Kalafati: Symphony in A Minor, Légende & Polonaise
8/28/2020, 6 Tracks, 1:21:24
Featuring
Byron Fidetzis
Athens Philharmonia Orchestra
Choir of the Music Department of the University of Athens
Vasily Kalafati
Did you know?
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Composer Biography
Vasily Kalafati studied composition with Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov at the St Petersburg Conservatory and later taught prominent composers like Igor Stravinsky.
Performer Biography
Byron Fidetzis, the artistic director of the Athens Philharmonia Orchestra, has conducted over 80 orchestras worldwide and recorded more than 40 albums of Greek composers' music.
Composition History
Kalafati's Symphony, Op. 12, began as his composition dissertation at the St Petersburg Conservatory in 1899 and was completed and published in 1912.
Compositional Technique
For his symphonic poem Légende, Kalafati transformed three themes from Schubert's works into a late-Romantic style, using frequent melodic motif repetition and varied tone colours, including a wordless choir.
Critical Reception
Kalafati's compositional work, though in the style of the Russian National Music School, largely remained obscure and received few distinctions before his death during the siege of Leningrad.
Composition History
Kalafati's symphonic poem Légende, Op. 20, earned him second place in an international competition held in 1928 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Schubert's death.
Composer Biography
Vasily Kalafati, born in Crimea in 1869 to Greek parents, considered himself Greek throughout his life.
