When you write what you know, your voice has a ring of truth.
The impulse to channel personal experience in music inspired Croatian-American pianist Vedrana Subotić to create an album of her favorite traditional folk songs from the former Yugoslavia arranged for solo piano by Christopher O’Riley and Igor Iachimciuc.
This is music of shadow and sunshine.
Chiasoscuro.
Subotić’s roots run deep. Her career began at age nine, when a national television show in the former Yugoslavia aired her performance of Debussy’s Children's Corner as part of a series on musical prodigies. She became the youngest candidate ever admitted to the University of Belgrade Music Academy, and after winning the first prize in Yugoslavia's National Piano Competition at nineteen, she moved to the United States.
The pianist brought with her a passion for traditional folk songs from the former Yugoslavia, representing Bosnia, Macedonia and Montenegro, as well as the Roma people.
You’ll hear light and dark echoing in a Serb Romani song of lament and in a melancholy love song from Bosnia dating back to the 15th century. The tune “Mujo shoes his horse under the moonlight” tells the story of a young man saddling up his horse to see his beloved while his mother warns him of the dangers of riding at night.
For those looking for a deeper listening experience, Subotić includes Liszt’s Sonata in B minor, which makes sense since Liszt had Balkan roots and an abiding interest in the folk music of his native Hungary.
Croatian-American pianist Vedrana Subotić’s new album was recorded in 2024 in Libby Gardner Concert Hall at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City.
Like a waterfall in the mountains, Chiaroscuro contains moments of shimmering beauty and thundering power.
For insight into the pianist and her background:
