For her debut disc,
Ivana Gavric put together a program of introspective yet challenging pieces that work well together in her hands. The average listener, just looking at the composers included, let alone the precise compositions, probably won't see the connections between them, but will after hearing
Gavric play through the selections. They are all reflective, but not in a daydreamy or romantic way. These are more given more conscious and active thought than that.
Gavric does not gloss over notes or create one general wash of sound for the entire program. She pays clear attention to the details of the music and phrasing, but does so very effectively, bringing the disparate works together in a way that makes sense musically, without academic dryness. The biggest gap she bridges is between the
Janácek and the
Schubert. The
Schubert sonata is more tonal and structured, and even more outwardly communicative than the
Janácek, but
Gavric finds the more intimate side of it, especially in the Andante, and even there, the more outspoken moments feel as if they are cries of regret made to oneself. From there, the leaps to
Liszt's Petrarch Sonnets and the
Rachmaninov selections are easy, and just as deftly done.
Gavric shows a great imagination in her choice of such an interesting mix of composers, and that she has the musical instincts and understanding to bring such possibilities to life.