Skalkottas, N.: Concerto for 2 Violins / Concertino for 2 Pianos / Morceau Characteristique

Featuring

Vassilis Christopoulos
Georgios Demertzis
Simos Papanas
Maria Asteriadou
Nikolaos Samaltanos
Dimitris Desyllas

Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
Nikos Skalkottas

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Composition History

Nikos Skalkottas's Concerto for Two Violins is historically unique for being the first work of modern Greek classical music to use a rebetiko song.

Cultural Impact

Rebetiko music, a genre initially evolved among marginal groups in society, was regarded as inferior and 'undesirable' at the time Skalkottas used it in his concerto.

Compositional Technique

The Concertino for Two Pianos is strictly dodecaphonic, with its first movement being one of Skalkottas's few pieces based on a single tone row, adhering to 'orthodox' serialism.

Composition History

The Concerto for Two Violins was composed in 1944 but remained in short score and was never orchestrated or performed during Skalkottas's lifetime.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Skalkottas's use of a rebetiko theme in his Concerto for Two Violins stemmed from his open-minded thinking and his familiarity with light music, having earned a living as an entertainer.

Performer Biography

Nikolaos Samaltanos, one of the pianists on this album, is closely associated with the music of Nikos Skalkottas and has received awards for his recordings of Skalkottas's works.

Recording & Production

The orchestral version of the Concerto for Two Violins heard on this recording was created by Kostis Demertzis, based on a decade of research into Skalkottas's orchestral writing.