Pancho Vladigerov: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1

Description

Pancho Vladigerov stands out from Bulgaria's diverse musical culture as undoubtedly the most important composer and musical ambassador of modern Bulgaria. In the 1920s he worked as a conductor, pianist and composer in close association with Max Reinhardt at the Deutsches Theater Berlin. He also associated with many German-speaking writers, such as Stefan Zweig, Gerhart Hauptmann, Arthur Schnitzler and Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and with other composers of the time, including Bartók, Kodaly, Strauss, Ravel, Glazunov, Hindemith, Schoenberg, Rachmaninov and Szymanowski. Consequently, it is difficult to understand why Vladigerov's highly imaginative and colourful music has not yet achieved an appropriate status in today's European concert halls. Although he had a distinctive personal style, his piano concertos can certainly be seen as successors to the great Slavonic Romantic concerto tradition that, post-Tchaikovsky, was continued by his Russian compatriots Rachmaninov and Medtner. These recordings, produced in the 1970s in Bulgaria, comprise Capriccio's 18-disc Vladigerov Edition that will preserve this colourful music for future generations. The first volume of orchestral works features his symphonies and concert overtures. Vladigerov’s symphonic works vividly emphasise the most notable features of his style – a powerful sound, variety of orchestration, profusion of colours, rich harmonies with folklore motives, constant invention, and richness of texture.