianist Dubravka Tomšič Srebotnjak, flautist Irena Grafenauer, contralto Mirjam Kalin, and other renowned musicians such as cellists Alexander Rudin, Mischa Maisky and Enrico Dindo, counter-tenor Markus Forster, violinists Sarah Chang, Priya Mitchell and Alissa Margulis, pianist Polina Leschenko, hornist Stefan Dohr, flautist Massimo Mercelli, and accordionist Richard Galliano.
Since 2009, it has been the Orchestra in Residence and the producer of the Maribor Festival under the artistic leadership of Richard Tognetti. It has performed with musicians such as the flautist Emmanuel Pahud, tenorist James Gilchrist, pianists Boris Berezovsky and Melvyn Tan, violinists Arvid Engegård, Atle Sponberg, Satu Vänskä, soprano Sabina Cvilak, bassoonist Jane Gower, hornist Marie Luise Neunecker, guitarist Vlatko Stefanovski, kaval player Teodosii Spassov. In 2010 the orchestra became a partner with the public institution Maribor 2012 − the European Capital of Culture. In the same year it has performed together with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, violinist Anthony Marwood violist Christopher Moore, cellist Timo-Veikko Valve and flautist Eva Nina Kozmus.
The orchestra cooperated with accordionist Richard Galliano (From Bach to Galliano), guitarist Vlatkom Stefanovskim in saksophonist Vasko Atanasovski (Fire&Ice) and guitarist Samo Šalamon (Free Strings). The orchestra, which performs without a conductor, has recorded a number of live concerts, audio and video recordings, as well as several compact discs. Its repertoire includes all period styles. It dedicates special attention to younger Slovene composers. Dedicated to high quality, the Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra is consolidating its reputation in the creative currents of Europe. It received the country’s most prestigious national accolade, the Prešeren Fund Award in 1999, the Župančič Award of the City of Ljubljana in 2004, the Betetto Charter in 2006 and The Ljubljana City award in 2012.
www.drustvo-kgosf.si

Founded in 1953 as an ensemble of Radio Zagreb under the artistic leadership of the renowned cellist and conductor Antonio Janigro, the Zagreb Soloists have gained a reputation as one of the world’s most prominent chamber orchestras. In addition to their notable tenure with Maestro Janigro, the Zagreb Soloists have worked closely with artistic concertmasters such as Dragutin Hrdjok, Tonko Ninić, Anđelko Krpan and Borivoj Martinić-Jerčić – keeping their excellence in playing music, that is regularly being presented at prestigious international concert stages – unchangeable. Since 2012 the ensemble performs with the famous violinist Sreten Krstić as their concertmaster and who is also the concertmaster of the Munich Philharmonic.
The ensemble has performed over 3,500 concerts worldwide, receiving public recognition and critical acclaim at the world’s most prestigious venues – Vienna Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, London’s Royal Festival Hall, the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, the Sydney Opera House and Teatro Real Madrid, to name but a few. The ensemble regularly appears at internationally recognised music festivals – Salzburg, Prague, Edinburgh, Berlin, etc. The Zagreb Soloists have also collaborated with many great artists, including Henryk Szeryng, Alfred Brendel, Pierre Fournier, James Galway, Katia Ricciarelli, Christian Ferras, Ivo Pogorelić and numerous others.
The ensemble’s extensive repertoire includes Baroque, Classical, Romantic and contemporary works, with special attention given to the works of Croatian composers. The Zagreb Soloists’ vast discography includes over 70 albums for EMI, RCA, Vanguard, ASV, Eurodisc, Melodia, Hispavox, Pickwick, Croatia and EDI Records. One of the most recent outstanding editions is the album with works by Ernesto Cordero, which Zagreb Soloists recorded with prominent soloists – violinist Guillermo Figueroa and guitarist Pepe Romero (Naxos 2010), which was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award. In June 2014 the ensemble has also released a compact disc with works by Boris Papandopulo, performing with pianist Oliver Triendl.
The ensemble is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including First Prize in Mar de Plata, the Pablo Casals Medal, the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Medal for the best performance of contemporary music, and the Vladimir Nazor and Milka Trnina awards, as well as the Orlando Award for the best performance of a Croatian work and for a special contribution to the programme of the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. The Zagreb Soloists have twice been honoured with the City of Zagreb Award, and have received special recognition from UNESCO. In addition to receiving a silver CD from Croatia Records, the ensemble has been awarded the Order of National Merit and the Silver Plaque of Jeunesses Musicales. During the Croatian War of Independence, the Zagreb Soloists performed over 70 benefit concerts for rebuilding of the National Theatre in Osijek, the Children’s Hospital in Zagreb, and numerous music schools, churches and monuments devastated during the war. They also performed a series of concerts to celebrate the independence of their home country. They play a major role in bringing vibrant performances of a wide variety of chamber repertoire to audiences worldwide.
Since autumn 2011, the Zagreb Soloists have performed under the artistic leadership of the celebrated French cellist Marc Coppey, with Sreten Krstić as their concertmaster. The sixty years of successful operation of this renowned Croatian classical music ensemble are a credit to the numerous outstanding musicians who have at various times been its members. That which connects all of the members – past, present and future – is their virtuosity and remarkable discipline, as well as their inexhaustible enthusiasm and love for chamber music performance on the highest level.
http://www.zg-solisti.hr

 

TRACKS:
Heinrich Ignaz Biber (1644 – 1704):
Battalia (1673)
1 Sonata 1:39
2  The Profligate Society of Common Humour 0:49
3  Allegro 0:26
4  March 1:15
5  Presto 1:15
6  Aria 1:22
7  The Battle 0:43
8  The Lament of the Wounded 1:25
Nana Forte (1981):
9 Mantra (2013) 8:18

Osvaldo Noé Golijov (1960):
10 Last Round (1996) 12:33
Michael Kemp Tippett (1905 – 1998):
Concerto for Double String Orchestra (1939)
11 Allegro con brio 6:42
12 Adagio cantabile 7:30
13 Allegro molto 8:19
Uroš Krek (1922 – 2008):
Sonatina for Strings (1956)
14 Allegro vigoroso 3:57
15 Adagio 6:52
16 Allegro vivo 5:17
(listen!)

 

1 - 16 The Slovene Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra
11 - 16 Zagreb Soloists