Filip Alilovic : Sonata Diabolico
Filip Alilovic
Bergmann: 10 pages
Not having seen any previous music by Croatian –born Alilovic, I have no idea how typical this piece is of his style, but one thing is for certain that this is absolutely only for the advanced players among you.
This is in one movement and is in A minor, and marked Allegro con Spirito, which doesn’t sound too tricky until you look at the opening page , for example, and find demi – semi –quavers almost throughout its entirety, but in addition to that the music is placed down in groups where the actual beat is, which is often not what the traditional crotchet grouping might be, and so therefore your eyes are bombarded with various bunches of notes/chords that you can’t often rely on to give you the feel of the traditional beat. This all makes for an extremely complex play, even though it is all utterly guitaristic in every way, just witness the composer’s own version on YouTube, a brilliant and gripping rendition.
At bar 30 there is a move into E Major for a slightly more relaxed Andantino et Rubato, which however quickly turns into the opening speed again, only for the tempo to relax into an Andante ma non Troppo two bars later. After this two- voiced arpeggio styled moment, Tempo Primo re-enters with a very fast virtual slide down groups of three demi – semi quaver arpeggios, and then to a re-iteration of the opening section and finally to an extended coda.
Heard in concert, this piece would be the climax of the evening, and anyone who could actually deliver the goods, would deserve all the standing ovations he or she received!
Chris Dumigan
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