The Compositional Technique in G. Krek's Piano Works

Abstract

Although Slovenian piano music began to develop in the early 19th century, the first turning point came only with the New Chords magazine (Novi akordi, 1901–14). Its editor, Gojmir Krek, made every effort to improve the level of instrumental, and therefore also – piano music. He himself contributed a relatively large number of works to Slovenian piano music, some of which represent an important stage in its development. However, as analysis has proven, Krek as a composer was not able to or did not know how to realize in practice, i.e. in his own music, all those declarations of "modernism" he drafted and wrote about in his periodical. It is true that such ideas can be detected in his music, though never in a accomplished way. His melodic, harmonic and formal procedures speak of his deep attachment to the classical and romantic tradition, present also in his later compositions. Therefore, he should be praised for his unique contribution to Slovenian music, first and foremost, as a theorist and a music critic.