One of the best-known world record labels dedicated to the valuable oeuvres of lesser-known composers, cpo from Germany, published its fourth CD with works of Croatian composer Boris Papandopulo (1906-1991). This most recent release with works for piano and strings, must be, for the superlative sound quality and the still more brilliant performance by four virtuoso musicians, one of the most exciting and impressive records with Papandopulo works cut to date.

The musicians to be credited with this anthological record, the sleeve of which is embellished with a reproduction of Ljubo Babić’s oil painting Before the Storm from the National Museum of Modern Art in Zagreb are: the French violinist with the interesting name of Amaury Coeytaux, the Romanian violinist Vanessa Szigeti, daughter of the renowned violin virtuoso Florin Szigeti, founder of the Enescu String Quartet, the prize-winning Romanian cellist Andrei Ioniţă and the great promoter of Papandopulu’s music worldwide, the brilliant German pianist Oliver Triendl.

The compositions Concertino in modo antico, Fantasy for violin and piano, Lyrical trio for violin, cello and piano, Rapsodia concertante for cello and piano and Three musical movements for Orlando for piano trio are indeed familiar to us from former recordings, but only now, in this most recent performance, have they been able to shine forth in all their glory and unguessed at beauty. Listening to this CD we obtain a true picture of Papandopulo’s virtuoso game with tones that is at the same time witty, full of marvellous energy, joy in life and profound inspiration, while in the slow movements it is poetic, deeply felt and steeped in the most intense emotions. Thanks to the powerful distribution network of cpo, Papandopulo’s music will be accessible in the biggest sales outlets for recordings worldwide, as well as on streaming platforms like Deezer and Spotify.

Last but not least, with pride we can point out that the recording of the work Concertino in modo antico – found not so long ago by the recently deceased wife and muse of Papandopulo Zdenka Papandopulo and musicologist Davor Merkas in the attic of the leading German pianist Udo Dammert – was made according to the sheet music publication of the Music Information Centre of the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, thanks to the efforts of its small but dedicated team of musicologists.