Uhlik, Tomislav: Melancholy Variations, for harp

Melancholy Variations were commissioned by the Osor Musical Evenings festival, where they were premiered on August 8, 1991, by harpist Marija Mlinar, to whom the composition is dedicated. In these variations for an instrument to which Uhlik is particularly inclined, he brings forth the melancholy of traditional music and the poetic expressiveness of vocal music that characterizes his oeuvre. Thanks to this, the composition has gained recognition within the harp community and is regarded as the most performed piece for harp in Croatian contemporary music literature.

We would like to thank the late Rajka Dobronić-Mazzoni for her expert contribution to the realization of the first edition of the Melancholy Variations for harp, upon which this edition is largely based.