BLAGOJE BERSA (1873–1934)
COMPLETE PIANO MUSIC • 1
MARCIA TRIONFALE • ORA TRISTE • BAGATELLA
GORAN FILIPEC
“Although Bersa was the most influential Croatian composer at the turn from the 19th to the 20th century, his music stayed pretty much unknown to international audiences. When I discovered his piano works, which seem to be evoking styles by other major composers, such as Brahms, Schubert or Liszt, I was very much impressed by his talent. Sometimes raw in the realisation and shaping, but remarkable in his musical intentions, Bersa is a composer who will surely be appreciated by music lovers.” – Goran Filipec
Piano Sonata No. 2 in F minor, Op. 20
(1873–1934)
About this Recording
In his orchestral music, Croatian composer Blagoje Bersa absorbed stylistic traits from contemporaries such as Strauss and Mahler, but his piano music reveals a rich diversity drawn from Classical models. His art encompasses charming Chopinesque barcarolles, a melancholic Notturno, a stirring Liszt-inspired Fantaisie-Impromptu, beautiful balletic miniatures and the Brahmsian grandeur of the powerfully conceived Sonata No. 2 in F minor.
TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 56:12
GORAN FILIPEC
Goran Filipec, recent laureate of the Grand Prix du Disque of the Ferenc Liszt Society of Budapest for his 2016 recording of Liszt’s Paganini Studies (Naxos 8.573458), was born in Rijeka (Croatia) in 1981, and studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne and the Zagreb Academy of Music. He is a prize-winner of several piano competitions including the Premio Mario Zanfi ‘Franz Liszt’, Concurso de Parnassos, the José Iturbi International Music Competition and the Gabala International Piano Competition. He performs regularly in Europe, the United States, South America and Japan.
More Recordings from the Balkan Peninsula
– Fanfare
– MusicWeb International
