Selected and Reviewed by Andrew Eales
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The Schott Student Edition series continues to expand, offering outstanding new collections of pedagogy classics and rediscovered gems. I have reviewed several previous titles here, and was delighted to recently receive a superb addition to the set: Dora Pejačević: Early Piano Pieces.
By happy synchronicity, I was teaching at The Thinking Pianist course just a few days after the Schott Music volume landed in my postbox, and during the week my faculty colleague and friend Ivana Gavric gave an illuminating lecture recital introducing Dora Pejačević.
Having commercially recorded and performed the music of her famous compatriot, Ivana has a natural affinity with Pejačević’s music, promoting it with sensitivity, balanced enthusiasm, and retelling the story of this formidable Croatian cultural icon. Having packed Dora Pejačević’s Early Piano Pieces for the trip, we were able to discuss this new volume, and I am indebted to Ivana for her insights.
Meanwhile, introducing the Schott Music book, its editor Monika Twelsiek (who has previously brought us many outstanding publications in the Schott catalogue) tells us,
Continue reading Dora Pejačević • Early Pieces“Dora Pejačević (1885-1923) is a star in Croatia: streets, schools and cafés are named after her, there is a perfume and a sparkling wine bearing her name, and a statue named ‘Dora’ is awarded at the Croatian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. Outside Croatia, however, the composer only became known late. After having been forgotten for many years, her works did not reach the public until the 1980s…
Who is this woman?“