Classical and Modern Music
Format: Dvojni CD
Code: 111242
EAN: 3838898111242
REFLECTIONS OF CREATIVITY
The recordings presented on this CD are dedicated to the centennial of the birth of composer Marijan Lipovšek (1910–1995) and reveal two audio images of his artistic activity. These two sides of his art emanate from a long and rich artistic career caught in the arch of time from the era of the Habsburg monarchy to today’s contemporary and liberating mindset at the doorstep of the 21st century. This was the path trodden by the composer, pianist, chamber musician,
pedagogue and professor, mountaineer, thinker and author of theoretical texts, writer and translator of books and essays about both music and mountains – and as such one of the most versatile figures of Slovenian musical life in the previous century.
The first disc reveals Lipovšek as a composer of two symphonic works and a vocal-instrumental cycle of songs. The selection of works follows the individuality of the compositional diction in the minor form of an introductory Toccata quasi apertura, a (minor) work with a rich symphonic sound which in the second symphonic work – the only time in his opus – expands into a grand orchestral symphony. The second disc presents Lipovšek’s interpretive art and his noblest encounters in musical
collaboration. Here the selection includes an almost forgotten and invaluable piano piece and two masterpieces by musical giants, performances which have been unmatched to this very day.
Songs from the Mill was written in 1980 and is based on poems by Svetlana Makarovič from a collection of poetry entitled Srčevec (Heartgrown). They were first composed for voice and piano and later arranged for orchestra. In the poems, which describe the pathetic and lonely life of a miller, his hallucinations and finally his downfall, Lipovšek followed the poet’s arc of expression. Moreover, he elevated it with the inner power of his music thus creating one of the most persuasive vocal
confessions of our time.
Lipovšek started composing Symphony for large orchestra in 1939 upon arriving to Rome to begin his studies with Alfredo Casella. The first performance was ten years later at the grand Union Hall in Ljubljana.
During the years of our study, symphonic form was still the one that we saw as the most desirable for the fulfillment of our creative aspirations. The piece does not open up new worlds – I first had to learn the basis of the form in terms of tradition – however, I aspired to the most powerful expressions possible of musical thought … The subtitle I chose for publication expressed my feel- ings: Omnia pro arte – All for art.
Two musical forms that blossomed in the classical period of soloistic literature were enriched in Lipovšek’s opus with his own language, sonata and variations. The date of the first written record of Vóznica, originally Variations for piano on a folk song, is 1954, as the first recording in the Radio Slovenia archive is dated 21st June that year.
No less important for me was performing with Slovenian artists of an equally high artistic level. With flutist Boris Čampa we performed all the Bach sonatas for flute and harpsichord, while the most important collaboration for me was that with Igor Ozim, with whom I performed for the first time in Slovenia all of Beethoven’s violin sonatas over three evenings.
The most beautiful of the sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach is the Sonata in B minor, the only one in which the continuo part was written out in full. This might be the reason why they decided to perform the work with piano – it was most definitely this version that guided the selection on this CD.
It was in one severe winter – I was about 13 years old. Dry snow was powdering on the greenish cardboard folder containing my scores. In the glowing halo of gas lamps at the street corners, I stopped and opened them. Scores – Beethoven! It was the Sonata in C minor, the fifth of the opus 10 sonatas, second movement, Adagio. Blessed, heavenly beautiful, terrifying piece of music. This melody, this intertwining of voices, this gracious, miraculously beautiful harmony of sounds – what
in the world can compare to it?
The composer’s memories of his first encounter with Beethoven bear witness to his exceptional dedication to the music of a musical giant from an era long gone, honoured by Lipovšek in his performances of piano works, chamber pieces and a piano concerto, as well as in his brilliant analysis of scores during the time of his pedagogical activity.
When one listens to music in calmness and with concentration and hears the piano behind the singer’s voice or the sound of another instrument, one can observe that the accompanying piano part is integral to the whole in its expression, colour and content. Without such an accompaniment the masterpiece would be but a torso, an incomplete occurrence in the world of art. The piano completes the solo part, leads its way, follows it, co-exists with it and once again develops an independent
expression as strong or even stronger, subsides once more, as if it was gone, yet it remains in the background of sounds creating a harmony indispensable to interpretation.
Collected and edited by Bor Turel
Translated by Irena Šubic Jeločnik
CD 1 MARIJAN LIPOVšEk
Composer
1 TOCCATA QUASI APERTURA for orchestra (1955) 9:47
PESMI IZ MLINA - SONGS FROM THE MILL for mezzo-soprano and orchestra (1980)
2 Zazibalka - Cradle Song 3:37 (listen!)
3 Žalik žena - The Nymph 1:41
4 Mlinska vešča - The Mill Moth 2:51
5 Mlinarica - The Miller’s Wife 3:19
6 Utopljenka - The Drowned Woman 2:56
7 V tihem mlinu - In the Silent Mill 3:26
SIMFONIJA za veliki orkester - Symphony for large orchestra (1939-1945-1970)
8 Tempo di marcia – vivace 12:10
9 Lento 10:43
10 Scherzoso e presto 10:26
11 Adagio sostenuto – Allegro vivace 10:43
CD 2 MARIJAN LIPOVšEk
Pianist
1 Marijan Lipovšek: VÓZNICA za klavir - The Coachwoman for piano (1954) 12:55 (listen!)
Johann Sebastian BACH: Sonata in B minor for flute and piano
2 Andante 8:35
3 Largo e dolce 4:09
4 Presto – Allegro 7:24
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN: Sonata for violin and piano op. 47 Kreutzer
5 Adagio sostenuto – Presto 11:54
6 Andante con variazioni 14:21
7 Finale – Presto 7:18
Performers:
Marjana Lipovšek, mezzo-soprano, 1/2-7; Marijan Lipovšek, piano, 2/1,2-7; Boris Čampa, flute, 2/2-4; Igor Ozim, violin, 2/5-7; Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra,
1/1, 1/2-7; RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, 1/8-11; Conductors: Samo Hubad,
1/1; Milan Horvat, 1/2-7; David de Villiers, 1/8-1.
