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Program Notes

- Des Knaben Wunderhorn (2004) -

The re-orchestration of Mahler's songs from the cycle "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" started as a project commissioned from the festival "Heures Romantiques de Monthodon" and its artistic director Udo Reineman. Fourteen songs had to be reduced from their original orchestral form to a ensemble of seventeen players and further I had to orchestrate four songs from the same cycle, never orchestrated by Mahler before, from the Piano score to the same ensemble.
The total instrumentation of the ensemble is:Flute, Oboe/E. Horn, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn in F, Trumpet in C, Piano, Harmonium, Harp, Percussion (3 players), 2 Violins, Viola, Violoncello, D. Bass.

For this re-orchestration I tried to keep as much as possible close to the original songs, following Schoenberg's line as he did in his re-orchestration of the "Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen" cycle. I added only Piano and Harmonium, instruments that are not in the original orchestration, trying to compensate for the absence of many "harmony filling" instruments that are available in the orchestra version as well as keeping the "orchestra" sound without loosing the transparency and colour diversity of Mahler's music.
For the orchestration of the other 4 songs I worked more freely trying always to be as close as possible to the colours and the orchestration techniques that Mahler used in his music.

The songs that I re-orchestrated and their detailed instrumentation are:

- Revelge:

Fl., Ob., Cl. in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Trp. In C, Timpani, Perc. ( Snare Drum, Cymbal, Triangle, Bass Drum, Tam-Tam), Pno., Hrm., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Das Irdishe leben:

Fl., Ob., Cl. in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Trp. In C, Perc.(Cymbal), Pno., Hrm., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Verlor'ne Muh:

Fl., Ob., Cl. in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Perc. (Triangle), Pno., Hrm., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Rheinlegendchen:

Fl., Ob., Cl. in A, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Der Tambourg'sell:

Ob./En.Hrn., Cl in B, Bsn.,Timpani, Perc.( Field Drum, Bass Drum, Tam-Tam, Cymbal ), Pno., Hrm., Vlc., D. B.

- Der Schildwache Nachtlied:

Fl., Ob., Cl. in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Trp. In C, Timpani, Perc. ( Snare Drum, Cymbal, Triangle, Bass Drum), Pno., Hrm., Hrp., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht?:

Fl., Ob., Cl. in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Perc.(triangle), Hrm., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Lob des hohen Verstandes:

Fl., Ob., Cl in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Trp.in C, Pno., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Lied des Verflogten im Turme:

Fl., Ob., Cl.in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Trp. in C, Timpani, Pno., Hrm., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Trost im Ungluck:

Fl., Ob., Cl. in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Trp. In C, Timpani, Perc. ( Snare Drum, Triangle), Pno., Hrm., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Wo die schonen Trompeten blassen:

Fl., Ob., Cl., in B, Hrn. in F, Trp. In C, Hrm., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Himmlischen Freuden:

Fl., Ob./E.Hrn, Cl. in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Trp. In C, Timpani, Perc. ( Cymbal, Triangle, Sl. Bells), Pno., Hrm., Hrp., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Urlicht :

Fl., Ob., Cl. in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Trp. In C, Pno., Hrm., Hrp., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt:

Fl., Ob., Cl. in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Timpani, Perc. (Cymbal, Triangle, Tam-Tam , B. Drum), Pno., Hrm., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

The newly orchestrated songs are:

- Zu Strassbourg auf der Schanz:

Fl., Ob., Cl.in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Perc. ( Snare Drum), Pno., Hrm., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Nicht Wiedersehen!:

Fl., Ob., Cl.in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Pno., Hrm., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Ablosung im Sommer:

Fl., Ob., Cl.in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F, Perc. ( Triangle), Pno., Hrm., Vln. I, Vln. II, Vla., Vlc., D.B.

- Selbstgefuhl.:

Fl., Ob., Cl.in B, Bsn., Hrn. in F

The work already has been performed by:

- The Heures Romantiques de Monthodon Ensemble conducted by Udo Reineman,(France, 2001).
       - Remix Ensemble conducted by Peter Rundel. William Dazeley, baritone and Christiane Iven, Mezzo-Soprano (Porto, Casa da Musica, 2004).
       - Bodų Sinfonietta conducted by Christian von Gehren. Regine Vesterlid Strųm, Mezzo-Soprano (Bodų, Norway, 2009 ).
       - Festival of Flanders (3 concerts) , Ensemble Emanon conducted by Raf de Keninck. Margriet van Reisen, Mezzo-Soprano (Ghent,Deinze,Hele Belgium, 2009).

All the scores and the performance material of the above songs (both low and high Soprano versions) have been published and are available at the Dutch publishing houseDonemus.

score examples
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- Ik (2004) -

For Clarinet Solo and Ensemble

       Who we really are,
       Who we wish to be,
       How do we present our self to the outer world?

Those are the main questions that I try to investigate with IK.
A trip of a person, breaking down all his defenses, arriving to the essence of his existence.

" Ik " is the first part of a Music and Dance performance with the name "ADDA", orginised from EnsembleEmanon and the Belgian choreographer Randi De Vlieghe. "Ik" has being premiered in Kortrijkse Schouwburg, in Belgium the 27 of May 2004 with Ensemble Emanon and soloist Raf De Keninck.

- Antiparathesis (2000 - 2001) -

For Violin Solo and Orchestra

"Antiparathesis" (Contradistinction) is a piece that I worked on the last two years of my studies.
I was always fascinated by the orchestra as a living organism and its inner dynamism. In Antiparathesis I tried more to explore these dynamics and their relationship to an external element, the solo Violin. A relationship varying through out the piece, being mainly the solo Violin an observer, sometimes commenting, agreeing and other times trying to survive the even brutal forces of the orchestra. This antithetic relationship I tried also to use in the form of the piece with sections contradicting each other, arriving to the core of the piece, the part of the solo Violin with percussion, a section that replaces the traditional Cadenza. Even with this part reminding to a Cadenza, Antiparathesis doesn't have the form of a traditional Violin Concerto. After this section, the violin is the main character, the narrator that tells his story. But this also not for long, the orchestra takes over and the only thing that remains to the solo to survive is a scream.

Antiparathesis has been premiered in Amsterdam the 31 of May 2002 from Nederlands Ballet Orkest, conducted by Peter Rundel and soloist Hebe Mensinga .

The score and the performance material of Antiparathesis have been published and are available at the Dutch publishing houseDonemus.

score examples
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- Eos (2004) -

For Piano, Live Electronics and Tape

       Eos is the reflection of the first light on the morning sky. The moment that darkness is breaking, the moment that its shadows are taking shape and we, for the first time, can get a clearer view of their reality. A game between the surreal world and our way of interpretating him.
       Eos shadows are the tracks of another reality, a reality that is not possible to grasp. A reality that goes over our understanding and connects us with the non-real imaginary world.
       They are shadows of our past and our cultural heritage and they are morphing the way of our understanding and the answers that we give to our questions. A sum of observations that mixes with memories.
       How do we perceive and interpretate this reality and events, the nature and the way that we look on them is something that I try to investigate in this work.The first ideas for this piece came while reading the book of F. Pessoa “ The hour of the Devil ”. A line: “Darkness-Temptation-Magic-Destiny-Infinity”, the names of the five continuous movements of the piece, formed a basic point of departure to this investigation.

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- Nyx (2005) -

For Orchestra

Nyx is the goddess and embodiment of the night. According to Hesiod in his " Theogony " : "From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night Nyx; of Night were born Aether being the bright upper atmosphere and Day Hemera, whom she conceived and bore from union with Erebus her brother. Also she bore the Destinies and ruthless avenging Fates who were regarded as old women occupied in spinning. Also Night bore Nemesis Indignation to afflict mortal men, and after her, Deceit Apate and Friendship and hateful Age and hard-hearted Strife".
Aristophanes in his "Birds" also writes about Nyx: "In the infinite bosom of Erebus, Night with black wings first produced an egg without a seed. From it, in the course of the seasons, Eros was born the desired, whose back sparkled with golden wings, Eros like swift whirlwinds".

score examples

- Red to Black (2005) -

For Alto Saxophone and Piano

Red to Black was composed for the Dutch Saxophone and Piano Duo “Beumer en van Ham”.
It was premiered in Utrecht on February 2006.Red to Black is the product of an investigation for a particular harmonic color and character with the use of as many as less expressive means. It is also my first work where I decided to use elements that have their roots in the traditional music of my birth country, Greece.

-Concerto for Violoncello and Ensemble (2006) -

For Violoncello and Ensemble

       The “Concerto for Violoncello and Ensemble” is a second step in a research that I started with my “Red to Black” for Saxophone and Piano.
In this piece as well I tried to incorporate Greek traditional music elements and then using them through a modern point of view. Minor thirds, seconds as well augmented fourth are the predominant intervals in this piece.
        From the formal point of view it does not have the form of a traditional concerto. It is a one movement piece that is divided formally in to 4 major sections. Another influential element during the composition of the piece is the use of material that has its source in electronic synthesized sounds.
       In this piece I tried to work with the natural lyricism as well the more dark and sorrow side of the Cello. Cello Concerto is long narrative monologue that stands against an ensemble that creates the space for the narrator to tell his story.
       “Concerto for Violoncello and Ensemble” is composed for AskoEnsemble and Doris Hochscheid with financial support from Fonds voor de Scheppende Toonkunst.
It was premiered as part of the 1st Cello Biennale/Proms of Amsterdam and performed by Asko Ensemble conducted by Stefan Ausbury and soliost Doris Hochscheid.

- Gazela de la Muerte Oscura (2006) -

For Mezzo-Soprano, Accordion and String Quartet

       Gacela is a poem of Persian origin that has strict technical guidelines.
       Lorca does not follow the technical form of a gacela, but by classifying a work entitled "Gacela of the Dark Death" as a love poem, he introduces a connection between love and death that will become an increasingly important theme.
       Minor thirds, seconds as well augmented fourths are the predominant intervals in this piece. From the formal point of view I tried to keep the line suggested from the poem it self. In this piece I tried to work as well with the lyricism and the more dark and sorrow side of the female voice. That is the main reason for my choice to keep the voice generally in a low register.The Accordion and the string quartet are becoming a mirror of the singer providing her the space to tell her story as well enforcing the obsessive and sorrowful character of the poem.
       “Gacela de la Muerte oscura” is composed for Duo pallas & pallas and Mondriaan Quartet.

- Praxis III (2000) -

For Bassoon and Piano

       Praxis III is a part of a series of works for different ensembles with the name Praxis.
       Praxis III is a 16 minutes work for Bassoon and Piano, consisted from eight smaller continuous parts.The different parts of Praxis III are based on various poems of C. Baudelaire from his collection “Les fleurs du mal”.There is a clear try to connect the literal context and atmosphere created in the poetry of Baudelaire with the music.
       The work was commissioned and dedicated to Duo Palmos.

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