Here is the second separate message, devoted to mere hints at music from
five Central and Southeastern European countries.  Due to the rarity of
records available, I am only beginning to gain some intuition of their
respective musical repertoires.  I would be most grateful for any further
information or advice!

1. Bulgaria

Bulgarian Composers Union
URL: http://bulgarianspace.com/music/composer/ubc/index.htm
E-mail: [log in to unmask]

It cannot be denied that much Bulgarian music suffered from political
control and ideology after 1945, as can be heard even in robust and rather
well-written works such as Raichev (Rajcev)'s symphonies.  Still, some
excellent music can be found, from Vladigerov (his Vardar Rhapsody is the
Bulgarian equivalent of Enescu's Romanian Rhapsodies, and his later style
could be approximately described as that of a meridional Rachmaninov,
albeit there may be a touch of complacency) to Kazandziev (his Tableaux
de Bulgarie have a shimmering, mysterious quality, evoking some underworld
masquerade), Pironkov's combination of Baroque forms and cluster
techniques, or the powerfully massive and tragic symphonies of Tabakov.
One of my favourites is Iliev, who was no avantgardist, but still remained
relatively independent throughout his life, starting from Bartok, Schonberg
and Bulgarian peasant music.  Several of his orchestral works are of
outstanding expressive intensity and great refinement.  Hopefully I will
learn more about this within a few months, qhen I get a reply from the BCU.
One of Bulgaria's foremost avantgardists, Andre Boucourechliev, spent all
his mature years in Paris.

2. Croatia

Croatian MIC
URL: http://www.mic.hr  (currently under reconstruction)
E-mail: [log in to unmask]

Croatia is at crossroads between the Mediterranean (Adriatic), Central
Europe and Germanic countries, Italy, and the Balkans.  All this can be
found in Croatian music, whose diversity makes it difficult to define a
national style but often accounts for eloquent works, frequently conveying
an immediate sense of familiarity.  One has to overcome a fleeting
sensation of facility, for Croatian music is no more a "provincial" fringe
of major trends, if it ever was.

Music in Dalmatia goes back to the Renaissance (listen to Livadic's
wonderful motets), Luka Sorkocevic's short symphonies are classical jewels.
The 19th century was devoted mostly to patriotic songs, and the best-known
Romantic composer undoubtedly is Ivan Zajc, generally regarded as the
Croatian Verdi, although he certainly was less original as a composer.

More original in purely musical terms are the musicians who came to light
in the first half of the 20th century, such as Bersa, Baranovic (his cycle
"From my mountains" is a marvellous triptych for voice and orchestra), and
especially Stolcer, best known as Slavenski.  The latter has been called a
primitivist, a visionary avantgardist, the Croatian Bartok,...  His musical
style seems to be purely intuitive, but his tremendously vital imagination
and utmost sincerity of purpose often sum up to very striking works.

After WWII, a driving force was Sulek, who strived to raise the technical
and professional level of Croatian music life up to international
standards.  He was strongly opposed to Slavenski, his own evolution can
be viewed as a very lucid and personal return to Romanticism, R.Strauss,
Tchaikovsky, and maybe most of all Bruckner.  While his Symphony No.  6 is
an astounding (but I think finally convincing) example of this, the earlier
Classical Concerto No.  2 for strings retains all of its harmonic wit,
choral textures and timeless appeal.  Between the two extremes, one finds
many folklore-based composers, one of the best apparently being Ivan
Brkanovic.  Globally traditional, Papandopulo wrote much-beloved choral
works, notably a Croatian Mass and a Passion based on ancient Dalmatian
sacred music style, works of remarkable "pure" beauty.  His Sinfonietta
could well become a popular classic, alongside with pieces by Prokofiev,
for instance.

Apart from Kelemen, probably the best-known Croatian composer abroad
and a founder of the Zagreb Biennale (one of the major festivals for
contemporary music in Central and Eastern Europe, together with the Warsaw
Autumn), one of the most original, innovative, even provocative in his
extreme eclecticism, is Detoni, conductor of the main (only?) Croatian
ensemble for contemporary music performance.  A completely different recent
trend can be found in Frano Parac's Mediterranean euphonism.

3. Slovenia

Edicije DSS (Editions of the Slovenian Composers Society)
Trg francuske revolucije 6/I
SLO-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Phone/fax: +386 (61) 213 487

Much of what I wrote about Croatia could be said about Slovenia, but
this country is still closer to Central Europe, partly due to its Alpine
profile.  Here, the sense of familiarity is particularly striking.
Slovenia can boast a major composer, Gallus, often compared with
Palestrina.  Instrumental music was much influenced by neighbouring Italy.
For the moment, let me only quote a few major names.

Osterc, whom I already quoted in a previous post, is one of the most
talented representatives of Central European stylistic turmoil in the
1920s and 1930s.  His music can be defined as un-Romantic but nevertheless
very expressive and subjective, sometimes involved, with hints of Baroque,
neo-classicism, expressionism -- there are affinities with Hindemith,
neo-classical Stravinsky, Bartok, maybe more with Alban Berg, but he very
much remains his own man.  Kogoj was another very original personality,
whose his life was tragic throughout (he was defeated by mental illness
after 1930).  His often telling and feverish piano pieces can be heard
on CD, but it seems that his essential contribution lies in his
expressionistic and psychoanalytic opera "Black Maskers".

Bravnicar is not much younger, but his career extends until the mid-1970s.
He retains an expressionistic touch from his two elders, but the formal
settings are more traditional.  While one could expect a bit more fantasy
sometimes, the stylistic quality is unquestionable and often achieves most
beautiful moments.  Kozina was perhaps closer to sheer inspiration in the
works I know.  Even the relatively classical symphony (made up of four
broad tone-poems, hence its slightly massive profile) is full of magical,
endearing melodies and harmonic textures, not without tautness and
quicksilver modulations when needed, while his more audacious pieces are
still to be discovered.  The more Romantic-Impressionistic side of
Slovenian music can be heard in works by Skerjanc and Arnic (the latter
closer to folk music, often conveying fresh and wild atmospheres).

Born in 1921, Ramovs surely is the best-known modernist of his time,
and his obsession with sound blocks per se is rather untypical of former
socialist countries.  The opposite conception seems to be Ciglic's
emotionally charged symphonies (which I never heard...).  In between,
Srebotnjak is a master craftsman whose relation to ancient Slovenian
legends and sounds expresses itself with much clarity and aural seduction.
Lebic and Petric are both moderately modern, still retaining this kind of
immediate eloquence, as well as the more traditional Krek and Skerl.
Stuhec has experimented farther in percussive sounds and thematic
fragmentation, resulting in intensely vital large-scale works, even if the
"spirit of the times" often keep them within a lukewarm, uncertain mood.
Maticic is the undisputed master of piano music, combining pointillism with
a natural sense of virtuosity.  Among the younger composers, let me quote
Ajdic and Rojko (this is by no means comprehensive!).

4. Macedonia

While folk music from Macedonia is relatively well-known, art music is
still vastly unknown, although musicians and music-lovers who had a chance
to listen to Yugoslav music around 1970 may have encountered Nikolovski's
works based on ancient Orthodox church songs.  Hopefully I shall receive
material before long.  Meanwhile, you can contact the Sokom (Society of
Macedonian Composers) through the Macedonian Music Council:

Professor Dimitrije Buzarovski, Pitu Guli 1, 91000 Skopje, Macedonia
Phone: +389 (91) 134-345        fax: +389 (91) 231-614
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
URL: http://clover.slavic.pitt.edu/%7Emmc/sokommembers.htm

Reputed composers are Nikolovski, Prosev (now in Croatia), Buzarovski,
Mancev, Jana Andreevska...

5. Albania

I mentioned this country in a recent post devoted to Ermira Zyrakja's
beautiful piano recital on CD.  Apparently the situation might be better
than I expected (although records will probably not come so soon).  A
useful contact should be the Tirane contemporary music centre (Albanian
section of the ISCM):  Prof Sokol Shupo Phone/fax:  +355 (42) 37012 / 22384
E-mail:  [log in to unmask]

It should be noted that Kosovar music seems to have developed to a similar
extent (both from Kosovars of Albanian and Serbian ascent).  Several
Kosovar composers have settled in foreign coutries, such as Ballata in
Slovenia.

As you can see, I am myself at the very beginning of my exploration,
but it is good to keep some landmarks in mind, so as to be ready when
opportunities come to discover these countries where music has always
played a central role.

If I can be of further help, and even more if you have more information or
sound documents, please feel free to contact me off-list!

Best wishes,

Thanh-Tam Le
[log in to unmask]