"It is a joy to play the piano works of Voříšek, whose music delights the senses and touches the soul. The music’s pure innocence, exuberance and ineffable intimacy not only reminds me of Schubert, but also seems as though the composer was an inspiration for his Viennese friend. This “orphan of life”, with his gift of genius, reveals a new, sensuous world, and leaves us a treasure at the threshold of Romanticism." – Biljana Urban

Listen to
Sonata quasi una fantasia, Op. 20 – III. Finale : Allegro con brio

Bohemian born composer Jan Hugo Voříšek settled in Vienna and became a close friend of Schubert. Voříšek’s Impromptus Op. 7 were the first to bear this title, their lyric influence anticipating the entire Romantic period. The brilliant Fantasy combines improvisation with structural rigour, while the Sonata Op. 20 is a masterpiece to rival the sonatas of Beethoven.

6 Impromptus, Op. 7 (43:58)
1 No. 1 in C major: Allegro (05:26)
2 No. 2 in G major: Allegro moderato (05:23)
3 No. 3 in D major: Allegretto (06:14)
4 No. 4 in A major: Allegretto (08:15)
5 No. 5 in E major: Allegretto (09:54)
6 No. 6 in B major: Allegretto (08:46)

7 Fantasy in C Major, Op. 12 (13:00)

SONATA QUASI UNA FANTASIA IN B FLAT MINOR,
OP. 20 (21:48)
8 I. Allegro con brio (11:44)
9 II. Scherzo: Allegro (05:52)
10 III. Finale: Allegro con brio (04:12)

TOTAL TIME: 78:45

Biljana Urban received her Ph.D. in Music (Piano Performance) summa cum laude from the Academy of Music in Zagreb. Her musicianship has been strongly influenced by Elisso Virsaladze, Tatiana Nikolayeva, and Eugene Indjic. Biljana Urban has performed in the most renowned international concert halls, including the Fresno Concert Hall, California, for the Philip Lorentz Memorial concert series. In Paris she has taught at the École Supérieure César Franck and the Conservatoire de Neuilly. In 2010 Biljana Urban released an acclaimed recording on Naxos [9.70120] of the piano works of her grandfather, the Czech-Serbian composer and conductor Jan Urban (Prague 1875–Valjevo 1952).

"Seldom do we come across someone of Urban's calibre who has the ability to touch through the evocative power of her Music, coming as it does from her soul..."
– Ultima Hora, Pedro A.Echarte, Spain

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