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Giorgos Konstantinou - Pianist MMus
Soloist and Pedagogue
President & Artistic Director of “Concert Theatre-Cohilia Festival Association”
There is no more impressive site in the world than the temple of Apollo at Delphi on Mount Parnassus; of all the glorious holy places, this site of the Oracle of Delphi established the link between music and mystery. The word music itself comes from the Greek word musiki meaning all the arts of the nine Muses. Apollo, son of Zeus, was the leader of the Muses, as master athlete and warrior, as well as, master musician . Mount Parnassus came to be thought of as the home of music. Yehudi Menuhin “The Music of Man” Actually, there has always been a dialogue between Greek music and Music of other Nations initiated by the most eminent Greek composers. Here below I am presenting the most important contemporary ones.
Spyros Samaras (1861-1917)
His name is identified with the idea of the Olympic Games, supreme symbol of the ideals of friendship and noble competition among countries. He composed the nowadays Olympic Anthem first presented in 1896 and remaining as such until 1912, succeeded by other anthems. Specifically in 1954, the International Olympic Committee conducted a competition for the composition of the Anthem. The jury was made by Natalia Boulanger, Gian Francesco Malipiero, Pablo Casals, Dmitri Shostakovitch, and Carlos Chavez, and the prize was given to the Polish composer Micha Spisak. This one was performed in ceremonies and the Olympics of 1956. Finally,at the Tokyo meeting in 1958,the International Olympic Committee voted for the return to the “roots” and proceeded to adopt the Samaras-Palamas (Greek poet) anthem as the official one of the hoisting and lowering of the flag of the Olympic Games. Samaras lived and studied in Milan-Italy, from where he derived quite explicit influences in all his compositions, especially in his operatic works, like the opera “Flora Mirabilis” which was even performed for the celebrations of the wedding of Crown Prince Konstantine.
Manolis Kalomiris (1883-1962)
Born in Smyrna, he attended school in Constantinople and studied Piano and composition in Vienna. After working for a few years as a piano teacher in Kharkov, he settled in Athens and he worked with his great friend Raam Ravi. An admirer of Richard Wagner, Rimsky Korsakoff, Kostis Palamas (Greek poet) and Nickos Kazantzakis (Greek writer), he set himself the life goal of establishing a Greek “national school” of music based on the ideas of the Russian national composers, on western musical achievements and on modern Greek folk music, poetry and myth. He thus founded in 1960 the National Conservatory. Kalomiris wrote three symphonies and five operas, one piano concerto Aad one violin concertino, other symphonic works, chamber music and numerous songs and piano works. He held various public posts and Was elected member of the Academy of Athens. A passionate composer he has a personal post romantic idiom characterized by his rich Harmonies and orchestrations, by complex counterpoint, by his long Eastern melodies which feature in Smyrna, Byzantine and Ottoman Elements, and also by the frequent use of Greek folk rhythms.
Nickos Skalkotas (1904-1949)
He lived in Berlin (1921-1933) where he first took violin lessons at the Prussian Academy of arts with Willy Hess. Deciding in 1923 to give up his career as a violonist and become a composer, he studied composition with Paul Kahn, Paul Juon, Kurt Weill, and Philip Jarnach. He became a member of Arnold Schoenberg’s Masterclass in composition (1927-1930). Schoenberg continued to rate him highly as a composer, despite the conflict in their relations. Skalkotas wrote prolifically, mainly in his personal post Schoenbergian idiom. He also did transcriptions of Greek folk songs into western-music scores.
Ianis Christou (1926-1970)
Born in Heliopolis-Egypt, he took his first piano lessons at an English school in Alexandria, and among his teachers was Gina Bachauer. He gained an MA in philosophy from Cambridge. During the same time he studied music with Hans Redlich, and later in Rome with Angelo Lavagnino, and in Zurich with Carl Jung. His contribution to the world music anthology is often thought to fall into three broad periods: the freely atonal, the “meta-serialism” whose main emphasis is on polyphony, rhythmic dynamism and instrumental colours, and the 3rd period characterized by his own notation and the stress on the improvisatory element.
Dimitris Mitropoulos (1896-1960)
Conductor, Pianist, and Composer. He studied in Brussels and Berlin with Feruccio Busoni. At 1930in a concert with the Berlin Philarmonic he played the solo part of Prokofiev’s piano concerto No.3 and conducted the orchestra from the keyboard, becoming one of the first modern musicians to do so. Mitropoulos conducted the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Minneapolis symphonic Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic, initially as co-conductor with Leopold Stokowski and in 1951 becoming the sole music director. He expanded the Philharmonic’s repertoire, commissioning works by new composers and championing the symphonies of Gustav Mahler. Also, from 1954 till his death in 1960, he was the principal conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, collaborating with the most eminent soloists. We should not omit mentioning here his historical collaborations with the Greek Soprano Maria Callas. Dimitris Mitropoulos’-Maria Callas’ incisive and dramatically vivid performances of Pucini, Verdi, Richard Strauss and others, remain Models of the Opera Art. Dimitris Mitripoulos’ impact on the music profession was very important. He was noted as a champion of modern music, such as that by the Second Viennese School. He also wrote a number of pieces for solo piano. He arranged some of J.S.Bach’s organ works for Orchestra. In addition he was very influential in encouraging Leonard Bernstein’s interest in conducting performances of Mahler’s symphonic works. He also premiered and recorded a piano concerto by Ernst Krenek as soloist, and American composers Roger Sessions, Peter Mennin and Philip Bezanson.
Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001)
Composer, music theorist and architect. He is commonly recognized as One of the most important post-war avant-garde composers. Xenakis Pioneered the use of mathematical models such as applications of “set Theory”, varied use of “stochastic processes”, “game theory”etc. in music And was also an important influence on the development of electronic Music. Among his most important works are METASTASEIS (1953-4) For orchestra which introduced independent parts for every musician of The orchestra; percussions works such as PSAPPHA (1975) and PLEIADES (19790; compositions that introduced spazialization byDispersing musicians among the audience, such as TERRTEKTORH (1966) ; electronic works created using his UPIC System; and the massive multimedia performances which he called “polytopes”. As an architect Xenakis is known for his, among others, PHILIPS PAVILION at “Expo 58”. The dual nature of “Metastaseis” and the Pavilion are an example of Xenakis; theory of meta-art = the concept that an artistic expression can be realized mathematically in any artistic medium. Xenakis’ primary teachers of composition were Arthur Honegger, who tried to humiliate the student because he refused to “correct” the piece, and so he left him to study with Darius Milhaud, whom he also left, as Xenakis found Milhaud’s imposed restrictions arbitrary and inessential. Then he approached Olivier Messiaen for compositional advice. Messiaen, whose own compositional style did not follow established precedents, did not try to impose the limitations of “baroque” counterpoint or”serialism” as previous teachers had, but rather let Xenakis find his own musical ideas and guided them along. Xenakis attended Messian’s “Paris Conservatoire” classes regularly, and his confidence grew along with his compositional skill; he would shortly thereafter combine the mathematical ideas with the musical tools and produce his first pieces. Xenakis’ notable students include Pascal Dusapin and Robert Cart. Composers who have been acknowledged as being influenced by him are Penderecki-Poland, Transeau-USA, Takemitsu-Japan. Xenakis is the founder of „Center of Automatic and Mathematical Music“ In Paris, and of similar center at Indiana University in USA, as well as, Professor at Gresham college in London.
Mikis Theodorakis (1925- )
He studied in Paris musical analysis under Olivier Messiaen, His symphonic works received international acclaims. In 1957 he won the Golden Medal in Moscow Musical festival. President of the jury was Dmitri Shostakovitch. In 1959 Darius Milhaud proposed him for the “America Copley Music Prize” as “The Best European Composer of the Year” after the successful performance of his ballet “Antigone” at Covent Garden in London. In 1967 Theodorakis was arrested and jailed by the Greek junta (the regime of the colonels) for his democratic activity and revolutionary music and five months later was sent in exile in Paris. For four years he fought for the overthrow of the colonels and the restoration of democracy giving thousands of concerts worldwide, while meeting with Pablo Neruda (Spain) and Salvador Alliente (Chile), Naser (Egypt) and Tito(Jugoslavia), Yasser Arafat(Palestine), Francois Mitterand (France), and Olof Palme (Sweden). His music for Michael Kakogiannis’ film “Zorba the Greek”, with the American actor Antony Quinn in the first role – whose main theme is also known as “syrtaki dance”, exists as a trademark for Greece. Theodorakis developed his concept of “metasymphonic music” which means, symphonic compositions that go beyond the “classical status and mix symphonic elements with popular songs, western symphonic orchestra and Greek popular instruments.
Dimitris Anousis (1980- )
He studied in Greece and Hungary at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music composition, orchestration, piano and accordion. His compositions combine elements deriving influences from the Russian romantic and neoclassic composers such as Rimsky Korsakoff and Dmitri Shostakovitch, the French Maurice Ravel, as well as, national composers From other countries like Aram Khachaturian, Bella Bartok, M. De Falla. Jazz, traditional, as well as pop music elements are also detected in his Works. All of the above influences delimit his style that is characterized by an extended tonal environment that keeps always bonds with the classic art of the past or with experimental hearings, taking into consideration the “golden rule” of simplicity. And Dimitris Anousis says “Music has the power to evoke nations’ soul.” |
Panel № 7 Cultural