...forthcoming from Chandos, with Peter Donohoe and the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo:
https://mobile.twitter.com/oramsa/status/1466396714567446532
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/9321714--pejacevic-piano-concerto
Here's Oramo's performance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xWbOb3-qvU
https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2021/event/bbc-symphony-orchestraoramo-a-masterpiece-rediscovered
This and much more of Dora's orchestral music is available on the cpo label. I like those releases very much.
Of course - and I agree. However, Oramo's reading of the Symphony appears to be considerably tighter than Rasilainen's and it's always good to have another recording of such a fine piece. The coupling is also a major pluspoint, I think.
There is always room for another recording of neglected repertoire, and I shall be interested to compare Peter Donohoe with Oliver Triendl (CPO) in the solo piano part of the piano concerto
I concur. I'll be purchasing this as soon as it's available.
(https://d1iiivw74516uk.cloudfront.net/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJwcmVzdG8tY292ZXItaW1hZ2VzIiwia2V5IjoiOTMyMTcxNC4xLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6MzAwfSwianBlZyI6eyJxdWFsaXR5Ijo2NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoianBlZyJ9LCJ0aW1lc3RhbXAiOjE2NDkwODY0Njl9)
Mia Pecnik has also just recorded this with Jan Latham-Koenig according to her facebook page but I can't see where it is released and the post doesn't make it clear.
It looks as though the orchestra was the Zagreb Philhamonic:
https://dumpoir.com/c/9821916018469960182
...and that the new CD has vocal items by Dora as coupling; trouble is, I can't tell what label it's on:
(https://cdn1.dumpoir.com/view?q=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)
This is an excerpt from a recent concert given by the orchestra and soprano concerned during their current tour of Britain:
Four of Pejačević's orchestral songs, sung by the soprano Marija Vidović, had opened the concert. Settings from 1915 of poems by Karl Kraus and Rilke are ambitious late romantic essays, with Strauss and perhaps Zemlinsky as their stylistic references, while the two Butterfly Songs, composed in 1920 just three years before Pejačević's death at the age of 38, are charming miniatures, composed with the lightest of touches, which Vidović presented with just the right combination of tact and charm. (my emphasis)
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/08/zagreb-philharmonic-jan-latham-koenig-review-anvil-basingstoke
If you rotate the image you can just about read the label Croatia Records. Their website doesn't list the new CD (yet) or perhaps I couldn't find it as it is all in Croatian, except for the About Us section (https://crorec.net/o-nama/).
Oh, well spotted! I'd concentrated on the logo and hadn't seen the wording lower down.
I have just emailed the label...
Croatia Records replied as follows:
The CD "Dora Pejačević" performed by the soprano Marija Vidović and Zagreb Philharmonic was released only as a promo CD for their British tour. We'll release this CD for sale in about two months.
Thanks for all the research and info - will just wait now. I had a CD with the op33 piano concerto but gave it away as the performance wasn't great so looking forward to Pecnik's version.
I see that Oramo shaves a substantial 5 minutes off the symphony, which makes me hopeful, because I could never "love" the cpo release: I always felt that Rasilainen's intepretation was over indulgent and a little flabby. I really believe this early 20th century late romantic music needs a tight rein, and Oramo usually has it.
But listen to Andris Nelson's performance with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra on YouTube here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqKMp7MGjS8). His overall timing is roughly the same as Rasilainen's, and so the same five minutes longer than Oramo's upcoming recording, yet Nelsons invests the work with a forceful drive and almost Sibelian grandeur which is quite stunning. Couple that with the Gewandhaus' superb playing and Nelsons' interpretation makes a compelling case for the Symphony.
This seems to be a clear case of a world-class orchestra winning out; in addition, when Nelsons is good, he's very, very good. Just don't buy him in Bruckner - he's terrible there.
Yes, I agree. Nelsons can be patchy nowadays. We used to see him regularly when he conducted the City of Birmingham Symphony, succeeding Oramo, and in those days his performances were uniformly fresh and exciting. Audiences loved him. Maybe he now spends too much time in the air?
I think he's taken on some repertoire too early; Bruckner needs a much more experienced hand than, say, Richard Strauss and he's been found out. However, Pejacevic probably suits him down to the ground and I'm guessing that his forthcoming big box (7-CDs) of Strauss recordings will be quite something.
The new Chandos CD is certainly terrific. Magnificent sound and playing from all concerned. It'll be interesting to see whether this kick-starts a wider re-appraisal of Pejačević's music.
I do hope, though, that Nelsons is given the chance to record the Symphony. It may prove the best yet...
Quote from: Alan Howe on Wednesday 13 April 2022, 17:00Croatia Records replied as follows:
The CD "Dora Pejačević" performed by the soprano Marija Vidović and Zagreb Philharmonic was released only as a promo CD for their British tour. We'll release this CD for sale in about two months.
After watching the highly recommended film DORA – Escape into music (available also in English as video on demand (https://dora-pejacevic.com/)) I was curious whether the Croatia Records CD had been released in the meantime but I cannot find it on their website. Has anyone here tried to get hold of it?
If the CD's available I can't find it either. However, the Croatia Records website wouldn't be the first not to be up to date.
Here's another performance of the Symphony, this time from Frankfurt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOJSEQZYJWY&t=62s
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra/Jader Bignamini