Croatian Songs, vol. 2

Ferdo Livadić (1799 – 1879) recieved his musical education in Graz. After graduation he settled at his family estate in Samobor (Croatia) and spent the rest of his life there, composing in his spare time. During the Croatian national movement (1835–48) he was a prominent supporter of its leader, Ljudevit Gaj. He composed numerous art songs in Croatian, Slovenian, and German, as well as marches, dances and scherzi for piano. Probably the best of these piano works is a Nocturne in F sharp minor (1820) written even before famous Chopin's nocturnes. Ferdo Wiesner Livadić’s Croatian songs, published here together with his German solo song edition (MIC, 2015), represent almost his entire vocal oeuvre. The abundant material is now presented for the first time in its entirety to provide interested interpreters and musicologists with insight into Livadić’s works in this musical genre. By eliminating the selection process that always includes a subjective approach, the editors have left the decision on the value of individual songs to the publication users, allowing them to keep the most valuable ones alive on stage through their performances. The content includes two groups of songs: occasional songs and songs with artistic pretentions. (Koraljka Kos)