Pejačević, Dora 1885 - 1923
Author: Nishii, Yoko
Last updated：February 12, 2015
Author: Nishii, Yoko
Dora Pejačević
Dora Pejačević was born on September 10, 1885, in Budapest, and spent her girlhood in a castle in Našice, a town in eastern Croatia. The Pejačević family belonged to a distinguished Croatian noble lineage; her father and grandfather were Croatian counts and served as governors, and her mother was a Hungarian noblewoman, leading Dora to be known as the "Princess of Našice." Dora received her general education from her English governess, Edith Davison, and her initial musical instruction from her mother, an accomplished pianist and singer. She subsequently studied composition in Zagreb, Dresden, and Munich. In Dresden, she studied violin with Henri Petri and composition with Percy Sherwood. In Munich, she studied composition with Walter Courvoisier. After marrying Austrian officer Ottomar von Lumbe in the autumn of 1921, she primarily resided in Dresden and Munich. She gave birth to her son Teodor on January 30, 1923, but passed away approximately one month later, on March 5, at the age of 37, due to kidney failure. During her lifetime, her works were frequently performed not only in Croatia but also across various European cities such as London, Dresden, Budapest, Stockholm, Vienna, and Munich. She is highly renowned in Croatia as the country's first significant female composer.
Her artistic legacy comprises 57 recorded opus numbers, ranging from Lullaby Op. 2 to String Quartet in C major Op. 58 (Op. 1 is lost and unregistered). Among these, 24 are piano works (Op. 12 is lost, so 23 works currently exist). With the exception of two sonatas, all other works are miniatures (or character pieces), a genre she continued to compose throughout her life. Her piano works are characterized by rich sonorities and colors, frequently employing unexpected and sudden modulations and developments. From her early Romantic works, which show clear influences from composers such as Mendelssohn (1809–1847), Schumann (1810–1856), Grieg (1843–1907), and Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), to her colorful Impressionistic middle-period works, and further to her late works infused with Expressionism, she matured her unique individuality.
She continuously broadened her cultural horizons through travels and stays across Europe. However, upon returning to her family castle in Našice, she diligently composed, drawing inspiration from the rich nature and tranquility of the Slavonian region, with many of her works written in Našice. Furthermore, she maintained deep interactions with contemporary cultural figures such as Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926), author of The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, and Karl Kraus (1874–1936), a prominent representative of Viennese fin-de-siècle culture. The worlds of literature and philosophy, including Ibsen (1828–1906), Dostoevsky (1821–1881), Thomas Mann (1875–1955), Schopenhauer (1788–1860), Kierkegaard (1813–1855), and Nietzsche (1844–1900), also significantly influenced the development of her artistic sensibility. Her works developed in parallel with movements such as Art Nouveau and Secession in European modernist literature and art.
Works(30)
Piano Solo
sonata (2)
pieces (5)
inpromptu (2)
romance (2)
caprice (2)
Various works (3)
Chamber Music
Various works (3)