Pancho VLADIGEROV (1899-1978)
Orchestral Works Vol 2
Bulgarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra/Alexander Vladigerov
rec. 1970-75 for Balkanton, Sofia
CAPRICCIO C8053 [76:33 + 78:09]
Capriccio’s Vladigerov series is one that continues to give and give. Its restorations of the Balkanton LPs are well organised, finally restored, eloquently annotated and packed to the rafters. Yet again we have a welcome twofer to titillate and thrill, as well as music of sentiment, of which quality he is not wholly lacking for all the resplendent colour-packed panache to be encountered in his oeuvre.
Recycling was not an unknown element in his worklist, certainly not when it came to his Greatest Hit, Vardar, which reappears in several guises, all memorable. Since this latest release is devoted to a second look at his orchestral works, this version is a red-raw, rip-roaring example of his generous qualities of orchestration, as well as a reminder of his gift for indelible melodic richness. The Seven Symphonic Bulgarian Dances date from 1931 and offer a variety of pleasures – brassy brio, folkloric song, wind-laced dance, filmic allure, delightful lyricism and a Horo to end. This shouldn’t be confused with the somewhat earlier Bulgarian Suite, Op 21, which is another exciting four-movement cycle of which the second movement, Lied, has appeared in its immensely popular violin and orchestral guise earlier in this Capriccio series.
Vladigerov’s exploration of Romanian idioms and dances follows on the second disc. The Four Romanian Symphonic Dances and Two Romanian Symphonic Dances were composed between 1942 and 1943. The opening of the former begins with a heady, descriptive and long violin solo, reminiscent of the soloistic presence of the instrument in Lied. There is surging romance and the desires of the dance in this symphonic suite whilst the slightly later Two Dances strike a somewhat different profile. Their Gallic intensity – certainly the first of the two – points to another, often much more sublimated influence on Vladigerov. He seldom reveals overt impressionist elements but does so here.
If one can’t necessarily differentiate the Romanian from the Bulgarian in Vladigerov’s writing – everything is pretty much co-opted to his propensity for blazing intensity of one sort or another – there’s nothing at all to dislike about these sets. Rachenitsa sounds like one of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances. The Four Dances for Orchestra come from different periods in his life and collected in 1943. It’s unusual to hear him square up to a Viennese Waltz, the Valse fantastique which was written when he was only 16, but he does so, along with later music of more romantic or vivacious dance rhythms.
Another unusual piece is the Foxtrot, without opus number, but dating from 1925 and slap in the middle of the Dance craze sweeping Europe from America. Whilst Vladigerov was boarding the Foxtrot train, it wasn’t until many years later that the work was orchestrated, by Milcho Leviev. Leviev was an ex-composition student of Vladigerov, and later became a major conductor in Bulgaria, but is well-known to jazz lovers for his piano playing and arranging for Don Ellis, Roy Haynes, Dave Holland and others and especially for some sets he recorded in London with Art Pepper. However, it was Vladigerov who orchestrated Dinicu’s evergreen Hora Staccato and this makes for a Big Band closer, but for the six-minute interview, included as a bonus track, in which Vladigerov reminisces, in Bulgarian, of which there is a translation (into English and German) in the fine booklet.
This is another vibrant and colourful twofer in this restoration series.
Jonathan Woolf
Previous review: Rob Barnett
Contents:
Pancho VLADIGEROV
Bulgarian Rhapsody ‘Vardar’, Op 16 (1922, orchestral version) [8:38]
Seven Symphonic Bulgarian Dances, Op 23 (1931) [36:14]
Rachenitsa, Op 18 No 2 (1925) [7:33]
Bulgarian Suite, Op 21 (1927) [24:01]
Four Romanian Symphonic Dances, Op 38 (1942) [25:52]
Two Romanian Symphonic Dances, Op 39 (1943) [14:00]
Balkan Dance, Op 46 No 3 (1950) [4:01]
Four Waltzes for Orchestra (1943) [15:23]
Danza primordiale, Op 53 No 3 (1957) [7:08]
Foxtrot (1925) orch. Milcho Leviev, 1969 [3:30]
Pancho Vladigerov; interview [5:54]
Grigoras DINICU (1889-1949)
Hora Staccato orch. Pancho Vladigerov [2:15]
