Boris Papandopulo’s Second Symphony
Today’s edition of The Last Century presents music by Croatia’s greatest 20th-century composer: Boris Papandopulo (1906–1996).
He had remarkably diverse ancestry: he was of Russian-Jewish descent, his father was a Greek nobleman, his mother was a Croatian opera singer, and he was born in Germany. He was not only a composer, but also a conductor, pianist, arranger, teacher, broadcaster, and journalist. He composed nearly 500 works, ranging from operas and film scores to chamber music and works for solo piano. Despite making numerous arrangements of folk music from Southeastern Europe, outside of Croatia he is hardly known.
His Second Symphony, composed in 1946, will be played today. In this large-scale symphony, he incorporates music from earlier works into three of its five movements. It is a powerful, colourful, and cohesive whole nonetheless.
While the symphony is clearly rooted in 19th-century musical traditions, more modern influences can be heard in Papandopulo’s Eight Études for piano from 1956, including twelve-tone technique.
Playlist:
Boris Papandopulo
- Symphony No. 2
I. Put u život (Road to Life)
II. Rezignacija (Resignation)
III. Vizija (Vision)
IV. Lirici intermezzo (with mezzo-soprano)
V. Koraci slobode (Steps of Freedom)
Emilia Rukavina (mezzo-soprano), Rijeka Opera Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Valentin - Eight Études for piano (1956) – Nos. 1–3
I. Vivacissimo
II. Tempo di Tango
III. Allegro moderato
Nicholas Phillips (piano) - Eight Études for piano (1956) – No. 4 (Allegro vivace)
Nicholas Phillips (piano)
