- Born in Budapest in 1885 as Maria Theodora, Dora Pejačević grew up as a member of the Croatian aristocracy, the daughter of a Hungarian-Croatian Count and a Hungarian Baroness. Dora’s musical gifts were recognized and encouraged at an early age by her mother, who was herself a trained pianist and singer. When the family moved from the family estate of Našice (now in Croatia) to Zagreb in 1903, she began to study music more seriously, still in a private capacity, with professors at the Croatian Music Institute. By that point she had already composed several works under the influence of Romantic composers such as Mendelssohn, Schumann and Grieg. Later she studied in Dresden and Munich and received lessons in instrumentation, composition (from Percy Sherwood) and violin (from Henri Petri in Munich). She was largely self-taught, however.
- Though firmly rooted in the Romantic tradition, with hints from French Impressionism, Pejačević found her own compositional voice, a major figure in Croatian cultural life and a shining beacon for all female musician-composers. She died in Munich in 1923.
- This new recording presents the substantial Piano Trio, the highly attractive and dramatic Cello Sonata and 5 Pieces for Violin & Piano.
- Played by Ekaterina Litvintseva (piano), Lusiné Harutyunyan (violin) and Caroline Sypniewski (cello), three successful soloists on their own, joining forces into this powerful, passionate and lyrical performance of Pejacevic’ chamber music. They previously recorded for Brilliant Classics the Trio Élégiaque by Rachmaninoff
