Press Release

October 17, 2024

For Immediate Release

Album also includes B minor Sonata by Franz Liszt

"Fierce performances. Subotić showed off impressive chops." – The Salt Lake Tribune

Croatian American pianist Vedrana Subotić (pronounced VEH-dran-ah SOO·buh·tihch) has commissioned and recorded five new arrangements of folk songs from former Yugoslavia. On October 18, 2024 Blue Griffin Records releases "Chiaroscuro" (BGR673), which features these arrangements of traditional Romani, Bosnian, Macedonian, and Montenegrin songs by Igor Iachimciuc and Christopher O'Riley paired with Liszt's Sonata in B Minor.

Subotić performs Bosnian traditional "Kad ja podjoh na Bembasu" (arr. O'Riley)

Subotić chose five of her favorite traditional folk songs which she learned to play on the piano as a child as her mother sung her the melodies. "They were sung in times of turmoil and peace, sadness and joy, life and death. They speak of love and longing, of hope, beauty, and loss," says the pianist. "By recording these five commissioned arrangements for solo piano, I hope to share their unique beauty with both the uninitiated and with those who already know and love them as much as I do."

The album is rounded out with Franz Liszt's B minor piano sonata. The scope of the work is reminiscent of the epic poetry from the composer's native Hungary, and melodies throughout are based on regional modal scales, paired with a Hungarian Czardas (fast, wild traditional dance).

Contact ClassicalCommunications@gmail.com to request a physical CD or digital copy of this recording.

​"The Liszt B Minor Sonata, a work without equal on many levels, was played with incomparable musicality by Vedrana Subotić."  – Reichel Arts Review 

VEDRANA SUBOTIĆ, piano

Chiaroscuro

Release date: October 18, 2024

Blue Griffin Records (BGR673)

TRACK LISTING

[01]"Djelem, Djelem" (I went, I went) 06:07

Romani traditional

Arranged by Igor Iachimciuc

[02] "Kad Ja Podjoh Na Bembašu" (When I went to Bambaša) 06:55

Bosnian Traditional

Arranged by Christopher O'Riley

[03] "Makedonsko Dvoječe" (Macedonian Girl) 04:31

Macedonian traditional, Jonče Hristovski

Arranged by Christopher O'Riley

[04] "Još Ne Sviće Rujna Zora" (Crimson Dawn Has Not Yet Broken) 07:22

Montenegrin traditional

Arranged by Igor Iachimciuc

[05] "Mujo Kuje Konja Po Mjesecu" (Mujo Shoes His Horse Under the Moonlight) 05:58

Bosnian traditional

Arranged by Christopher O'Riley

[06] Sonata in B minor, s.178 30:14

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Total Time = 61:10

Artist Biography

Croatian American pianist Vedrana Subotić (pronounced VEH-dran-ah SOO·buh·tihch) has earned critical praise for her “superb, intuitive, and astute” performances. She has performed concertos and recitals across North and South Americas, Europe, and Asia. In addition to standard repertoire, Subotić frequently commissions and performs new works, and has recorded for the Sony and Centaur and Blue Griffin labels.  

Subotić is a professor of piano and music entrepreneurship at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where she directs the Liszt Festival and Competition. She is also a visiting professor at the University of Chile and Artistic Director of the Intermezzo Concert Series.  

Born in Kotor, Montenegro to a nuclear physicist and an art historian, Subotić attended the University of Belgrade at age 15 and won the former Yugoslavia’s national piano competition at age 19. She studied with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University where she earned an Artist Diploma and a Doctorate, and studied with Ralph Votapek at Michigan State University where she earned a Master’s degree.