Croatian American pianist Vedrana Subotić has released a fascinating album that combines the collection of her favorite traditional folk songs from the former Yugoslavia with Sonata in B Minor by Franz Liszt, a work that is deeply indebted to the composer’s Hungarian background and his Balkan roots. "Chiaroscuro” is available on Blue Griffin Recording (BGR673). We spoke to Subotić about the recent release, life as a classical musician in Utah, collaboration, and more.
What are the similarities and differences of the folk tunes you chose for this recording?
All of the songs are poignant reflections on life and its joys and sorrows. Some are exuberantly extroverted, featuring impassioned melodic virtuosity and lilting dance rhythms while others are intimate and quietly melancholy. The songs vary in the level of emotional intensity as well as in the musical character. Djelem, djelem (I went, I went), and Rujna Zora (Crimson Dawn) lament death and loneliness; Djelem explores influence of jazz on Romani music while Crimson Dawn makes use of extended piano techniques. Mujo Kuje Konja (Mujo Shoes His Horse) is a moody juxtaposition of two characters: Mother and Son. Each character is assigned a particular melodic content contrasted by “instrumental” interludes. Kad Ja Podjoh Na Bembašu (When I went to Bembaša) is styled as a berceuse, a quietly sad retrospective on lost love; and Makedonsko Devojče (Macedonian Girl) is a series of joyful dance variations in Balkan rhythms, comparing a young woman’s youth to a beautifully flower garden.
The folk songs you commissioned arrangements for all come from the former Yugoslavia. Tell us how the different countries in the Balkans relate to one another?
The five songs come from different geographic regions of the former Yugoslavias; however, they aren’t really “Yugoslav” -- the country of Yugoslavia -- existed for a relatively short time, between 1918 and 1992. The five songs (with the exception of Macedonian Girl) all pre-date the formation of Yugoslavia in 1918, and continue to be a part of the Balkan cultural tradition, untouched by the political events in this region. The Bosnian melodies began to emerge during the Ottoman Empire reign in the early 16th century; the Montenegrin song first appeared during the time Montenegro was a Kingdom int he 19th century; and the Romani melody arrived to Serbia with the Romani peoples’ westward migrations from India which began in 15th century.
What made you choose to work with Christopher O’Riley and Igor Iachimciuc as arrangers for this collection of folk melodies?
I have collaborated with Igor on commissions for the Intermezzo Concert Series and have been consistently impressed with his musical imagination, depth, and skill. Igor was born in Moldova and is a virtuoso cymbalom player. Like me, he grew up listening to traditional Eastern European folk music and has a deep love for and understanding of that musical culture. His two compositions on this album, Crimson Dawn and Djelem, Djelem, are more than arrangements -- they are original compositions, reimagined with authenticity and true understanding of the traditional folk genre.
Christopher and I collaborated on a project of teaching and performing the 48 Preludes and Fugues from J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, in a series of masterclasses and concerts at the University of Utah. I had also heard him play his own arrangements of Bernard Herrmann’s score for the Hitchcock movie “Psycho” and that work stood out to me in particular -- it was meticulously detailed and true to the complex orchestra score. Christopher was the right person to faithfully translate the original folk material into a piano transcription/arrangement. He was excited to give the Balkan songs a try and created these arrangements in a matter of days. Sometimes in just a few hours!
How collaborative was the process as they arranged the works?
Very concentrated! To begin the process, I selected several performances of each of the songs by my favorite folk artists, and worked with both Igor and Christopher on finessing and polishing the content, texture, form, and details over a period of few months. The whole process was so natural between the three of us -- a true meeting of the minds. We were particularly concerned with capturing the authentic performance details in the arrangements -- the uniqueness of the metric patterns, the subtle variations of decorative patterns, expressive melodic inflections, vocal melismas, and the instrumental improvisation.
Can you compare and contrast how you approach playing these newly arranged folk tunes to how you play the Liszt B minor Sonata that concludes the album?
The folk tunes are gorgeous and unique in many ways. They are formally uncomplicated. Their complexity lies almost solely in the poetry and not so much in the melodic and harmonic structure. This is the nature of “popular” music, whether ancient, or new -- simplicity and repetition. The exception to this perspective is the often spectacular and unique live improvisation by the legendary singers and instrumentalists -- this is what Igor, Christopher, and I tried to capture in the arrangements.
The Liszt Sonata in B Minor creates a complex narrative by means of formal and structural designs that stem from scholarly musical thought and tradition. The Sonata form itself is synonymous with multiple contrasting themes and involved harmonic structures - a polar opposite of the folk song genre. Yet, the B Minor Sonata’s heart and essence lie in the ideas sourced from the folk music, much in the same way in which Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies aren’t based on actual Hungarian tunes; instead, they are reimagined versions of Liszt’s exposure to the Hungarian musical traditions (a large portion of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was previously a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). Likewise, the B Minor Sonata’s musical language is influenced and colored by Liszt’s innate understanding and love of the traditional Balkan music.
Tell us a bit about your musical life in Utah.
Utah has an incredibly vibrant arts community -- we are home to the Utah Symphony and Opera, the Sundance Film Festival, the Shakespeare Festival, Ballet West, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir - the list goes on and on. I feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so much excellence and support for music and the arts. I am a Professor of Music at the University of Utah, where I teach a full studio of aspiring pianists and two courses in Career Development for musicians. I am also the Artistic Director for Intermezzo Concert Series which presents 15 concerts every year. As President of the Utah Chapter of the American Liszt Society, I also direct the Liszt Festival and Competition in Utah, and frequently perform as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and collaborative pianist.