Overture Vlad Prince of Wallachia commissioned by London Schubert Players chamber Orchestra and performed on December 10-th in London, conductor Florin Totan. See review.
   The composer explains: “The Overture starts Allegro Maestoso, introducing Prince Vlad as a tragic hero, constantly aware of and overwhelmed by the imperative to defend again and again his rich country against repetead Turkish invasions. We hear the invaders, the pounding of their horses hooves coming closer and closer in a fanatical rhythm; then the raging of the battle; Vlad in restart thinking up ingenious strategies; a requiem for the dead, followed by revival of the impulse to resume the fight, this time even more dramatically. The optimistic sound of the trumpet heralds news of every bastion regained from the invaders. A dialogue between the strings and winds, expressing the beauty of life, its sensuality, mystery and the urge to survive, is interrupted by the stark reality of the fight starting again. After the violins` indomitable refrain, symbolizing the eternal dream of freedom and beauty, the winds celebrate the exhilaration of victory. However, the dark ending reminds us of imminent perils ahead. “
   Vlad Tepes is regarded as one of the great figures of Romanian history.
   Three times, he was ruler of Wallachia between 1448 and 1475. Wallachia is the south - easternmost province of Romania, today the seat of the country’s capital Bucharest. In the 15th century, the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia were Christian Europe’s front-line against the Ottoman Turks. Prince Vlad, known as “Vlad the Dragon”(Dracul) because his shield bore a cross and dragon emblem, campaigned against the Turks, scoring several victories until he was killed in 1476 by a Wallachian rival collaborating with Sultan Mohammed II.
   American film director Francis Ford Coppola briefly evokes Vlad’s character and those battles at the beginning of his masterpiece “Dracula”.