Topos: 20th-Century Greek Orchestral Music

Featuring

Zoi Tsokanou
Noé Inui
Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
Solon Michaelides
Manolis Kalomiris
Yannis Constantinidis

Nikos Skalkottas

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Composer Biography

Yannis Constantinidis, born in Smyrna, grew up listening to a mix of Italian canzonettas, Greek traditional songs, and European operas, and later became a successful composer of vaudeville and musical theatre under the alias Costas Yannidis.

Composer Biography

Manolis Kalomiris, a leading figure in Greek national music, was deeply affected by the 1922 Asia Minor Catastrophe and the death of his teenage son, which led to a decade of limited artistic output.

Composer Biography

Nikos Skalkottas, a brilliant violinist and leading member of the Second Viennese School, was considered one of Arnold Schoenberg's 'most gifted students'.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The composers on this album, Solon Michaelides, Manolis Kalomiris, Yannis Constantinidis, and Nikos Skalkottas, all drew inspiration from their 'topos' (land or place of origin) and incorporated Greek folk music into their art.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Nikos Skalkottas took a critical stance against the mandatory use of Greek folk themes, believing one could write Greek music without them, and proved this by composing many dances with his own melodic material.