Greek composer Nikolaos Skalkottas was one of Arnold Schoenberg's best European students, and his approach to serial technique represented an ideal in the realization of Schoenberg's twelve-tone system as Schoenberg himself viewed it. BIS' Skalkottas: 16 Melodies, Piano Pieces introduces a major vocal Skalkottas vocal cycle, 16 Melodies (1941) and four piano pieces, 15 Little Variations and Sonatina from the Roaring '20s, rounding off the program with Echo and Berceuse from the warring '40s. Pianist Nikolaos Samaltanos is ...
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Greek composer Nikolaos Skalkottas was one of Arnold Schoenberg's best European students, and his approach to serial technique represented an ideal in the realization of Schoenberg's twelve-tone system as Schoenberg himself viewed it. BIS' Skalkottas: 16 Melodies, Piano Pieces introduces a major vocal Skalkottas vocal cycle, 16 Melodies (1941) and four piano pieces, 15 Little Variations and Sonatina from the Roaring '20s, rounding off the program with Echo and Berceuse from the warring '40s. Pianist Nikolaos Samaltanos is the dominant force in the program, and he plays on all of the tracks. It seems there is nothing Skalkottas can throw at Samaltanos that is too difficult for him to deliver, and that is saying a lot. 15 Little Variations and Sonatina are comparable to 16 Melodies, although written 15 years before; the "variations" in 15 Little Variations are "little," indeed, as the whole set takes only five minutes to play. The Sonatina represents a departure in that its concluding Rondo is couched in...
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