This installment of the CCCC we feature a young Slovenian composer, Crt Sojar Voglar. Voglar has built up an impressive body of work in a very short amount of time. His overall style is quite lyrical, with some distinctively Slavic turns of phrase. Although his language in primarily tonal, it doesn't have the strong forward harmonic motion.
A good example of that can be found in his First Symphony. Note his use of orchestral color. Although he has a full orchestra at his disposal (and uses it for major climaxes), Voglar writes almost as miniaturist.
Voglar's composed two symphonies, several works for string orchestra and fifteen concertos for various instruments. One of those works is the Double Concerto for flute, harp and orchestra. He uses the solo instruments to good advantage, creating a shimmery, Debussy-like ethereal work.
Voglar's Cello Concerto, as with his other concerti, presents challenges for the soloist with leaving the audience in the dust.
As with most composers, Voglar has written extensively for the piano and chamber groups to balance his orchestral output. His Woodwind Quintet No. 1 lays bare Voglar's structures. The harmonies aren't quite as lush, but the underlying tonality of his music is still present -- as is his fresh take on classical music.
Sometimes we forget that there are composers living and working all over the world who have embraced the classical music tradition -- not just in American and Western Europe. And many of those composers, like Crt Sojar Voglar bring something new to this old genre that makes their music both relevant for new audiences, and provides touchstones for older ones.
Unfortunately, there are no recordings of Voglar's music readily available in the US. But there are a number of Voglar works available to listen to on YouTube. Perhaps if concert-goers and symphony board members pressed their organizations, Voglar might get on concert programs in the US. And really, once that happens, the music can speak for itself.
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