- You have a list of awards etc. as long as my arm, do you think
you have had a privileged transition through your career or do you think
it has been an extremely hard journey?
I had a normal musical
life: studied at Conservatories and Universities for many years. I had a
"strict" schooling and excellent teachers. In this, I do feel
"privileged". But I also had to work very hard for that. I started as a
pianist and continued as a piano teacher/professor for many years,
concertizing at the same time. My transition to composition was abrupt: I
wrote a choral piece in Greece and it was chosen to be performed at the
greatest concert hall of Thessaloniki (my home town) next to Mozart's
"Requiem" and Haydn's "Symphonie Concertante". That was a shock! Having
my first composition performed in front of an audience of 1,200 people!
After
this, all seemed to 'flow' very naturally. I received a fellowship for
the DMA degree in piano (from the University of Iowa) and started
composition lessons at the same time (under a double-degree program). I
changed my degree to a PhD for composition right before the comps!
- Your
points of reference appear (to my uneducated ear) to be from the 20th
Century (Dadaesque, maybe - maybe not). Would you consider yourself to
belong to that 20th Century tradition or do your influences go further
back?
My influences are very distinct: Beethoven, Bartok,
Xenakis, Christou (in terms of "structural" techniques). Further
influences go back to the Pythagorean theories and the tonal system of
the Ancient Greeks (with the extended development of it by the Byzantine
musicians).
- I have always felt uneasy when 'composers' try
to merge traditional instrumentation with electronic synthesis, most
fail (embarrassingly). How do you walk that thin line and manage not to
fall off? How would you go about creating a piece that still managed to
maintain a positive credibility?
I have only written two
electronic compositions: both of them are on the CD I just released. The
first one ("Moods") is strictly electronic. The second one ("Threnos")
is a mixture of two performers (soprano-coloratura and flute) with
electronic tape. I believe that the answer to your question is: "create a
solid structure". To me composition is like architecture: without the
"floor plans" and architect would not dare even start the design of any
building-small or large. The same is true about composition (at least
for me): if I do not create the structure first, I do not even attempt
to write a single note.
- Listening to your pieces has been an absolute joy for me are they available commercially?
Yes,
my first CD release will soon be available through itunes, Amazon,
Rhapsody and Napster. The CD is titled: "Threnos and Other Chamber
Stories". In the meanwhile though, it is also available through my
online store right now:
http://www.reverbnation.com/store/store/artist_329867?item_type=music