Konstantinos Destounis - John Psathas, Jettatura (1999)
на канале: Academia Internacional de Música "Aquiles Delle Vigne"
Konstantinos Destounis (Greece), piano
John Psathas, Jettatura (1999)
Recorded in:
Grande Auditório do Conservatório de Música de Coimbra
11/10/2015
Producer:
Academia Internacional de Música "Aquiles Delle Vigne"
www.a2dv.pt
John Psathas, ONZM (b.1966) is a New Zealand composer, son of Greek immigrant parents. He has not only achieved a level of international success as a composer unprecedented in New Zealand history, he is also now widely considered one of the most important living composers of the Greek diaspora.
Jettatura (1999), the “evil eye”, is the ancient belief that the gaze of strangers casts unwanted magic into the lives of the innocent. The belief is that a person can harm you by looking at you enviously and praising you. When John Psathas spent time in Greece in the summer of 1998, he experienced a remarkable sequence of unfortunate events. Upon being tested by the local specialist in these matters, it was discovered that he had indeed fallen under the influence of the “evil eye”.
Characteristic elements of the piece are the use of Greek folk rhythms and modes, the improvisational feel of jazz music and the sustained repetitive textures of minimalism. A great test for advanced pianists, Jettatura is an uncomplicated moto perpetuo, and another example of Psathas’s gift for creating high-energy, compelling works. Requiring heavy and impassioned fingering, Jettatura is shot through with defiance and aggression. The left hand hammers a stream of ostinatos while the right hand flies almost incautiously over the keys, stretching to the piano’s upper register.
Score available at:
http://www.promethean-editions.com/ph...
