Pancho Vladigerov (1899-1978)
Orchestral Works - Volume 3
Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra/Alexander Vladigerov
Bulgarian Chamber Orchestra/Pancho Vladigerov
rec. 1970-80, Sofia, Bulgaria. ADD
CAPRICCIO C8056 [3 CDs: 203]
Here is the third instalment of orchestral pieces by Bulgarian composer, Pancho Vladigerov. It fills in around the ‘doubles’ already issued by Capriccio (symphonies and piano concertos). The music spans much of the Bulgarian’s cosmopolitan creative life from 1919 to 1972. The discs are well packed if unevenly timed (68:16; 73:14; 57:37) in the interests of not dismembering works across CDs.
The latest work presented, written six years before his death, is Lyulin Impressions, Op 63 (1972). This is a gritted-teeth suite in three movements. Here are mingled Prokofiev-like aggression, brashly expressed victory, breathtaking pastoral landscapes and folksy voices that whisper and bellow. It’s a series of countryside impressions.
Jewish Poem (1951) broods and surges impressively. Like the rest of these works it is in no sense avant-garde but makes a convincing case in tonal language to which Vladigerov was accustomed.
The Six Symphonic Novelettes are products of the 1960s and none span more than about three minutes. The language is direct and uncomplicated; not least the light-footed ‘Village Dance’. ‘Dramatic Episode’ has more psychological depth. There are two sad movements and finally a sparky oompah ‘Perpetuum Mobile’ with a little of the wild-eyed Enescu about it.
Dramatic Poem, Op 52 - oddly subtitled Song to Peace - is from 1956. It runs to twenty minutes. Not everything is contentment and light here. At first the fraught atmosphere is reminiscent of Bax’s Seond Symphony. Unnervingly it’s all quite doom-laden as if to warn that peace is won through conflict which ever lies not far distant. The music fits well with Dramatic Poem but was Song to Peace added for extraneous reasons? The finale is triumphant but all that has gone before makes you wonder about how deep the roots of triumph go.
The other two discs reveal Vladigerov as a skilled and completely dedicated impressionist. Textures are clear and ideas are supple. The Six Exotic Preludes (1924-27) were originally for piano solo and comprise a long extended sequence. The piano original can be heard on Hyperion. It’s a substantial ‘suite’ and in multiple movements, and while no facsimile, has a fellow feeling with Ravel’s Rapsodie Espagnole. In ‘Nocturne’, ‘Serenade’ and Spanish-Moorish ‘Prelude’, Iberian colours are set a-swirl. They contrast with ‘Evening Song’ which broods sweetly. The finale, ‘Exotic Dance’ recalls in more modern guise Chabrier’s eruptive España. The Three Concert Pieces of (1959-60) include an oboe-led and sighing ‘Arioso’, a happy ‘Caprice’ rather like Bax’s In a Vodka Shop and an ‘Asian Dance’ that could have served as a seventh Exotic Prelude, even though written thirty years later. The wartime Improvisation and Toccata seems to convey the sort of crystalline morning that I sense in Vaughan Williams’ In the Fen Country. As an exercise in sighing and sobbing it is quite enchanting with bejewelled orchestration and a fairly overt tribute to Strauss’s Rosenkavalier. It ends with a swirling and utterly romantic theme. The contrasting Toccata makes rapid progress through a span half as long as Improvisation.
The last disc drives home the impressionistic style. The Three Impressions (1920) comprise ‘Yearning’ which is fragrant and fragile with, not for first time, a touch of Scriabin in the wings. ‘Passion’ is, for me, Baxian and oppressive but then Vladigerov ‘grandstands’ a devastatingly romantic yet uncomplicated melody. The finale ‘Surprise’ has great poise rather than startling power. The isolated ‘Solitude’ is at first all tinkling bells and quiet enchantment
The Three Pieces for String Orchestra include ‘Caress’ which distils the sentimental aspects of the waltz; the Elgarian ‘Confession’ and the tipping and tumbling ‘Carnival procession’ - the last another bejewelled little piece.
Finally, we come to Symphonic Legend (1919-41) which is longest work on CD 3 at almost 25 minutes. It at first broods in unshadowed sunlight like a drowsy faun. Mystery seems to be key and is achieved through a jewel-encrusted hush with, it must be said, what we hear as a bit of Semprini in the mix. It is based on early piece for voice and orchestra.
This set leaves the listener with the impression that here is anther impressionist composer comparable with Ravel and Debussy (La Mer and Feria). It is easy on the ear in the company of Tomasi, Aubert and Schmitt. If you have a difficulty with this characterisation ‘computing’ with Vladigerov being a Bulgarian he can less gratingly be grouped with Zemlinsky, Schreker and Rudi Stephan with their Germanic origins and glass clear textures.
Rob Barnett
Previous review: Jonathan Woolf
Contents
Lyulin Impressions, Op 63 (1972)
Jewish Poem, Op 47 (1951)
Six Symphonic Novelettes, Op 59 (1964-65)
Dramatic Poem, Op 52 Song to Peace (1956)
Six Exotic Préludes, Op 17 (1924-27)
Three Concert Pieces, Op 57 (1959-60)
Improvisation and Toccata for Orchestra, Op 36a (1941-42)
Three Impressions for Orchestra, Op 9 (1920)
Solitude (Prelude Op 10 No 3) (1920/56)
Three Pieces for String Orchestra (?)
Symphonic Legend, Op 8 (1919-41)
