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COLLISIONS

A FESTIVAL OF

PRACTICE RESEARCH

IN PERFORMANCE

26-28 SEPTEMBER 2017

Greek landscapes turned into sound: Antoniou’s composition Aquarelle for solo piano

Konstantinos Destounis

Tuesday 26th September, 4:45pm

Photo Credit: Yannis Gutmann

The presentation will include a live performance of Theodore Antoniou’s composition Aquarelle (1958) for solo piano, preceded by a brief analysis. Aquarelle is of particular interest as it suggests a sound representation of various landscapes spanning over the Greek countryside. It consists of ten short pieces; each one is based on a Greek folk dance rhythm. The music is characterised by the blending of Greek folk musical elements with contemporary compositional techniques.

My Research:

My research focuses on the solo piano works by Theodore Antoniou, one of the most prominent Greek composers (b. 1935). My main objective is to locate and define the composer’s personal musical identity in these works and the ways it has evolved through his career. My research is aided by my artistic project of public performances of Antoniou’s music for solo piano, as well as a world première recording of a complete collection of these works, which will be released by Naxos label.

Pianist Konstantinos Destounis (b. 1991 in Athens) is a doctoral student at the Royal College of Music; His research focuses on the piano works by the renowned living Greek composer, Theodore Antoniou. Konstantinos is a prize winner in numerous international piano competitions, most notably the ‘Grand Prix Maria Callas’ 2015. His artistic activity so far includes 3 CD recordings as well as performances in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and St. John’s Smith Square in London, the Opera ‘La Fenice’ in Venice, the Llewellyn Hall in Canberra, the Glocke Saal in Bremen and the Athens Megaron.

Personal website: www.destounispiano.com

Online video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUuyIngCNqI

Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWrqYMhUhDwGbouFf2izv5g

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