WorldView Episode 44: Dora Pejačević
The forty-fourth episode of WorldView features four new composers, including Countess Maria Theodora Paulina Pejačević, an accomplished artist of Croatian descent. Remembered for writing the first modern symphony of Croatian music, Pejačević remains a towering musical figure in the Balkans—despite many of her works only having been published in the last half century.
Pejačević was born into the Croatian noble family of the same name in 1885. As a child, she took lessons in piano from both her mother and various instructors in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. At age 12, Pejačević completed the composition of “Berceuse, Op. 2”, one of her first complete works. Her first major piece, however, was a piano concerto released in 1913. With the release of “Piano Concerto in G Minor”, Pejačević became the first Croatian composer in history to write a concerto.
Strongly influenced by artists such as Brahms, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky, Pejačević composed mostly in the late Romantic period. Many of her works were performed abroad in the concert halls of Vienna, Budapest, München, and more. Her reputation quickly grew, in part due to the public contributions of major soloists and orchestras. Pejačević married in 1921, but died shortly after the birth of her son in 1923; she left behind more than 50 opus works and more than 100 completed compositions. Her music was largely lost until Croatian musicologist Koraljka Kos drew widespread attention to it in the 1980s.
WorldView episode forty-four begins with Pejačević’s “Violin Sonata in D, Op. 26”, also referred to as her Frühlings-Sonate (Spring Sonata). It was completed in 1909, and is performed by violinist Andrej Bielow and accompanist Oliver Triendl. Enjoy!
WorldView Episode Forty-Four Playlist:
Dora PEJAČEVIĆ, “Violin Sonata in D, Op. 26”, {Andrej Bielow (vn), Oliver Triendl (pf)} - cpo
Quincy HILLIARD, “Coty: Daybreak, Sunset, & Dance”, {Marcus Eley (clar), Lucerne DeSa (pf)} - Sono Luminus
Chou WEN-CHUNG, “Larghetto Nostalgico”, {Ying Quartet} - Telarc
William BOLCOM, “Romanza”, {New Century Chamber Orchestra, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg (vn)} - NSS Music
WorldView is a classical music radio show featuring composers from everywhere in the world - except Western Europe. Tune in to hear works by lesser-known artists such as Irving Fine and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, and widen your knowledge of classical music. Hinke Younger hosts each week’s episode of WorldView on Mondays at 9AM and 6PM (with a rebroadcast Saturdays at 2PM) on Charlottesvilleclassical.org.