"Gorizia Fantasy" by Igudesman performed by Edna Unsold (11) and Min Lee
Channel: Aleksey Igudesman
Date: 2022-07-12

Get sheet music on Universal Edition:
2 Violins and Strings
https://www.universaledition.com/aleksey-igudesman-3848/works/gorizia-fantasy-33439
2 Violins and piano
https://www.universaledition.com/aleksey-igudesman-3848/works/gorizia-fantasy-33438
"Gorizia Fantasy" performed by Igudesman performed by Edna Unsold (11) and Min Lee
Accademia d’Archi Arrigoni conducted by Giancarlo Guarino

Gorizia Fantasy
A tale of Two Cities, which Were Once One
By Aleksey Igudesman
For 2 Solo Violins and Strings
Dedicated to Pavel Vernikov and Piccolo Violino Magico

The cities of Gorizia (Italy) and Nova Gorica (Slovenia) were a single city before the second world war. They both hold the DNA of Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Slovenian history, art and traditions, which have been intertwined over the centuries and which now represent the common denominator to promote new opportunities for dialogue and inclusiveness.

Inspired by this fact, I have researched the local music of the region and found two songs, which I took inspiration from for the Gorizia Fantasy. The first theme is the Italian traditional song “o gorizia tu sei maledetta“ or “O Gorizia You are Cursed”, an antimilitarist war song written during the First World War. Around it I weaved virtuoso and celebratory passages derived from thematic material, using the two violins at times as battling enemies, at other times as partners in joy. 

The central, slow part quotes the Slovenian traditional song “Zrejlo je žito” or “The Grain is Ripe”. The main message of this mini double concerto, in the form of a Fantasy, is unity, inclusiveness, compassion and joy, all things that todays world is in desperate need of.

This piece was written for “Il Piccolo Violino Magico” competition and premiered there by 9 outstanding young talents from around the world together with Min Lee and Svetlana Makarova. The winners of the “Igudesman Prize” were the amazingly talented Edna Unseld (11 years old) and Mark Chia (9 years old)

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