BLAGOJE BERSA (1873–1934)
COMPLETE PIANO MUSIC • 2
TEMA CON VARIAZIONI • BALLADE IN D MINOR
SONATA IN C MAJOR • RONDO-POLONAISE
WALTZES
GORAN FILIPEC
‘Although Bersa was the most influential Croatian composer at the turn from the 19th to the 20th century, his music stayed rather unknown to international audiences. The beauty of his melodic lines and the delicacy of the way he conceives musical textures are an astonishing discovery. Occasionally evoking styles of Beethoven, Brahms or Liszt, Bersa never abandons the idioms of music traditions of his home Mediterranean, which seems to be the area of his utmost expression.’ – Goran Filipec
Piano Sonata (No. 1) in C major, Op. 19
About this Recording
As with the first volume in this series (GP767), Blagoje Bersa’s (1873–1934) piano works are organised according to their character and tonality rather than chronologically. They include elements of transcription drawing on Mozart and Beethoven but also characterful barcarolles that evoke Italian music, a taut and witty Bizarre Serenade, a simple but affecting Mélancolie, and an invitation to a Viennese ballroom in the Valzer, Op. 3.
TOTAL TIME: 67:46
GORAN FILIPEC
Goran Filipec, 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. He 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. Filipec performs regularly in Europe, the United States, South America and Japan. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 2006, followed by performances in venues including the Mariinsky Theatre, the Auditorium di Milano, Minato Mirai Hall, the Philharmonie de Paris and the Palace of Arts in Budapest. With the award by the Liszt Society, Goran Filipec joined the list of prestigious laureates of the Grand Prix such as Vladimir Horowitz, György Cziffra, Alfred Brendel, Claudio Arrau, Zoltán Kocsis and Maurizio Pollini.
CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED RECORDINGS FEATURING GORAN FILIPEC
I cannot recommend this release highly enough and, needless to say, I look forward to Vol 2.’
– Gramophone
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★★★★★
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– Fanfare
simply brilliant.’
– Piano News
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