ALLELUIA/PATER NOSTER/DIES IRAE

Original: Alleluia/Pater noster/Dies Irae

 

One of the most distinguished Croatian chamber ensembles, Trio Orlando, held their first concert in 1985 at the Dubrovnik Summer Festival. In the beginning the trio was composed of Vladimir Krpan, piano, Tonko Ninić, violin and Ksenija Janković, cello, who was later replaced by a Slovenian cellist Andrej Petrač. The ensemble’s name is the same as the award traditionally given in Dubrovnik to most successful artists, and which is named after the famous statue of the knight Orlando given to Dubrovnik by the Hungarian–Croatian king Sigismund in the 15th century.

There are many symbolic connections between the Trio and the composer. Orlando, the symbol of Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik Summer Festival where, for years, Kuljeric had composed incidental music for theater plays, performed concerts, had seen his pieces premiered and held the position of music director.

Members of the Trio, pianist Vladimir Krpan for whom he had composed several pieces like Momenti za Vladu and Solo-Solisti or Tonko Ninić who led the famous Zagreb Soloists with which Kuljeric debuted as conductor during their tour in the USA during the late 60-ies.

The pieces for trio sublime the author's search for an original musical language that would combine tradition  and the positive experiences from his Avant-garde period.