Description
Impressions for Saxophone and Orchestra Theodorakis • Skalkottas • Antoniou • Alexiadis • Tenidis • Hadjidakis Mikis Theodorakis is among the most popular and prolific composers of Greece. Without question, he is the best-known Greek composer internationally. He was born on the island of Chios, Greece, on 29 July 1925. He studied at the Athens Conservatory, and, subsequently, at the Paris Conservatoire (music analysis with Olivier Messiaen and conducting with Eugène Bigot). From 1954 to 1960 he worked in Paris and London, composing symphonic music, ballet and film music, Zorba the Greek being his most famous score. In 1960 he placed himself as a leader of the regenerative cultural-political movement in Greece centered on the union of poetry and music, composing dozens of song-cycles, oratorios, revues and music for Greek drama among other things. This movement was connected with the progressive political forces of that period, which aimed, beyond the establishment of democratic life in Greece, at a much deeper and broader rebirth of the Greek people. This was to bring him often at the centre of political life, reaching a climax with his active participation in the resistance movement against the military dictatorship (1967-74).Cretan Concertino (2005) is an arrangement by Yannis Samprovalakis, written for Theodore Kerkezos. It was initially composed in 1952 as a Sonatina for Violin and Piano No. 1 (Cretan). The work bears the name 'Cretan' because it incorporates elements of music that can be found on Crete. The first movement is based on traditional Syrtos Chaniotikos motives, and is similar to the third one, which describes a Cretan feast: the solo imitates the Cretan lyra and the timpani the balothiés (pistol shots fired in the air during feasts), while the orchestra repeats a dance-like ostinato rhythm (Sousta), often interrupted by natural sounds of the island. During the second movement a lyrical mood, also very characteristic of the people of Crete, is evoked. The narrative saxophone cadenza follows the atmosphere of a silent summer night painted by the strings and the harp.Theodorakis composed his Adagio for soprano saxophone, percussion and strings in 1993. The work was commissioned by the Italian trumpet-player Mauro Maur. The first version of the Adagio was written for trumpet or flute or clarinet, strings and percussion. It is dedicated to the victims of the Bosnian war: during the recapitulation of the main theme, which is full of sadness, one can hear the tam-tam imitating the sound of the bombardment. The melodic material he uses is drawn from a song belonging to the cycle Beatrice on Zero Street.Nikos Skalkottas is considered to be one of the greatest pioneer composers of the twentieth century. He was born on 8 March 1904, in Chalkis. He started playing the violin at the age of five and graduated in 1920, obtaining First Prize and Gold Medal, from
