When the Siberian-born ‘Arctic Circle Pianist’ Ekaterina Litvintseva heard “Blumenleben” (‘Life of Flowers’) for the first time, she immediately resolved to find out more about...

When the Siberian-born ‘Arctic Circle Pianist’ Ekaterina Litvintseva heard “Blumenleben” (‘Life of Flowers’) for the first time, she immediately resolved to find out more about the life and music of Dora Pejačević (1885-1923). This resolution prompted her to investigate an extraordinary corpus of music, remarkable not least for its sheer diversity, which she has attempted to convey in this selection of Pejačević’s piano output. Among 57 extant works, 24 are scored for solo piano; there would surely have been many more in both categories had she not died of kidney failure on 5 March 1923, aged 37, having suffered complications in giving birth to her first child. This newly recorded recital marks Ekaterina Litvinseva’s debut on Piano Classics, and should attract the attention of pianophiles everywhere.

REVIEW:

The 30-something Ekaterina Litvintseva has been amassing a distinguished discography—and this, apparently her first recorded sojourn beyond canonical composers, is a fine addition, exhibiting the combination of sensitivity and self-assurance that have marked her playing up until now. Her tempos are flexible, but her rubato never threatens the music’s line (note, as but one example, the way she navigates the tempo shifts in the slightly off-kilter Caprice-Waltz No. 2); her balances are lucid; and her technique easily meets the needs of the music. Veljkovic, fine though she is, is relatively stolid in the bigger moments. Either way, though, unless you’re allergic to piano music of the period, you owe it to yourself to make the acquaintance of Dora Pejačević if you haven’t done so already. Piano Classics, as usual, has clean sound and solid notes. 

-- Fanfare