# Woman's 100 year old composition gives Hans Zimmer a run for his money!



## synergy543 (Apr 7, 2018)

Sorry for the click-bait , but everyone complains there are no woman composers and I wanted to share the amazing orchestral works of Dora Pejačević in case you haven't heard of her (and maybe you'll enjoy these links!). She composed these pieces just about 100 years ago (although they have strong elements of later golden era film style compositions). Undoubtedly had these pieces been composed by Korgold or some other famous male composer, they'd have been a lot more popular. You can hear influences from Rachmaninoff and others of the period as well as the influences these styles had on later film music composers of the golden era. Regardless, I really envy her composing craft skills. Too bad she died so young as we don't get a chance to hear what else she might have contributed. But maybe her work can be an inspiration for others today?


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## Valérie_D (Apr 7, 2018)

Indeed, she rocks, thanks for sharing!


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## Garlu (Apr 8, 2018)

What a beautiful writing!! Thanks for sharing, never heard of her before! Inspiring indeed!


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## clisma (Apr 8, 2018)

Wonderful writing, will have to find a score and study. Thanks for posting!


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## wst3 (Apr 8, 2018)

I've just added her to my list of composers that I really need to listen to!


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## synergy543 (Apr 8, 2018)

clisma said:


> Wonderful writing, will have to find a score and study. Thanks for posting!


Here is a short sample of the opening of Phantasie conertante":
http://mic.hr/images/composers/dora/notes/files/book_12.pdf

The full score can be purchased here (its about $33):
http://mic.hr/composer/dora/notes

Many of her piano scores are posted on youtube. You'll find a few links here:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pejacevic+score

@Garlu - here's how to pronounce her name (more difficult than Arnald Olufson ):
https://forvo.com/word/pejačević/#hr

Interestingly, she also seemed to like to write in the key of D.


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## BenG (Apr 8, 2018)

Thank you for sharing! This is some amazing writing!


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## Kyle Preston (Apr 9, 2018)

Just to add to the list, Shirley Walker's Batman score is one of those gems I keep coming back to over and over. I just discovered this clip of her describing theme and variation, the question and answer structure. Talk about orchestration chops!

​


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## RiffWraith (Apr 10, 2018)

Isn't that ^ DE's score, that Shirley worked on as an orchestrator?


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## mac (Apr 10, 2018)

@RiffWraith I guess you'd say it's her interpretation of Elfman's original theme. Personally, I prefer the original.


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## RiffWraith (Apr 10, 2018)

Oh, oh, oh - I see. That vid is not a snippet from the film, but TAS. My bad. Me >


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 14, 2018)

Verwandlung op. 37b, agreed by many to be Pejačević's best masterwork. Karl Kraus showed the piece to Arnold Schönberg who praised it, especially one part: the interlude „Heute ist Frühling". It was composed upon the verses of the Austrian writer and publicist Karl Kraus (1874-1936) in the spring of 1915 for the wedding of their mutual friend Baroness Sidonie Nâdherny von Borutin which didn't take place.
Op.37a is the original setting for voice (deep female), violin and organ, wherease op. 37b is the orchestrated version.
Free sheet music http://mic.hr/images/composers/dora/notes/files/book_21.pdf

 

P. s. 
Pejačević is pronounced Pejachevich. Her full name was, the German version, Marie Theodora von Lumbe née Pejacsevich, and the Hungarian version, Mária Theodóra Paulina Zsófia Pejacsevich. Her native language was German, that's why everything she wrote (not just compositions, but everything personal) was in that language.


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 15, 2018)

Pejačević composed two nocturnes for piano, _Zwei Nocturnos_ op.50 No.1 & No.2, and wrote verses as a small poetic programme (describing the atmosphere in which both pieces were conceived). 

Nocturne op. 50 no. 1 was composed in Janowitz, Bohemia (near border with Germany), on July 20-21st 1918, and carries a dedication to her friend, pianist Alice Ripper (1889-1961).

_Dunkel ruht des Teiches Tiefe
im Mond erzittert die Fläche leis,
die Tannen rauschen, die Weide neigt sich –
herbstlich berührt, schweigt still das Herz_


Pejačević : Nocturne for Orchestra (1918. Orchestrated nocturne for piano) 
 
Did she orchestrate this, I wonder? 

When I listen to it eyes closed, the northern lights scenery is the first that comes to mind. Interestingly, in her youth Pejačević's mentality was being shaped under influence of Geman and Scandinavian literature.


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## dcoscina (Apr 15, 2018)

Good post. Another amazing female composer and prodigy was Lili Boulanger who composed music at the same caliber as Debussy and Ravel. She only lived until 24 because of illnesses but the technique she possessed was outstanding (her older sister Nadia is famed for her teachings).


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## creativeforge (Apr 15, 2018)

k4zu729gfnrd5n said:


> Pejačević composed two nocturnes for piano, _Zwei Nocturnos_ op.50 No.1 & No.2, and wrote verses as a small poetic programme (describing the atmosphere in which both pieces were conceived).
> 
> Nocturne op. 50 no. 1 was composed in Janowitz, Bohemia (near border with Germany), on July 20-21st 1918, and carries a dedication to her friend, pianist Alice Ripper (1889-1961).
> 
> ...




Gorgeous and evocative... that pizz "bass" around 3:50 is amazing to me, almost verbal...

Thanks for the discovery!


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## NoamL (Apr 15, 2018)

k4zu729gfnrd5n said:


>





Wow... not as much a fan of her other pieces but this one is incredible!!!! Especially the first stanza.


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## synergy543 (Apr 15, 2018)

I recently purchased a few of the Pejačević CDs published by CPO which were recorded in 2008. I wonder if there were recordings of her work prior to this? 
Or did it really take 100 years before her work got published and recorded?

[EDIT] On further reading about her works, it appears that only a few of them have been published and recorded recently, so in that sense, she's fairly new on the scene.


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## Markus Kohlprath (Apr 15, 2018)

dcoscina said:


> Good post. Another amazing female composer and prodigy was Lili Boulanger who composed music at the same caliber as Debussy and Ravel. She only lived until 24 because of illnesses but the technique she possessed was outstanding (her older sister Nadia is famed for her teachings).



Does anybody know where you can get the score of these? I mean the orchestral score not the piano-flute version which is on imslp.


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## synergy543 (Apr 15, 2018)

Markus Kohlprath said:


> Does anybody know where you can get the score of these? I mean the orchestral score not the piano-flute version which is on imslp.


As far as I can tell, this has not been published yet (along with many other great works of hers such as her Symphony and Cello Sonata). Much of her work has only recently been published and recorded. However, you could write to the Croatian Music Information Center to ask if this has been or is available.
http://mic.hr/pages/contact.html
If you do, please let us know what answer you receive.


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## Markus Kohlprath (Apr 15, 2018)

synergy543 said:


> As far as I can tell, this has not been published yet (along with many other great works of hers such as her Symphony and Cello Sonata). Much of her work has only recently been published and recorded. However, you could write to the Croatian Music Information Center to ask if this has been or is available.
> http://mic.hr/pages/contact.html
> If you do, please let us know what answer you receive.


Kroatian? So you are referring to Dora Pejacevic do you? Which is certainly very interesting but I am looking for the scores of lily boulangers. Or is there a chance to get those at the croatian music center?


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## synergy543 (Apr 15, 2018)

Markus Kohlprath said:


> Kroatian? So you are referring to Dora Pejacevic do you? Which is certainly very interesting but I am looking for the scores of lily boulangers. Or is there a chance to get those at the croatian music center?


Oops...I should read more carefully. I thought you were asking about a Pejacevic score. I don't know about Lili Boulanger scores, sorry.


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## aaronventure (Apr 15, 2018)

http://quercus.mic.hr/quercus/work?utf8=%E2%9C%93&search%5Bname_contains%5D=&search%5Bauthor_last_name_contains%5D=peja%C4%8Devi%C4%87&search%5Byear_gte%5D=&search%5Byear_lte%5D=&search%5Bcatalogue_type_id_equals%5D=&search%5Bwork_type_id_equals%5D=&search%5Bsetting_name_contains%5D=&commit=Tra%C5%BEi (According to the MIC.hr filter), there are two published orchestal scores.

You can get some of her scores here, including Symphony in F# Minor ($10-$100 shipping based on location, service, order value):

https://www.knjizara-dominovic.hr/en-GB/Dora-Pejacevic-19.html?q=ZGVcMTcxODg%3d (https://www.knjizara-dominovic.hr/en-GB/Dora-Pejacevic-19.html?q=ZGVcMTcxODg=)

As for others, your best bet is contacting MIC.hr directly.


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## dcoscina (Apr 15, 2018)

Markus Kohlprath said:


> Does anybody know where you can get the score of these? I mean the orchestral score not the piano-flute version which is on imslp.



You might want to get in touch with Thomas Goss who is an orchestrator and has a YouTube channel where he dissected Boulanger’s compsiitonal style with score examples. He might know where to buy the scores.


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 15, 2018)

Pejačević : Zwei Schmetterlingslieder, Op. 52 (1920)

Op. 52 No. 1
Gold'ne Sterne, blaue Glöckchen


Op. 52 No. 2
Schwebe du Schmetterling, schwebe vorbei


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 15, 2018)

Pejačević : Liebeslied, Op. 39 (1915)


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## Desire Inspires (Apr 15, 2018)

synergy543 said:


> Sorry for the click-bait , but everyone complains there are no woman composers and I wanted to share the amazing orchestral works of Dora Pejačević in case you haven't heard of her (and maybe you'll enjoy these links!). She composed these pieces just about 100 years ago (although they have strong elements of later golden era film style compositions). Undoubtedly had these pieces been composed by Korgold or some other famous male composer, they'd have been a lot more popular. You can hear influences from Rachmaninoff and others of the period as well as the influences these styles had on later film music composers of the golden era. Regardless, I really envy her composing craft skills. Too bad she died so young as we don't get a chance to hear what else she might have contributed. But maybe her work can be an inspiration for others today?





Sounds too MIDI.


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## Markus Kohlprath (Apr 15, 2018)

dcoscina said:


> You might want to get in touch with Thomas Goss who is an orchestrator and has a YouTube channel where he dissected Boulanger’s compsiitonal style with score examples. He might know where to buy the scores.



Thanks for the tip. Yes I have watched the video and fell in love with the piece.


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## C M Dess (Apr 16, 2018)

Very enjoyably music and solid arrangement/recordings. I hear a lot of Hollywood/Scriabin/Gerswhin in it.


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 18, 2018)

Dora Pejačević : Piano Concerto, op. 33 
Sigrid Trummer, piano


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 18, 2018)

Dora Pejačević : Complete Piano Works 
Yoko Nishii, piano


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 18, 2018)

Dora Pejačević : Piano Concerto, op. 33 
Tomohiro Adachi, piano 






amazon.co.jp 
https://www.discsjapan.com/en/product/Dora-Pejacevic-Overture-Piano-Concerto-Fantasy-Concertante.html?Page=797&catalog=8&idx=3386 (discsjapan.com)


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 22, 2018)

Dora Pejačević (1885-1923)
Blumenleben - acht Klavierstücke nach der Blütenzeit im Jahresablauf komponiert, Op. 19 (1904 -1905)
No.6 Rote Nelken
Tomohiro Adachi, piano


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 22, 2018)

Dora Pejačević (1885-1923)
Blumenleben - acht Klavierstücke nach der Blütenzeit im Jahresablauf komponiert, Op. 19 (1904 -1905)
No.5 Rose
Tomohiro Adachi, piano

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_Pejačević#Compositions_for_solo_piano


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 22, 2018)

Dora Pejačević (1885-1923)
Vier Lieder, Op. 30 (1911), for voice and piano
lyrics: Anna Ritter; dedicated to Marianne Konradsheim. 
No.3 Ich glaub', lieber Schatz
Evelin Novak, soprano



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_Pejačević#Vocal_compositions


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 22, 2018)

Dora Pejačević (1885-1923) 
Sonata for violin and piano no. 2 "Slawische Sonate (Slavic Sonata)", op. 43 (1917), 
dedicated to Zlatko Baloković. 
Andrej Bielow, violin 
Oliver Triendl, piano 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_Pejačević#Chamber_compositions


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 22, 2018)

Dora Pejačević (1885-1923) 
Piano Sonata No.2 in one movement, Op. 57 (1921) 
Veljko Glodić, piano, professor at the Zagreb Music Academy 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_Pejačević#Compositions_for_solo_piano


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 22, 2018)

Dora Pejačević (1885-1923) 
Piano Trio No.2, Op. 29 (1910) 
Andrej Bielow, violin 
Christian Poltéra, cello 
Oliver Triendl, piano 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_Pejačević#Chamber_compositions


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 22, 2018)

Dora Pejačević (1885-1923) 
Cello Sonata, Op. 35 (1913) 
dedicated to Olga and Ernst Schulz. 
Christian Poltéra, cello 
Oliver Triendl, piano 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_Pejačević#Chamber_compositions


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Apr 22, 2018)

Dora Pejačević (1885-1923)
Piano Quintet, Op. 40 (1915 - 1918)
The Zagreb String Quartet
Ida Gamulin, piano

Part I (movements I, II)


Part II (movements III, IV)


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_Pejačević#Chamber_compositions


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## k4zu729gfnrd5n (Jul 10, 2018)

Here you can listen for free to recordings of Dora Pejačević's complete works for piano by Nataša Veljković 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLIPA_f_Lcyq8I6xYPNqTi0Ki8aVdQ-5C


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