Skalkottas: Cello Works and Piano Trios

Featuring

Maria Asteriadou
Georgios Demertzis
Maria Kitsopoulos
Nikos Skalkottas

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Skalkottas intentionally composed his orchestral works for 'mass consumption' and 'popular education,' while his chamber music was aimed at a 'more exalted public.'

Composer Biography

Skalkottas studied composition under Arnold Schoenberg, a highly influential figure in 20th-century music known for developing the twelve-tone technique, at the Academy of Arts from 1927 to 1933.

Composer Biography

Nikos Skalkottas, the composer, began violin lessons at age five and completed his studies at the Athens Conservatory by 1920.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Skalkottas was a controversial figure in 20th-century Greece because he composed a large portion of his music using both dodecaphonic (twelve-tone) methods and tonal styles.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Skalkottas believed that for him, the twelve-tone system was merely a method, just like the heptatonic system, and not a rigid ideology.

Compositional Technique

The Bolero by Skalkottas is an extreme example of his technique of basing characteristic and approachable pieces on strict dodecaphonic foundations.

Recording & Production

This recording was made in September 2000 at the Megaron Concert Hall in Athens, Greece, using Neumann microphones and a Neve Capricorn digital mixer.