Notes and Editorial Reviews
IMPRESSIONS FOR SAXOPHONE AND ORCHESTRA
•
Theodore Kerkezos (sax); Myron Michailidis, cond; Thessaloniki St SO
•
NAXOS 8.557992 (67:09)
THEODORAKIS
(arr. Samprovalakis)
Cretan Concertino. Adagio.
SKALKOTTAS
Concertino.
ANTONIOU
Concerto piccolo.
ALEXIADIS
Phrygian Litany.
Read more
TENIDIS
Rhapsody of Pontos.
HADJIDAKIS
Gioconda’s Smile:
Mr. Knoll
This is a follow-on to two previous Kerkezos releases, both reviewed in 28:5. This time, saxophonist Theodore Kerkezos lavishes his considerable talent exclusively on works by 20th-century Greek composers, in contrast to the mixed, eclectic programs offered previously. All but Theodorakis’s
Cretan Concertino
—which was composed in 1952 as a sonatina for violin and piano—and Skalkottas’s Concertino—composed in 1939 for oboe and piano—were written for alto or soprano sax. All items on the disc are, according to Naxos, world premiere recordings. The saxophone, to my ear, is an instrument that can be mellifluous, soothing, and highly expressive—when it is well played, that is; and no one I know of on the scene today plays it with more of a polished technique or produces such a honeyed sound as Theodore Kerkezos.
The choice of repertoire here needn’t frighten anyone away. For the most part, these are pieces with a traditional pedigree wearing the outer trappings of a highly palatable modernist style. In fact, all of the music here is accessible and quite beautiful. The
Cretan Concertino
immediately reveals its composer’s French training at the Paris Conservatory; its first movement has the character of a jazzy Latin dance that took a detour on its way to Piazzolla via Milhaud. The second movement is a touching lament, and the third movement starts off like
The Flight of the Bumblebee
. Less than four minutes in length, Theodorakis’s
Adagio
is the kind of piece you will play over and over again. It is a dirge of heartrending beauty with an underlying accompaniment that is close to an exact takeoff on Rachmaninoff’s
Isle of the Dead
. Theodorakis, you will recall, composed the score to
Zorba the Greek
, so here is a composer who knows how to write music for maximum emotional effect. Skalkottas’s Concertino is a perky, plucky thing. His studies with Schoenberg may have led him to write in a non-tonal idiom, but this piece is full of wit in its first and last movements, and dreamily Impressionistic in its second. Theodor Antoniou’s
Concerto piccolo
, written as recently as 2000 and dedicated to Kerkezos, is no more modern sounding than is the Skalkottas. Minas Alexiadis’s
Phrygian Litany
follows in a mood somewhat similar to Theodorakis’s
Adagio
; while Vassilis Tenidis’s highly colorful, cinematic
Rhapsody of Pontos
is a more animated, ethnocentric sounding piece, based as it is on the rhythms and altered scales of the folk dances of Pontos.
In a typed note from Kerkezos that came to me separate from the CD, he asked that I pay special attention to Manos Hadjidakis’s “Mr. Knoll,” a piece that apparently resonates for him with some particular meaning. Another film composer, Hadjidakis won an Oscar for his song in
Never on Sunday
. Like Theodorakis, Hadjidakis knows how to pull the heartstrings, and “Mr. Knoll,” the seventh movement of an extended song cycle titled
Gioconda’s Smile
, is definitely a tearjerker with an unhappy ending.
This is a wonderful CD. I love this music, I love Kerkerzos’s playing of it, and I cannot recommend it to you too highly.
FANFARE: Jerry Dubins
Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Cretan Concertino by Mikis Theodorakis
Performer:
Theodore Kerkezos (Saxophone)
Conductor:
Myron Michailidis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Greece
Length: 10 Minutes 44 Secs.
Notes: Arranger: Yannis Samprovalakis.
Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (12/12/2005 - 12/15/2005); Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (03/29/2006 - 03/31/2006)
2.
Adagio by Mikis Theodorakis
Performer:
Theodore Kerkezos (Saxophone)
Conductor:
Myron Michailidis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1993; Greece
Length: 3 Minutes 44 Secs.
Notes: Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (12/12/2005 - 12/15/2005); Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (03/29/2006 - 03/31/2006)
3.
Concertino for Oboe and Piano, A/K 28 by Nikos Skalkottas
Performer:
Theodore Kerkezos (Saxophone)
Conductor:
Myron Michailidis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1939; Greece
Length: 11 Minutes 38 Secs.
Notes: Arranger: Yannis Samprovalakis.
Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (12/12/2005 - 12/15/2005); Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (03/29/2006 - 03/31/2006)
4.
Concerto Piccolo by Theodore Antoniou
Performer:
Theodore Kerkezos (Saxophone)
Conductor:
Myron Michailidis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Length: 16 Minutes 0 Secs.
Notes: Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (12/12/2005 - 12/15/2005); Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (03/29/2006 - 03/31/2006)
5.
Phrygian Litany by Minas Alexiadis
Performer:
Theodore Kerkezos (Saxophone)
Conductor:
Myron Michailidis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Greece
Length: 7 Minutes 53 Secs.
Notes: Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (12/12/2005 - 12/15/2005); Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (03/29/2006 - 03/31/2006)
6.
Rhapsody of Pontos by Vassilis Tenidis
Performer:
Theodore Kerkezos (Saxophone)
Conductor:
Myron Michailidis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
Length: 13 Minutes 24 Secs.
Notes: Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (12/12/2005 - 12/15/2005); Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (03/29/2006 - 03/31/2006)
7.
Mr Knoll by Manos Hadjidakis
Performer:
Theodore Kerkezos (Saxophone)
Conductor:
Myron Michailidis
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: Greece
Length: 3 Minutes 39 Secs.
Notes: Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (12/12/2005 - 12/15/2005); Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece (03/29/2006 - 03/31/2006)
Sound Samples
Cretan Concertino (arr. of Violin Sonata No. 1): I. Vivo
Cretan Concertino (arr. of Violin Sonata No. 1): II. Largo
Cretan Concertino (arr. of Violin Sonata No. 1): III. Allegro
Adagio (version for soprano saxophone, percussion and strings)
Piano Concertino, AK 19 (arr. for soprano saxophone and strings): I. Allegro giocoso
Piano Concertino, AK 19 (arr. for soprano saxophone and strings): II. Pastorale: Andante tranquillo
Piano Concertino, AK 19 (arr. for soprano saxophone and strings): III. Rondo: Allegro vivo
Concerto piccolo: I. Cadenza a piacere - Allegro
Concerto piccolo: II. Danza
Concerto piccolo: III. Epilogo: Cantilena - Cadenza
Gioconda's Smile, Op. 22 (arr. for alto saxophone and orchestra): Gioconda's Smile, Op. 22: VII. Mr. Knoll (arr. for alto saxophone and orchestra)
Customer Reviews
Be the first to review this title
Review This Title
