Boris Papandopulo: Symphony No. 2 / Vrzino Kolo [CD]

This production is dedicated to two orchestral works that vividly reflect the liberation struggle of Yugoslavia. Before this South Slavic confederation managed to break free from Soviet control, the doctrine of Socialist Realism applied here too. Papandopulo found his way out of the dilemma. His Second Symphony, completed in April 1946, depicts - according to the programme - the artist's path to the light. This established narrative, compliant with the party line, unfolds in five disparate movements. While the first two parts are new original compositions, the rest consists of existing material that the composer has skilfully arranged for orchestra. Thus he could initially adopt a more modern style and subsequently produce a more folk-like ambient to evoke the era before the Stalinist dictatorship. The Vrzino kolo for piano and orchestra was written twelve years later. Here the wind had shifted to the west; the seeds of modernism had blown in and triggered furious developments. Based on an ancient legend, Papandopulo unleashes a wild "witches' round dance" in which a fire-breathing dragon appears, a city in flames shrill, garish sounds that would have earned Papandopulo severe admonishments earlier.