Kalomiris - Symphony No 3 [CD]

Lost in the obsession with 20th-century composers like Stravinsky, Schonberg, and Shostakovich is the fact that many smaller countries began producing distinguished musicians of their own. Suddenly Germans and Russians were joined at the forefront of the musical world by Danes (Rued Langgaard), Swedes (Hugo Alfven), Japanese (Koscak Yamada), and now, according to this sensational new Naxos disc, Greeks. This is one of the first releases in the record label's new Greek Classics series, and boy is the series promising! (It should be. Naxos was a Greek island before it was a record company.)

Manolis Kalomiris wrote in a wondrous blend of styles, with exotic eastern melody, absolutely brilliant orchestration, the rhythmic drive of Khachaturian, and a sound-world all his own. His "Triptychon" is a particularly impressive work; the central section, a funeral march, gets a bit repetitive at times, but works because of the extraordinary orchestral sound (I especially love the closing moments, when varied solo instruments begin to transfigure the main theme and add folk-style colors). The finale comes to a smashing climax, providing one of the biggest adrenalin rushes in all music.

The Symphony No. 3 is more modernist in stance, and employs an unusual device: at various points, a narrator recites poetry over the music. This could be strange, but narrator Nikitas Tsakiroglou (who's been a prominent Greek movie actor since the 1970s) has the perfect voice for the job, foreboding, touching, emotional, and just a little creepy. The music matches that mood.

The three Greek Dances are the most immediately appealing works, perhaps, since they are modeled on Dvorak's Slavonic Dances in style and are quite simple. They, too, are enjoyable, and the brief little poem that finishes the CD is a nice encore.

All told, an excellent disc of world premiere recordings. The Athens State Orchestra, which premiered "Triptychon" under the baton of the composer himself, plays superbly, and the sound quality is wonderful. Big climaxes (like in "Triptychon") come off marvelously, and generate real excitement. Give credit to conductor Byron Fidetzis, too, for a job very, very well done.

Highly recommended for anyone wishing to sample a unique voice from the 1930s and 1940s, and for anyone who wants to try out Greek classical music. My only fear is that, having heard this one, I'm going to be compulsively buying every new disc in this Greek Classics series. That could become an expensive - but highly enjoyable - habit.

One of the great things about Naxos is the oft-mentioned budget price. Being a budget label, Naxos facilitates musical exploration at a fairly low risk. I rarely make a Naxos purchases that I end up regretting, but every now and again, I make a purchase that surprises me and makes me go nuts. This recording of music by the Greek composer Manolis Kalomiris, indeed, has made me go nuts.

If you are a sucker for late-Romantic/Nationalist music (as I am), this CD delivers everything and anything you would hope for.

Taking his inspiration from Greek folk music, Wagner, and the Russian school of Nationalism, Kalomiris sounds like a hyper combination of Wagner, Khachaturian and a beefed up Rimsky-Korsakov.

My favorite piece here is the TRIPTYCH. Written as a memorial to the poet Costis Palamas, whom Kalomiris idolized, the TRIPTYCH is in 3 movements. The central movement is a funeral march that could hold its own against other great funeral marches in the repertoire (SIEGFRIED, TOTENFEIER, etc.)

The 3RD SYMPHONY has the scope and sweep of an epic film score. Aside from the work's monolithic orchestration there is even a part for a narrator who quotes lines of poetry by Palamas. A very exciting, satisfying experience even if I do not understand what tha narrator is saying!

THREE GREEK DANCES is lighter fare, which sounds as if it could have been liften from Khachaturian's early DANCE SUITE. It brims with seductive Oriental melodies and rhythms.

The final piece, THE DESTRUCTION OF PSARA might be though of as an ultra-short tone poem from orchestra and narrator. It's brevity certainly makes it a curiosity, but it's very well written and impactful for what it is.

Kalomiris's old-fashioned sound must have made him seem "backwards" to many of his contemporaries, Greek or otherwise, but that is exactly why this music appeals to me. It is melodic, lushly orchestrated and brims with exotic mystery and melodrama.

This is a comoposer who should be better known. Treat yourself to this recording, and hear for yourself!