Dusan Bogdanovic : Sonata No5 Doberman – Yppan

Dusan Bogdanovic

Doberman – Yppan : 16 pages

This Yugoslavian composer’s music is very different from any other composer’s music as anyone who has heard, or seen some of it will recognise.

The first thing you notice about this four movement work is just how very complex the actual music pages look, when you first open the volume. For example on page one , which consists of 17 bars of music there are the following time signatures 2/4, 6/8, 7/8, 3 / 4, 11/16, 5/8, 7/16, 4/4, 5/16, 3/8, and 6/16, that being 11 time signatures for 17 bars of music .Add that to the fact that there are quintuplets, sextuplets as well as triplets, with the music being written in semi- quavers and demi – semi – quavers in two voices that are usually completely different rhythmically from each other and you can see just how difficult this music is. The situation continues through the next five pages of the first movement, with the accidentals being constantly changing also (there being no key signature) and the general complexity of the writing almost stopping the player in his/her tracks.

The second movement has a Rubato introduction and coda, with a Lento main section, which is completely unbarred, and spends a fair amount of its time on two staves before closing on a varied idea based on the introduction.

In contrast, movements three and four are Allegro and Allegretto respectively, and are meant to be played as one movement. The writing is in 2, sometimes 3 voices and relentless in its speed. Again time signatures are many and varied, and key signatures are completely absent. The whole piece then gets more and more frenetic until the final fortissimo runs lead to four FFF chords all marked staccato with a heavy accent.

As I have said before this man’s music is sometimes hard to process. It is very difficult to play, and full of moments that are quite unfriendly but I am aware that many people simply love his works; and so if you are one of those players and your technique is up to the challenge then this piece will no doubt appeal.

Chris Dumigan