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N. O'LOUGHLIN • IVO PETRIĆ’S ORCHESTRAL INDIAN SUMMER
Throughout his long composing career, the Slovene composer Ivo Petrić (1931–2018) 
concentrated on instrumental music, partly because of his own early experience as 
an orchestral oboist and later orchestral manager and artistic director of the Slovenian 
Philharmonic, and partly from his long and fruitful time as the conductor and leader of 
the Slavko Osterc Ensemble.1 In his early years he composed three symphonies2 and a 
1 For details of the group᾽s activities see Ivo Petrić, “Jubilej ansambla Slavko Osterc,” Zvuk i (1973): 39–42 and Andrej Rijavec, “Skladateljska 
skupina okrog ansambla »Slavko Osterc« - Die Komponistengruppe um das Ensemble »Slavko Osterc«,” Primož Kuret, ed., Slovenska 
glasba v preteklosti in sedanjosti – Slowenische Musik in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart (Ljubljana: Kres, 1992), 260–269. 
2 The symphonies are Simfonija Goga (3 versions: 1954, 1956 and 1960), Symphony No.2 (1957) and Symphony No.3 (1959–60).
UDK 785.11(497.4) "1983-2015"Petrić I.
DOI: 10.4312/mz.55.1.9-26
Niall O’Loughlin
Univerza v Loughboroughu
Loughborough University
Ivo Petrić’s Orchestral 
Indian Summer
In memoriam Ivo Petrić
Indijansko poletje za orkester Iva Petrića
In memoriam Ivo Petrić
Prejeto: 18. december 2018 
Sprejeto: 1. marec 2019
Ključne besede: Ivo Petrić, Slovenija, Gallus, Ivan 
Grohar, Oscar Wilde, Srečko Kosovel, koncert
IZVLEČEK
Veliko del Iva Petrića je za orkester. Nekatera so 
povezana z rodno Slovenijo, ostala so koncertantna 
dela za različne solistične inštrumente. Običajno 
so komponirana v enem stavku, ki bodisi kažejo 
povezave s tradicionalnimi ločenimi stavki bodisi 
gre za dela v več tempih s številnimi medsebojnimi 
motivnimi povezavami.   
Received: 18th December 2018 
Accepted: 1st March 2019
Keywords: Ivo Petrić, Slovenia, Gallus, Ivan Grohar, 
Oscar Wilde, Srečko Kosovel, Concerto
ABSTRACT
Many of Ivo Petrić’s last works are orchestral. Some 
are related to his native Slovenia, while others are 
concertos for various solo instruments. They are 
normally in one movement, either showing some 
connection with traditional separate movements 
or multi-tempo works with numerous motivic in-
terconnections.
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number of concertos,3 mostly for wind instruments, as well as other orchestral works. 
Petrić’s compositions written for the Slavko Osterc Ensemble are also relevant to his 
development as they gave him invaluable experience in putting into practical terms 
the vivid instrumental imagination and instrumental combinations that form such an 
important part of his style. There are a very small number of vocal pieces but, with one 
exception discussed later, they were not especially important for him.
From around the years 1962 and 1963, he became closely associated with the avant-
garde movement in Slovenia, and was a leading member of the composers’ group called 
Pro musica viva which included almost all of the most significant advanced composers 
of the day.4 As the director of the Slavko Osterc ensemble he was able to ensure that all 
the composers in the group were generously represented on the concert platform and 
in the recordings that were being made in those years. His style embraced the latest de-
velopments, notably aleatory notation.5 For this to be effective it was important for the 
players to be skilfully directed and for a fully working cueing system to be in operation. 
That this was in fact the case can be deduced from the appearance of a large number of 
scores published by Edicije Društvo slovenskih skladateljev (The Slovenian Composers 
Association) which for many years was led by Petrić himself, and numerous successful 
performances and recordings from this period. 
By the mid-1980s Petrić again began to use traditional bar-lines and metrical barring 
in his compositions. Sometimes this was only a convenience for the performers even 
if the notation did not indicate a rhythmic dimension, but gradually the significance of 
the bar-lines became more important as metrical regularity achieved a higher priority. 
For Petrić a number of his later aleatory scores proved to be less than satisfactory, lead-
ing him to rework some of the orchestral scores using the traditional barred notation. 
Not only were passages rewritten in as straightforward and literal a manner as possible, 
but also a great deal of other revision took place at the same time, with both expansion 
and contraction becoming part of the process of transformation. It is not the purpose 
of the present study to investigate the details of this recasting of earlier works, but 
rather to focus on the nature of the compositions using the traditional notation which 
date from the 1980s onwards or those pieces which the composer chose to rewrite us-
ing the traditional metrical format.
It is no exaggeration to say that Petrić was busy composing music at a furious rate 
from then virtually to the time of his death. His music consisted largely of orchestral mu-
sic, including concertos,6 as well as chamber music for one or more performers whose 
musical characters and technical abilities were well known to him. Inevitably, how-
ever, his orchestral works stand high in this period, with some showing an inclination 
3 The concertos are for violin (1953), flute (1954–57), clarinet (1958), harp (1959), Koncertantna glasba for bassoon (1959) and 
Tri skladbe for horn (1961).
4 This is very well covered by Matjaž Barbo in Pro musica viva – Prispevek k slovenski moderni po II. svetovni vojni (Ljubljana: 
Znanstveni inštitut Filozofske fakultete, 2001). The eight composers he discussed are Jakob Jež (1928), Milan Stibilj (1929–2014), 
Kruno Cipci (1930–2002), Ivo Petrić (1931–2018), Alojz Srebotnjak (1931–2010), Darijan Božič (1933–2018), Igor Štuhec (1934) 
and Lojze Lebič (1934). Stibilj stood somewhat apart from the group and Cipci did not feature very strongly. The music of 
another composer, Primož Ramovš (1922–1999), was frequently performed by the Slavko Osterc Ensemble. A detailed study 
of Petrić’s earlier music (1959–1970) is given by Barbo in Pro musica viva, especially 140–148.
5 Niall O’Loughlin, “Melodic workings in the Music of Ivo Petrić,” Muzikološki zbornik 29 (1993), 107–119.
6 See Niall O’Loughlin, “A Return to Old Techniques in Recent Concertos by Ivo Petrić,” Muzikološki zbornik 47/1 (2011): 167–176. 
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N. O'LOUGHLIN • IVO PETRIĆ’S ORCHESTRAL INDIAN SUMMER
towards programme music and others staying firmly within the area of “absolute mu-
sic”. The total number included in these categories and composed since 1983 consists 
of at least twenty-seven,7 a selection of which form the basis of the present study. The 
first part of this examination looks at Slovene connections (and one Irish one), while 
the second part looks closely at Petrić’s favourite orchestral form, the concerto.
Petrić always aimed to give an international element to his music, having studied as 
many contemporary music scores as he could obtain, and having written four impres-
sive articles on contemporary music.8 However, he has always treasured his Slovene 
heritage, taking the opportunity in the 1990s to celebrate that legacy in works that are 
connected with three different art forms: music, words and painting. The composer’s 
interpretations, it must be emphasised, are subtle in nature and not in any obvious 
sense programmatically derived.
Because the composer Jacobus Gallus (1550–1591) stands as the Renaissance master 
who put Slovenia on the musical map, it was only natural that Petrić chose to celebrate 
his achievement and importance with his own music. His orchestral work called Gallus 
Metamorphoses of 1992 is in effect a three-movement symphony using motives derived 
from three of the older composer’s motets. One must emphasise, however, that the bor-
rowings are often buried in the musical textures in a way that often makes them difficult 
to recognise as such. In the first movement, based on the eight-voice motet Quam pul-
chra est, amica mea,9 Petrić very skilfully underpins high woodwind melodic shapes 
with accompaniments derived from the cantus and altus lines of the first phrase of the 
motet, in the form of stepwise descending parallel thirds. Rather than using the metre 
of the original, Petrić maintains a steady crotchet Allegretto grazioso in 3/4 time with 
percussion (tambourine, timpani, bells, triangle, claves, bongos and wood block) em-
phasising the modern pulse. The second movement is slow,10 in 4/4 time throughout, 
deriving its borrowed material from the motet Ecce quomodo moritur iustus.11 The open-
ing bass clarinet solo follows the beginning of the cantus line, but soon diverges from 
it chromatically, with other motives being introduced as the movement progresses. As 
in the first movement they are incorporated into the texture with delicate faster moving 
string counterpoints playing against the chorale-like quotations from the wind instru-
ments. The haunting coda has chamber-music like textures with the clarinets playing 
a chorale, reminiscent in some ways of the original motet, and a solo violin and cello 
decorating this with florid lines. The finale, Vivo giocoso, based on the six-voice Musi-
ca noster amor,12 returns to the strong rhythmic patterns of the first movement, mostly 
in 2/4 time with short sections in 3/4. Three elements appear successively: the regular 
march-like partly dactylic figures from the percussion; wide-spanning melodic phrases 
from woodwind and strings; and slow moving melodic shapes moving up and down by 
7 See Appendix for a list of these works.
8 Ivo Petrić, “Razvoj glasbene misli 20. Stoletja” [Review of 20th-Century Thinking on Music], Sodobnost 10 (1962): 385–96; 509–17; 
612–21; 767–80.
9 Jacobus Gallus, Opus musicum, iv/1, no.iv.
10 The opening tempo is not specified in the score, but the recording (Slovenska filharmonija, SF 900045, Ljubljana, 2004), approved 
by the composer, moves at approximately crotchet = 60.
11 Jacobus Gallus, Opus musicum, ii/1, no.xiii.
12 Jacobus Gallus, Moralia, xxviii.
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step derived from the Gallus motet. The last develop into chorales quoting Gallus’s music 
even more openly. The movement consists of an interaction of these elements until there 
is a final synthesis of their different characteristics.
For the second of his orchestral tributes to his native land Petrić turned to poetry in 
a vocal setting for mezzo-soprano and orchestra. Slovenia has a long and distinguished 
poetic tradition that extends very much to the present day, from France Prešeren 
(1800–1849) to Tomaž Šalamun (1941–2014) and Tone Pavček (1928–2011). From the 
early 20th century one of the most revered poets is Srečko Kosovel (1904–1926). Dur-
ing his tragically short life he witnessed some of the horrors of World War One at first 
hand and the loss of his Slovene homeland to Italy, both of which fundamentally affect-
ed the nature and content of his poetry. It was natural then that Petrić selected some 
of his poetry for one of his rare vocal settings, the cantata Pesem življenja (‘The Song 
of Life’), originally written in 1981, with a second version in 1984, but whose third and 
final version was completed only in 1995. This final 26-minute version, first performed 
in 2001, is methodically planned in an arch form, with poems from Kosovel’s Integrali 
(‘Integrals’) framing the work and his Rodovnik (‘The Family Tree’) at the centre, which 
itself is flanked by poetic prose from Ivan Cankar’s Kurent and France Forstnerič’s 
poem Pred nemim morjem (‘Before the Dumb Sea’). The words, sung by a mezzo-
soprano, project a powerful and consistent message. 
The strong dramatic poetic sequence of the words is clear in performance, which 
the music reinforces very strongly. The short orchestral prelude opens with a slow-
moving and meandering horn solo full of foreboding that has uneasy cello and wood-
wind counterpoints, building to a climax that sets the tone for the setting of four of 
Kosovel’s Integrali, presenting a world of different evocative colours (blue, green, sil-
ver) ending with the climax of “Živeti, živeti je smisel človeka!” (‘To live, to live is the 
purpose of man!’). Petrić always presents the words clearly and scores them modestly, 
often using sustained sounds to underpin vocal phrases and reintroducing moving 
orchestral parts during the silences in the vocal part. This triggers a dramatic interlude 
before the calm passage from Cankar’s Kurent. Again the composer builds the music to 
a climax at the words: “Šaj je le suknja, jaz pa sem mislil, da je človek v nji!” (‘It is only the 
coat, and I thought that the man is inside!’). Kosovel’s Rodovnik (‘The Family Tree’) is 
even more concise and almost pointillist in character with the repetitive word “suženj” 
(‘slave’) beginning each of the first six lines. The quiet and thoughtful interlude and 
gentle setting of France Forstnerič’s Pred nemim morjem (‘Before the Dumb Sea’) ends 
with the inscrutable words: “Pred rojstvom je velik prostor. Za smrtjo še večji.” (‘Before 
birth there is a great void. After death it is much greater.’). These words and two lines 
from the earlier Integrali (‘Živeti ...’) are repeated as a benediction on the work in the 
coda to the finale that sets two more of Kosovel’s poems.
For the third category of works inspired by Slovenia, Petrić moved from poetry to 
painting, the works of Ivan Grohar (1867–1911). In 2004 he wrote; “Ivan Grohar is my 
favourite Slovene painter, and I have a deep attachment to the region from which his 
family came; the world under Ratitovec is also that of my ancestors.”13 He said that he 
13 In the booklet notes for the recording on CD, SF 900045 (Ljubljana: Slovenska filharmonija, 2004).
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N. O'LOUGHLIN • IVO PETRIĆ’S ORCHESTRAL INDIAN SUMMER
constantly returned to the National Gallery in Ljubljana to experience the qualities of 
Grohar’s paintings, something which indicates the deep fascination that these pictures 
held for him.14 The translation of visual art to music is, of course, a controversial sub-
ject, something which can vary from crude representation to remote reflections of an 
abstract nature. In his music Petrić was much closer to the latter, concentrating his trib-
ute in the workings of the music, its melodies and its form. His works that derive their 
inspiration from Grohar are: Groharjeve impresije (‘Grohar’s Impressions’) of 1980, its 
newly reworked version Groharjeve impresije II (‘Grohar’s Impressions II’) of 1998, 
revised in 2003, and Štirje letni časi (‘Four Seasons’) of 1995–96, revised in 2002. These 
pieces are all through composed and performed without a break.
Groharjeve impresije II is a 14-minute work with a crotchet beat throughout, but a 
flexible variety of tempos with the crotchet ranging from 68 to 102, and thus creating 
an impressive unity (see Table 1). The tempo changes always move by step (faster or 
slower) on a graduated scale from one section to the next. The speed increase or de-
crease between sections, whenever it has not already been achieved by other means, is 
normally indicated in the one or two bars before the end of the previous section by poco 
accel., rit., rallentando, allargando or similar. Each tempo remains steady for a range of 
between five and 33 bars, presumably an indication of the time the viewer stops to look 
at each painting. Following the changes in tempo marked by double bars in the score, 
one can identify 18 sections. It is possible that some of the short sections are simply an 
indication that the viewer had moved from one painting to another in the same way 
that Mussorgsky represented with his “promenade” in his Pictures at an Exhibition. The 
composer gives an indication that a wide range of Grohar’s paintings is included in his 
impressions, although we are not told which section is inspired by which painting. In his 
note to the recording the composer refers to “a whole gallery of his paintings, ranging 
from his Spring down to A Larch, Škofija Loka in the Snow, The Sower, A Man with a 
Cart, The Herdsman, and the rest of the works which have always given me the feeling 
of national identity and pride.”15 The opening cor anglais solo presents a number of mo-
tives that Petrić develops over the course of the work, a feature that gives a clue to its taut 
unity. Its various chromatic twists and turns are accompanied by contrapuntal motives, 
while some of the sections are fiercely dramatic in tone. In the fourth section (Passionato 
agitato), for example, the four horns wind around each other in a counterpoint to threat-
ening rising phrases from the trumpets and trombones. 
Section Tempo Metronome Bars Pages
1 Sostenuto meditando 76 16 1-3
2 Andantino grazioso 82 9 3-4
3 Poco animato 92 16 4-6
4 Passionato agitato 96 29 7-10
5 Moderato quieto 76 30 10-13
14 Personal recollections to the present writer.
15 In booklet notes for the recording on CD, SF 900045 (Ljubljana: Slovenska filharmonija, 2004).
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Section Tempo Metronome Bars Pages
6 Poco animato 82 15 14-16
7 Estatico animato 102 23 16-19
8 Moderato quieto 86 20 19-21
9 Poco animato 96 33 22-26
10 Moderato maestoso 82 11 26-27
11 Quasi allegretto 92 16 28-30
12 Largo espressivo 76 16 30-32
13 Agitato e marcato 96 15 32-34
14 Moderato tranquillo 72 15 34-36
15 Poco animato 82 5 37
16 Animato 96 9 37-39
17 Moderato quieto 76 19 39-42
18 Largo solenne 68 15 42-44
      
Table 1: Sections of Grohar’s Impressions II. 
The composer in many of his compositions has given to his music titles which reflect 
the seasons directly or indirectly.16 The second of his orchestral works to trace its in-
spiration to the paintings of Ivan Grohar, Štirje letni časi (‘Four Seasons’) limits the 
number to only four. Thus in this work he focuses on four of the paintings that were 
briefly referred to in Groharjeve impresije II that can be directly or loosely related to 
the four seasons: Pomladi (‘Spring’), Macesna (‘A Larch’), Črednika (‘The Herdsman’), 
and Škofija Loka v snegu (‘Škofija Loka in Snow’), spring, summer, autumn, winter, 
respectively. Again we must not look too closely at the details of the music to reflect 
literal aspects of the painting, as Petrić was trying more to mirror the mood rather 
than “painting” a musical picture. The work is structured completely differently from 
Groharjeve impresije II, although it is similar in length. Petrić takes each of the four 
pictures in turn, interpolating between each one what he called a “ritornello” which is 
considerably varied at each appearance, thus creating a work in four sections which 
are distinguished by metre rather more than tempo. The first section, entitled “Pomlad/
Spring” in the score, in a firmly articulated Allegretto 6/8 time, is built up from an as-
cending phrase from the clarinets and in imitative entries on the strings. This is one of 
the composer’s favourite methods of building up his textures. The listener can follow 
the composer’s thinking without too much difficulty, but in Petrić’s music it is always 
16 As well as Štirje letni časi these are Vem za pomlad – cantata (1961), Summer Music for flute and piano (1973), Autumn Music 
for violin and piano (1974), Winter Music for clarinet and piano (1976), Winter Elegy for oboe and piano (1984), Portrait 
d’automne for string quartet (1992), Zimska pesem – Winter Song for clarinet and piano (1992), Pomladni concertino (1993), 
Summer Games for clarinet, cello and piano (1995), Pomladna simfonija – Spring Symphony and Jesenska simfonija – Autumn 
Symphony (both of 1996), Jesenska srečanja – Autumnal Encounters for clarinet and piano (1998), Winter Games for flute and 
piano (2002), Autumn concerto for violin and orchestra (2003) and Quatuor 2004 ‘Après l’automne...’ (2004).
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subtly varied and is never predictable. The second picture, Macesna (‘A Larch’),17 rep-
resenting summer, provides the inspiration for the next section, but is prefaced by a 
beautifully scored yearning melodic section for strings and harp. This establishes a 3/4 
metre, while the main section maintains the crotchet beat with variable bar lengths. 
The third painting Črednika (‘The Shepherd’) representing autumn, is marked to be 
played Moderato quieto. It is in effect the slow movement, starting with wisps of melo-
dies from the woodwind combined with rising staccato “droplets”. Petrić builds up his 
various mostly rising motives before a brief return to the opening lazy opening oboe 
phrase with its staccato counterpoint. This is directly followed by the final section, a 
lively Vivo giocoso in 2/4 time, drawing its inspiration form the painting Škofija Loka v 
snegu (‘Škofija Loka in Snow’). Many of the composer’s finales of this period share this 
strongly rhythmic character with generous use of percussion, sometimes tuned, and 
short melodic phrases, often passed from instrument to instrument.
The most intriguing orchestral work by Petrić which has extra-musical influence 
or inspiration must be The Picture of Dorian Gray II.18 It began life in its first form in 
1983-84 as the symphonic poem Slika Doriana Graya (‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’) 
and won first prize in the 1985 Oscar Espla competition in Alicante in Spain where it 
was first performed a year later. The composer relates that, although he did not attend 
the premiere, he received a recording of the work. This so displeased him that he lost 
interest in the piece, until he re-examined it and completely rewrote it in 2007 as Slika 
Doriana Graya II (‘The Picture of Dorian Gray II’). 
For his inspiration Petrić turned to the novel called The Picture of Dorian Gray by 
the Irish writer, Oscar Wilde (1854–1900),19 which was published first in 1890 in Lippin-
cott’s Monthly Magazine. Wilde revised the text, adding a provocative preface when it 
was published in book form in 1891, but over the years it appeared in a number of ver-
sions.20 This fantasy story involves a painter, Basil Hallward, who portrays Dorian Gray 
in a painting as a beautiful young man, with some obvious erotic undertones. There is 
also a Faustian connection as Dorian Gray becomes involved in numerous question-
able activities, including the murder of the painter, in a downward spiral of misdeeds. 
However, Gray does not immediately suffer, although the subject on the original paint-
ing becomes progressively degraded. Finally Gray desperately attacks the painting but 
in doing so he kills himself, making him old and disfigured in death, while the painting 
itself is miraculously restored to its pristine beauty.
The plan that Petrić used for the work is similar to that of Groharjeve impresije II, 
written with a crotchet beat throughout, varying bar lengths, and a total bar count of 
500, clearly marked into seventeen sections. In Slika Doriana Graya II the tempos are 
on a five- point scale from crotchet = 76 to 112 21 (see Table 2), with 76 marked Quieto 
17 The three sections after the first are not titled as such in the score at www.ivopetric.com, but they are identified in the composer’s 
own catalogue of 2001: Opus musicum (Ljubljana: Edicije DSS, 2001), 111–112.
18 Although this work does not have Slovene connections, it is included because of its relevance to the composer’s techniques 
of formal construction.
19 This of course is not connected with Slovenia, but with the London society in which the novel is set. Wilde was more famous 
for his plays, perhaps most notably The Importance of Being Earnest. The Picture of Dorian Gray was brilliantly transformed 
into a stage play by the English dramatist John Osborne.
20 Some versions were banned in England, being considered obscene by the standards of the time, and it was only in 2011 that 
the full text of the novel was finally published.
21 These are 76, 86, 96, 102, 112.
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and 112 marked Vivo giocoso. The tempos alter mostly by step with few sudden chang-
es, making the transitions virtually seamless. To trace the events in the story of Dorian 
Gray by relating to Petrić’s piece, it is best to think in broad terms that indicate the he-
ro’s mental disintegration. The music moves from slow mostly quiet sections to those 
with faster tempos and richer textures and returns to the slower quieter ones, with 
the faster sections clearly representing the important actions of Gray himself. Petrić 
uses the opening trumpet motive almost like a motto theme, as the source of much 
of the melodic material. The rhythms of the derivations of the motives are constantly 
changed, phrases inverted, and textures built up from the contrapuntal treatment of 
these motives. The instrumental groups are mainly kept separate, with the brass, most-
ly trumpets and horns, projecting broad, swinging melodic phrases, woodwind deco-
rating the motives with florid runs, and the strings often presented imitatively, with the 
use in some of the slower sections of solo instruments, notably violin, viola and cello, 
in free improvisatory passages. The percussion are used rhythmically, particularly in 
the faster sections with a strong regular pulse, emphasised by the bongos, timpani and 
side drum, and melodically by the xylophone and vibraphone, mostly in short phrases. 
Section Tempo Metronome Bars Pages in 
score
1 Moderato 86 10 1
2 Quieto 76 9 1-2
3 Moderato 86 12 2-3
4 Poco animato 102 46 3-8
5 Quasi allegretto 86 15 8-10
6 Quieto 76 23 10-12
7 Poco animato 96 31 12-16
8 Quieto 76 14 16-17
9 Vivo giocoso 112 97 18-28
10 Quieto 76 12 29
11 Moderato 86 39 30-34
12 Animato 102 10 34-35
13 Vivo giocoso 112 97 36-46
14 Moderato 86 28 46-49
15 Animato 102 17 50-52
16 Moderato 86 24 52-55
17 Quieto 76 15 55-56
Table 2: Sections of The Picture of Dorian Gray II. 
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N. O'LOUGHLIN • IVO PETRIĆ’S ORCHESTRAL INDIAN SUMMER
The second main area of Petrić’s later orchestral music to be considered here is the con-
certo. From his earliest compositions the concerto featured strongly in his output,22 and 
in his last years he produced a number of works which employed a solo instrument 
or instruments, concertos for trumpet (1985–86), alto saxophone (1997), horn (1997), 
marimba (2005), and two concertinos, Pomladni concertino (‘Spring Concertino’) for 
percussionist in 1993 and the Concertino doppio for flute, horn and strings with piano 
in 2007. There were two solo string concertos, Autumn Concerto for violin and orchestra 
(2003) and the Fantasia concertante for viola and orchestra (2011), as well as the Dres-
dener Konzert for strings of 1987 which relies less on the use of solo instruments, and 
the Second Concerto for orchestra of 2009.23 The focus in this paper is on the first three 
solo concertos (for trumpet, saxophone and horn), the two concertinos (Pomladni con-
certino and Concertino doppio) and the Second Concerto for Orchestra.
In these works we can see how Petrić has turned his “reinvented” style to his own 
advantage, instilling into each work recognisable features that identify the composi-
tions in a unique way. Because the composer has an expert knowledge of instrumental 
abilities drawn from his long experience with his performing group, it is no surprise 
then that the character of each concerto is determined to a great extent by the capabili-
ties of the solo instruments used. For each concerto further details of the techniques 
employed are briefly discussed to give some clues to the nature of the works.
The Trumpet Concerto casts the soloist in a clear melodic role. Although there are oc-
casional suggestions of military style, the trumpet here is primarily a singing instrument 
with full chromatic abilities across the whole range. Some of the character of the trumpet 
part can be inferred from Example 1, taken from the second main section, in particular 
the smooth scalic runs, the chromatic alterations within phrases and the highly imagina-
tive rhythmic variety. One notes in particular the alternation of bars of 3/4 and 4/4, the 
two three-note motives, the first consisting of two rising or descending whole tones, and 
the second a falling whole tone followed by a rising semitone (bar 2 and bar 4).
The opening section of the concerto is preparatory in two ways: it introduces 
the main slow first movement, but it also presents some important music. All the in-
struments chart an arch-shape with the melodic material, something which features 
strongly as the work progresses. The trumpet’s music is clearly defined but the ac-
companying music is less easy to hear as the overlapping rising and falling phrases are 
infiltrated into the contrapuntal texture. This is skilfully combined with a rising and 
falling semiquaver figure that is frequently taken by the soloist but also forms part of 
the intricate accompaniment. The main fast section (Allegretto scherzando) uses a bril-
liant combination of the rising and falling semiquaver figure and thematic material pre-
sented by the trumpet in Example 1. The brief slow movement (Largo cantabile) has 
an elaborate trumpet ornamentation with mostly descending heterophonic phrases 
from the orchestra. The transition to the fast final section uses the wa-wa mute in a very 
intense section slightly suggestive of jazz. In the Giocoso vivo the brilliant trumpet part 
elaborates much of the accompanying material.
22 See note 3 for the details of his earliest concertos.
23 This was a new work which used some ideas from the withdrawn Concerto for Orchestra of 1982.
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The second concerto, the Pomladni concertino for percussion, has a completely 
different approach to the melodic material because of the solo instruments used. The 
predominant instrument is the vibraphone, but the more rhythmic sections employ 
the xylophone and the slow section the glockenspiel. Example 2 gives some idea of the 
character of the music for vibraphone with arpeggiated writing which falls naturally 
under the hands. Note though that while the chordal shapes are laid out in traditional 
patterns, the notes do not normally mark out diatonic chords or scales thus keeping 
the tonality in a state of constant flux. Sudden chromatic changes in fast moving scale-
wise passages that were such a feature of the trumpet concerto and also the saxophone 
concerto are not so frequent in this concertino. There are infrequent opportunities for 
chords. The last two lines of Example 2 show a number of two-note chords.
The character of the Pomladni concertino is very vivid with strong instrumental 
colours. The short introduction is highly atmospheric with no clearly defined tonality, 
the chords being built up one note at a time. The free tonality is emphasised by the 
vibraphone’s chromatically inflected chords and melodic phrases. The main opening 
Allegro moderato is interestingly constructed. The vibraphone part (see Example 2) is 
supported by repeated chords on the horns and violins, but it is also complemented 
by a subtle contrapuntal network of phrases from most of the orchestra. This section 
Example 1: Koncert za trobento in orkester (Edicije DSS 1166), pp. 17–21, bars 110–133.
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N. O'LOUGHLIN • IVO PETRIĆ’S ORCHESTRAL INDIAN SUMMER
is divided almost in the middle by a cadenza that develops some of the motives. The 
return to the Allegro moderato is in effect a “recapitulation”, not in the literal sense but 
a reworking of much of the earlier music. For the Scherzando animato, the xylophone 
is introduced almost hesitantly, but soon it displays its virtuosic nature. Again Petrić 
assigns both repeated chords and counterpoints to the orchestra, and also introduces 
a xylophone cadenza fairly close to the end of the section. Surprisingly the slow “move-
ment” uses the glockenspiel with arpeggiated phrases. It is at the end of this section 
that the composer changes to the vibraphone in similar style for the accelerating sec-
tion that leads into the xylophone’s Vivo scherzando. In this part Petrić makes the solo-
ist’s relationship with the orchestra one of dialogue and imitation. The important final 
structural feature of the work is the long coda for vibraphone which recalls a number 
of earlier motives. The formal effect of this section is one of enclosing the potentially 
disparate elements of the work in a neat and tidy way. 
The Concerto for alto-saxophone and orchestra dates from 1997. It treats the instru-
ment in a virtuoso fashion with many florid runs as well as arpeggios as found in the 
Pomladni concertino. Example 3 shows the particularly extravert nature of the solo 
part, with non-diatonic arpeggios and scales and sudden shifts of harmonies within 
Example 2: Pomladni concertino (Composer’s score: www.ivopetric.com), pp. 3–7, bars 
9–39.
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the same phrase. The full range of the instrument is employed to great effect. Rhyth-
mic phrases are sometimes repeated with different notes, but more often the rhythmic 
structures are changed at each appearance giving the work unity without any form of 
predictability. One is reminded from time to time of various aspects of jazz idiom even 
though the music owes only a very small amount to the style. Rhythmic flexibility is 
important in defining the character of the solo part, with syncopation frequently used 
as part of this process (see bars 3–10 of Example 3).
Brief rhythmic ostinatos prepare the listener for the dramatic opening giocoso 
entry of the saxophone (see Example 3). The passage is accompanied by subtle and 
intriguing counterpoints, notably from the celesta and vibraphone, in a movement of 
delicate orchestration. In fact, the light textural weavings of the orchestra prove a per-
fect foil to the virtuoso solo line. An extended cadenza, sometimes accompanied by 
percussion, leads into the dreamily chromatic Andante moderato whose contrapuntal 
Example 3: Koncert za alt-saxophon in orkester (Composer’s Score: www.ivopetric.
com), pp. 2–5, bars 13–40.
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N. O'LOUGHLIN • IVO PETRIĆ’S ORCHESTRAL INDIAN SUMMER
string textures allow the solo to stand out. Another cadenza, now brief and again ac-
companied by percussion, leads to the final Vivo giocoso, rhythmically solid to anchor 
the saxophone’s fluid passage work with its numerous syncopations. The only inter-
ruption to the section’s momentum is a sixteen-bar Andante which recalls some earlier 
thematic material, before the final return to the fast tempo launched with stamping 
four-note chords (B flat, D flat, A flat, C).
The Concerto for horn and orchestra is the most serious of the concertos presented 
here. It is less concerned with elaborate exuberance than the Saxophone Concerto or 
the playful rhythmic xylophone sections of the Pomladni concertino. Example 4 pre-
sents a passage in the slow third main section that is the emotional heart of the work. 
In many ways its melodic lines are similar in some ways to those of Gustav Mahler and 
show the same generally easy movement by step or small leaps. Petrić, of course, does 
not use Mahler’s tonal language so the frequent chromatic inflections are not linked 
to diatonic harmony as Mahler’s are, but they still have the same emotional effect. The 
arch shape of many of Mahler’s melodic lines is also found in Petrić’s concerto and in 
particular the slow section (or movement) shown in Example 4, something also noted 
in the earlier part of the Trumpet Concerto. 
The opening section is an extended movement without obvious changes of tempo 
(Moderato mosso) and leads into a similarly structured Allegretto scherzando move-
ment. Orchestral textures are exquisitely imagined and carefully gauged with an 
Example 4: Koncert za rog in orkester (Composer’s Score: www.ivopetric.com), pp. 
39–42, bars 295–324.
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emphasis on high and low sounds leaving the middle register clear for the horn to 
sound effectively. There is an emphasis on motives that are extensively transformed 
and used for structural definition. The scherzando movement merges into a caden-
za-like section accompanied by percussion, piano and harp. This leads directly into 
the slow movement, richly harmonised, at first by the strings and then by the wind to 
accompany the horn’s expansive melodic line (see Example 4). The finale (Allegro) 
reintroduces motives from earlier in the work in further development of the musical 
material. Unlike the florid ending of the Saxophone Concerto but more like the longer 
slow coda that concludes Pomladni concertino, Petrić broadens the tempo, Poco larga-
mente e maestoso, which allows the soloist to end emphatically with a modern fanfare.
While Petrić has composed a large number of solo concertos, the Concertino dop-
pio of 2006 for flute, horn, strings and piano is a rare example of a double concerto.24 
24 There were two concertante works from 1975 for two instruments Gemini Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra and Gemini 
Concertino for violin, horn and six instruments
Example 5: Doppio concertino (Composer’s Score: www.ivopetric.com), pp. 5–6, bars 
68–79.
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It offered a good opportunity to contrast and combine the techniques and individual 
characters of the different instruments. In it Petrić creates broad, sweeping melodic 
lines for the horn and more florid scalic runs and arpeggio-type figures for the flute, 
which are carefully woven together (see Example 5), occasionally assisted by the piano. 
The main string body varies its contribution from simple chordal accompaniments to 
imitative, contrapuntal melodic phrases using some of the motives originally played by 
the two soloists. The composer again casts the work in a single multi-tempo movement 
(see Table 3), all 292 bars in 4/4 time, except for bar 235 which is in 5/4 time. The main 
sections are moderately fast (Più mosso), fast (Vivo giocoso) and fairly slow (Moderato). 
The extended Vivo giocoso returns as the finale, interrupted only by a short but beauti-
ful contrapuntal Largo for the flute and horn with a walking pizzicato double bass part 
and some interjections from the piano. 
 
Section Tempo Metronome Bars Pages
1 Moderato 86 10 1
2 Più mosso 96 92 1-8
3 Moderato 86 6 8
4 Vivo giocoso 112 40 8-13
5 Moderato 86 19 13-15
6 Più largo 76 5 15
7 Più mosso 96 30 16-18
8 Moderato mosso 96 34 19-22
9 Vivo giocoso 112 27 22-25
10 Largo 76 10 25
11 Vivo giocoso 112 19 26-27
Table 3: Sections of Concertino doppio. 
The “Concerto for Orchestra” as the title for an orchestral work has a long tradition which 
stretches back to the 1920s. The most famous work with this title, of course, is that by Béla 
Bartók which dates from 1943, but preceding it were the Concerto for Orchestra by Paul 
Hindemith (1925) and another by Zoltán Kodály (1939–40), as well as the works entitled 
Koncert za orkester by Lucijan Marija Škerjanc of 1926 and by Slavko Osterc of 1932. 
Since Bartók’s work the title has been very commonly used by many composers, for ex-
ample Witold Lutosławski (1954), Michael Tippett (1963), Roberto Gerhard (1965), Elliott 
Carter (1970) and others. In most cases it was intended to be a showpiece in which all the 
instruments are to display their capabilities, although some composers hesitated to make 
the work a virtuoso composition for orchestral instruments. Originally Petrić composed 
his Concerto for Orchestra in 1982, but was dissatisfied with it. In 2009 he wrote a new 
work which used some of the music from the original, now in normal barred notation, 
which he called Second Concerto for Orchestra.
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Like Bartók’s, Petrić’s Second Concerto for Orchestra is cast in five movements in an 
arch plan (fast, slow, fast, slow, fast), but unlike its predecessor with the central move-
ment faster than the two flanking movements (see Table 4). Further differences are that 
it plays without a break and lasts only fourteen minutes. 
Section Tempo Metre Metronome* Bars Pages
1 Vivo ed energico   2/2 96 90 1-10
2 Andante          3/4 92 50 11-15
3 Allegretto giocoso  3/4 112 94 16-27
4 Moderato         4/4 86 50 28-34
5 Allegretto giocoso  3/4 102 126 35-50
*Minim beat for first movement, crotchet beat for movements 2 to 5.
Table 4: Sections of the Second Concerto for Orchestra. 
As in all works such as this it is natural to turn to the use of the orchestra. Petrić used 
a full orchestra with a large percussion section, which is extensively employed in the 
faster sections. While the first movement makes great play with many repeated quavers, 
the two movements marked Allegretto giocoso have much more interesting percussive 
patterns from bongos, woodblocks and various drums. Tuned percussion (xylophone 
and marimba especially) are liberally used, sometimes in their melodic guises and at 
others to double the woodwind lines. In the faster sections the woodwind play in both 
homophonic and imitative textures. A particularly notable two-part passage for clarinet 
and bass clarinet appears in the third movement. Passages for solo instruments are more 
common in the slower second and fourth movements. For example the opening of the 
second fourth movement features a beautiful cor anglais solo that twists and turns un-
predictably (Example 6), while similar solos for cello, viola and violin are found in the 
Example 6: Second Concerto for orchestra (Composer’s Score: www.ivopetric.com), pp. 
28–30, bars 239–52.
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second movement which begins with an extended bass clarinet solo. The brass section is 
used in the traditional fashion of strengthening textures, but also with short passages of 
important melodic writing. Formally the structure does not follow traditional plans, but 
rather consist of a constant development of motives. 
To sum up Petrić’s contribution to the orchestral repertory in his last years, two are-
as should be emphasised. The first is that the composer always valued the nature of the 
different instruments and the contribution that they make to a total texture. In some 
ways it is the sound quality or colour in which he was interested, but in other ways it 
is also the fluid technique of woodwind, the expressive and florid nature of the string 
instruments, the majesty of the brass and the rhythmic verve of the percussion. This is 
emphatically the case with the Second Concerto for Orchestra. The second is the grasp 
of effective musical form. Some works, notably the concertos for trumpet, percussion, 
saxophone and horn, as well as Štirje letni časi (‘Four Seasons’) display a subtle but 
clear acknowledgement of traditional forms, but disguise the process by means of skil-
ful transitions and unorthodox ‘insertions’. Other works, for example, Groharjeve im-
presije II (‘Grohar’s Impressions II’), The Picture of Dorian Gray II and the Concertino 
doppio, explore a single-movement flexible approach which knits together the many 
different tempos in a plan which mostly moves by step from one speed to the next, 
either faster or slower. In short, it is his delight in the effective use of instruments and 
his wonderfully refreshing view or review of traditional forms that characterise these 
impressive works. It is not unreasonable to call this late blossoming of orchestral inspi-
ration by Petrić as his “Orchestral Indian Summer”.
Appendix
Ivo Petrić’s orchestral works composed since 1983
Leipziger Kammermusik (1983)
Concerto for trumpet and orchestra (1985–86)
Dresdener Konzert (1987)
Moods and Temperaments (1987)
After So Many Years (1988-89)
Gallus Metamorphoses (1991–92)
Pomladni concertino (1993)
Pesem življenja - Song of Life [third version] (1995)
Štirje letni časi - Four Seasons (1995–96, revised 2002)
Pomladna simfonija – Spring Symphony (1996)
From Scottish Diary (1996)
Jesenska simfonija – Autumn Symphony (1996)
Concerto for horn and orchestra (1997)
Concerto for saxophone and orchestra (1997)
Groharjeve impresije II - Grohar’s Impressions II (1998, revised 2003)
Three Places in Scotland (2000)
Autumn Concerto for violin and orchestra (2003)
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Scottish Impressions (2003)
Concerto for marimba and orchestra (2005)
Concertino doppio for flute, horn and strings (2007)
Chamber Symphony 96 07 (2007)
Toccata giociosa (2008)
The Picture of Dorian Gray II (2008)
Second Concerto for orchestra (2009)
Landscapes of Memories (2010)
Fantasia concertante for viola and orchestra (2011)
Places for My Soul (2015)
POVZETEK
Skladatelj Ivo Petrić (1931–2018) se je osredinjal na 
inštrumentalno, v glavnem orkestralno glasbo – še 
zlasti v poznih letih. Od leta 1983 je uglasbil vsaj 
27 del za orkester, ki so vsa napisana v običajnih 
metričnih oblikah, pri čemer je nekatera predelal 
iz starejših različic v aleatoričnih notacijah. Med 
njimi nekatera ustvarjajo zunajglasbene povezave, 
medtem ko so druga kot taka neprogramska. Študija 
se posveča tistim delom, povezanim s Slovenijo 
in tistim s koncertno obliko, ki je bila skladatelju 
najljubša. Petrićeve Gallusove metamorfoze črpa-
jo nekatere glasbene dele iz Gallusovih motetov, 
njegova Pesem življenja se naslanja na besede 
slovenskih pesnikov Srečka Kosovela, Ivana Can-
karja in Franceta Forstneriča, slike Ivana Groharja 
pa so navdahnile Groharjeve impresije II in Štiri 
letne čase na nekoliko zrahljan programski način. 
Poleg tega temelji Slika Doriana Grayja II na 
romanu irskega pisatelja Oscarja Wilda, v skladbi 
pa skladatelj v enem stavku z več tempi upodobi 
zgodbo v glasbeni preobrazbi. Solistični koncerti 
za trobento, tolkala, saksofon in rog slikajo celostno 
zavedanje zmogljivosti vsakega od inštrumentov 
in to v delih, ki so modelirana po prefinjenih raz-
širitvah tradicionalnih oblik. Concertino doppio in 
Drugi Koncert za orkester se poslužujeta fleksibilne 
oblike z več tempi iz Groharjeve impresije II in Slike 
Doriana Grayja II in obe kažeta jasno zavedanje 
sposobnosti sodobnih glasbenikov ter karakterja 
in tehnik njihovih inštrumentov. 
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