Dora Pejačević - Piano Music (Ekaterina Litvintseva)

Information

Composer: Dora Pejačević

• 6 Fantasy Pieces, Op. 17
• The Life of Flowers, Op. 19
• Caprice Waltzes, Op. 28
• 2 Piano Sketches, Op. 44
• Capriccio, Op. 47
• 2 Nocturnes, Op. 50
• Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 57

Ekaterina Litvintseva, piano

Date: 2021

Label: Piano Classics

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Description

When the Siberian-born ‘Arctic Circle Pianist’ Ekaterina Litvintseva heard “Blumenleben” (‘Life of Flowers’) for the first time, she immediately resolved to find out more about the life and music of Dora Pejačević (1885-1923). This resolution prompted her to investigate an extraordinary corpus of music, remarkable not least for its sheer diversity, which she has attempted to convey in this selection of Pejačević’s piano output. Among 57 extant works, 24 are scored for solo piano; there would surely have been many more in both categories had she not died of kidney failure on 5 March 1923, aged 37, having suffered complications in giving birth to her first child.

Pejačević was born in Budapest in 1885 into the Croatian aristocracy. She grew up on the family estate of Našice (in the region of Slavonia in Croatia) before taking her musical studies more seriously in Zagreb. Her early output shows how well she had mastered the Romantic idiom of character pieces by Mendelssohn, Schumann and Grieg, but her voice begins to emerge in the “Six Fantasiestücke Op.17” of 1903. From two years later, the “Blumenleben” bring the character of each chosen the innocent snowdrop, the erotic rose, the mournful chrysanthemum – with a refined melodic imagination and rare economy of thought: her Mendelssohnian sympathies lead her only to use as many notes as are needed.

Even more succinct (none longer than two minutes) are the nine “Waltz-Caprices Op.28” (1906), ranging in expression from the grace and charm of their heritage to a sideways and even grotesque view of the genre (such as the slower No.3, ‘in the tempo of a Ländler’). A more sardonic vein of expression emerges in the “Capriccio Op.47” (1919), which jumps about the keyboard with dazzling glissandi and diabolical shifts of mood which belong to their time no less than French keyboard innovators such as Debussy and Ravel.

The album’s final piece is also the most substantial: the second of Pejačević’s two piano sonatas, which became her penultimate work in any genre. The sonata’s expressive key signature is established from the outset by the marking of Allegro con fuoco, and the writing is cast on a much grander scale than anything else here, resembling a work in the German or Russian schools more than the French-tinged colours of the miniatures.

This newly recorded recital marks Ekaterina Litvinseva’s debut on Piano Classics, and should attract the attention of pianophiles everywhere.

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Dora Pejačević (10 September 1885 – 5 March 1923) was a Croatian composer, pianist and violinist recognized as a pioneer in modern Croatian music. She introduced the orchestral song to the national repertoire, and her Symphony in F-sharp minor is regarded as the first modern Croatian symphony. Her works, particularly vocal compositions, piano miniatures, and string quartets, reflect expressionist and modernist influences. Initially rooted in Romanticism, her style evolved after serving as a paramedic during World War I, incorporating themes of nihilism, death and war's futility. She died in 1923 from childbirth complications.

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Ekaterina Litvintseva (born 1986 in Magadan) is a Russian pianist. Raised in Anadyr, Chukotka, she began piano studies locally before continuing at the Moscow State Frédéric Chopin College and later in Germany, where she refined a more analytical approach. She performs globally as a soloist and with leading orchestras, appearing in major European venues and tours. Litvintseva has won numerous international awards and competitions. Her recordings, particularly of Rachmaninov, Mozart, Chopin and Brahms, have received critical acclaim for their expressive depth, clarity and interpretative originality.

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