Greek Sacred Music Works for Piano Solo and Two Pianos

"And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock…"

— Matthew 27:59-60

Eminent conductors and pianists Constantinos Carydis and Nikolaos Laaris collaborate again for the first time in a long time, performing a selection of Greek works for solo piano and two pianos inspired by the relationship between man and the Divine. The pair draw from the great Greek composers of the past: Nikos Skalkottas explored religiosity in his “Andante religioso”, Dimitri Mitropoulos surveyed monasticism in his Béatrice –music he would later include in his opera Soeur Béatrice– and they respectively composed “Marcia funebra” and Burial for man's inevitable departure from the earthly world. Alongside them, contemporary composers such as Periklis Koukos and Giorgos Koumendakis, as well as composers from the Greek diaspora around the world: Minas Borboudakis, from Munich, tackles the concept of purgation in Katharsis and George Tsontakis, from New York, offers some of his Twenty Gratitudes for the Teachings of Jesus. In addition, two new transcriptions by Constantinos Carydis of orchestral works by Mitropoulos and Koukos will be performed for the first time.

Programme

Giorgos Koumendakis (b. 1959)
Three Mediterranean Herbs
from Mediterranean Desert [Mesogeios erimos], for piano solo (1998-2000)
1. Thyme [Thymari]*

***

Nikos Skalkottas (1904-1949)
32 Piano Pieces (1940)
1. Andante religioso†

Dimitri Mitropoulos (1896-1960)
Béatrice, for piano solo (1915)†

Nikos Skalkottas
32 Piano Pieces
9. Marcia funebra†

Giorgos Koumendakis
Three Mediterranean Herbs
from Mediterranean Desert
2. Spearmint [Dyosmos]*

***

George Tsontakis (b. 1949)
Twenty Gratitudes for the Teachings of Jesus, for piano solo (2023)†
11. Get thee behind me, Satan
6. My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
13. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light
Composition sponsor: The George and Victoria Karelias Foundation

***

Dimitri Mitropoulos
Burial [Taphi, 1915]*†
Transcription for two pianos Constantinos Carydis
By permission of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Archives, Dimitri Mitropoulos Papers

***

Giorgos Koumendakis
Three Mediterranean Herbs
from Mediterranean Desert
3. Sage [Faskomilo]*

Intermission

Periklis Koukos (b. 1960)
Ιn memoriam Y. A. Papaioannou (Μarcia funebre), for piano solo (1989)*

Minas Borboudakis (b. 1974)
Katharsis, for piano solo (2002)*

Periklis Koukos
Chorika (Choruses, 2006)*†
1. Largo – Allegro vivace
2. Adagio
3. Adagio con espressione
4. Grave misterioso – Andante tranquillo – Presto energico
Transcription for two pianos Constantinos Carydis

* = Constantinos Carydis
† = Νikolaos Laaris

BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Nikos Laaris

Studied piano at the Royal College of Music in London, conducting at Conservatorium van Amsterdam, earned his DMA and taught at the Manhattan School of Music, and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Macedonia. He has performed in the USA (Carnegie Hall), United Kingdom (South Bank Centre), and Germany (Gärtnerplatztheater), and has collaborated as a soloist with the Athens State Orchestra and Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra. He has participated in the performances: Shards, Philip Glass: Études for Piano, Book I – An Audiovisual Performance (NOSTOS Festival, animation: Georgios Cherouvim), John Cage: The Keyboards (Onassis Stegi), Bernstein: An Anniversary and George Tsontakis’ Twenty Gratitudes for the Teachings of Jesus (Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall, sponsor: George and Victoria Karelia Foundation). The critics praised him as “a fine artist” (The Times) and “star of the evening” (Dance Europe for the ballet Goldberg Variations – Bavarian State Ballet). He has conducted the operas: In the Penal Colony by Philip Glass (Onassis Stegi), The Air of Greece by George Tsontakis (GNO Alternative Stage); the musicals: West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein, Kiss Me Kate by Cole Porter (Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall), The Phantom of the Opera; and the operetta The Godson by Theophrastos Sakellaridis (Olympia Theatre).

Constantinos Carydis

Constantinos Carydis’ recent appearances include performances at the BBC Proms in London‘s Royal Albert Hall with Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen as well as invitations from Wiener Symphoniker, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Filarmonica della Scala, Oslo Philharmonic and a new production of Idomeneo at the Bavarian State Opera’s Munich Opera Festival. The 2023/24 season leads him to orchestras such as the Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. He will also return to work with WDR Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg and Wiener Symphoniker. Constantinos Carydis has previously worked with orchestras such as the Wiener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Münchner Philharmoniker, Bamberger Symphoniker, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich or City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.