Ljubica Maric: Ostinato super Thema Octoicha in Ithaca New York
Ostinato super Thema Octoicha [Octoicha III] (6’50) for piano, harp and string orchestra
Curious Byzantine scales unfold in Ljubica Maric’s Ostinato Super Thema Octoicha. The work will now be performed by the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra on 9/14/2024 at 7:30 PM at Ford Hall, Ithaca College.
Ljubica Maric is one of the most prominent representatives of contemporary music in Serbia. Her compositions, influenced by the musical works of Schoenberg and Haba, have been enthusiastically acclaimed at performances in Prague, Amsterdam (World Music Days of the International Society for New Music 1933) and Strasbourg.
“Ostinato super Thema Octoicha represents an extraordinary challenge for the pianist. Although the piano part is technically simple – reduced to the level of children’s finger exercises finger exercises for children – it must be performed with great calm and evenness, completely independent of what is going on in the orchestra. This can only be achieved if subjective moments such as expression, pianistic habits, intrusiveness of any kind, especially romantic posturing, are dispensed with.” (L. Marić)
“All parts are technically simple and musically equal. Maric dedicates a very sonorous five-bar chord solo in ad libitum to the harp. The composer also dispenses with any kind of effects. Conventional notation makes it …