The work of Dora Pejačević is a growing source of inspiration for artists outside the borders of our homeland. The last example that testifies to this is the French cellist Héloïse Luzzati. Extremely talented musically, which is confirmed by her successful concert activity, Héloïse Luzzati expresses her organizational skills and creativity through the Elles – Women Composer artistic association dedicated to women composers. The association is realizing extremely successful projects, including the festival Un Temps pour Elles and La Boite à Pépites – a discographic label that brings recordings of previously unpublished works of women composers and an extremely interesting project of making short animated films dedicated to women composers.

Focus of the interest of Héloïse Luzzati and her artistic associates became the most important Croatian composer, Dora Pejačević. Namely, the penultimate concert evening as part of this year’s Un Temps pour Elles festival, which will be held from June 10 to July 10, 2022 in the magnificent Villerceaux castle in the French commune of Chaussy, is dedicated to Dora. At the concert entitled Dora, on Wednesday, July 9, 2022, musicians Marie-Laure Garnier (soprano), Raphaëlle Moreau (violin), Alexandre Pascal (violin), Léa Hennino (viola), Héloïse Luzzati (cello) and Célia Oneto Bensaid (piano), will perform the Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 43, songs for voice and piano (Mädchengestalten, op. 42 and Verwandlung, op. 37a) and Piano Quintet in B minor, op. 40. Impromptu, op. 9b, for piano quartet published by the Music Information Center in 2021, will be performed for the first time in this setting. It is interesting that the recordings from the concert will serve as a musical background for the new animated film about Dora Pejačević, whose production is planned for the coming winter. The premiere of the animated film can be expected in 2023 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the untimely death of Dora Pejačević. A short announcement video of the Dora project can be viewed at the link.

(cover photo: clip from the announcement video for the animated film about Dora Pejačević; composition: Dora Pejačević: Andante con moto from the Quartet in D minor for piano, violin, viola and cello, op. 25; performers: Alexandre Pascal (violin), Léa Hennino (viola), Héloïse Luzzati (cello), Célia Oneto Bensaid (piano), production: Elles – women composers, artistic direction: Héloïse Luzzati, illustrations and animations: Alice Chemama, realization: Alexis Lardilleu, sound engineer, Blaise Carpe Mireille Faure, synopsis: Héloïse Luzzati, translation: Leila Schneps)