Biography

Kyriakos Sfetsas was born on September 29, 1945, in Amfilochia. He was raised in Lefkada where, at an early age, he studied music for the first time at the Philarmonic Band and the National Conservatory of the city with the late Fotis Vlachos. He continued his studies at the National Conservatory of Athens (1963-1966), where he studied the piano with Krino Kalomiri and theory of music with Michalis Vourtsis. On August 30, 1964, in Lefkada, he accompanied on the piano Maria Callas in her last performance in Greece. A few months after the 1967 dictatorship, he moved to Paris. There, on a French State scholarship (1969-1972), he pursued further studies with the composer and educator Max Deutsch (compo-sition, analysis, orchestral conducting), while seeking the mentorship and advice of I. Xena-kis, Luigi Nono and Henri Dutilleux.
The first public performance of his work (Episodes for piano solo) took place just after the uprising of May ’68 at the “Latin America Hall” in Paris, receiving favourable reviews. After that, his music was often performed and he had his first commissions (by French Radio and TV, the Ars Nova Orchestra and the Dance Group of Vitry). After that period, several of his works are performed in renowned international contemporary music festivals (Royan, Reims, Bordeaux and Paris); at the same time, he works on a regular basis with the contemporary dance group of Vitry and the choreographer Michel Cazerta. A portion of his Paris works were published by Editions Transatlantiques, and it was in Paris in 1974 that he released for the first time one of his works on record: Four-channel electro-acoustic music for the Ballet Smog, one of the first pieces written for four-channel tape in the world. In Greece, he made his debut as a composer at the 4th Hellenic Week of Contemporary Music (Athens, 19th – 26th September 1971) with his work Docimology.

He returned to Greece in Autumn 1975, this time to stay. At the invitation of Manos Hatzidakis, he worked at the Third Programme of the Hellenic Radio (1975-1976) as a free lance producer. In 1977, as a regular employee of the Hellenic Radio, he served as head of the music departments of the 2nd and 1st Programmes, and from the summer of 1982 to January 1994 as director of the 3rd Programme.

His body of work consists of a large number of compositions: symphonic, choral, ballet and theatre music, chamber, electronic, pieces for solo instruments, pieces in jazz and fusion style, songs on Greek and World poems. In the years after 1980, he also writes music for films. In 1980, his music for P. Tasios’ Paragelia receives first prize at the Film Festival of Thessaloniki. He also writes the music for Stigma, by the same director (1982), D. Panagiotatos’ The night with Silena (1986), M. Ditsas’ Night Exit (1991), N. Grammatikos’ U Turn (1991) and A time to kill (1993), Tony Lykouressis’ The song of life (2002).

Since the historic recording of Without Boundaries (1980), several recordings of his work have been released on several labels (EMI, CBS, ENM, PRAXIS etc.), always with at least favourable reviews. In the spring of 1991, he released his first digital recording (on CD), Silent Days, on UTOPIA; and in 1993, the CD Colours in Double, a tribute to the art of the great traditional music performer Vassilis Soukas, containing the works Colours in Double and Lyrical Suite (recorded live at the Festivals of Irakleion (’88) and Patra (’87)), in which the late musician had substantial solo parts. In 1999, his vinyl recordings were re-released in 8 CDs on FINEAS, a record label owned by S. Gavrielides Publications. On November 2002 he released the CD Imaginary flower and on Mars 2004 the CD Land of absence (Ghi ton apoussion) on poems by the great poetess Kiki Dimoula for actor, girls choir, 5 soloists and plucked string orchestra.

Most of his work in the last few years has been commissioned by Greek and other cultural authorities and organizations, and has been performed in Europe, Australia and America by renowned music ensembles, such as the Bolshoi Soloists, the Ensemble Modern of Frankfurt, Polyrhythmia of Sofia, the Okada percussion ensemble of Tokyo, the Russo and Mlada Quartets, the Symphony Orchestras of Leipzig, Ljubljana, ABC (Australian Radio), ALEA (Boston University), the Orchestra of the Hellenic Radio and the State Orchestra of Thessaloniki. And from its very early days, the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron) has on numerous occasions commissioned and hosted works by Kyriakos Sfetsas, performed by famous Greek and other soloists and ensembles, including the organist Daniel Chorzempa and the Camerata Orchestra.
A great part of his works has been published by Editions Transatlantiques in Paris, and Ch. Nakas & K. Papagregoriou Music Editions in Athens.

In volume 9B of the Dictionary of World Biography, the music critic Giorgos Leotsakos notes, among other things: “No other Greek ‘avant-garde’ composer’s return to tradition was more impressive than that of Sfetsas. Before 1977, in France, he was distinguished by a sound ‘pointillisme': a marked harmonic sensitivity, with which he organized imaginative soundcolour combinations into ‘microstructures’ spread out in an imaginary sound canvas, bringing to mind the paintings of Joan Miró, who had charmed the composer at the time. (Docimology, one of his more beautiful and characteristic works, is from this period.) Chronologically, his musical turn Concert Music Slides, 1977 follows his coming home (1975): melody (tonal, modal, atonal), themes, elaboration as well as improvisation, ‘physical’ rhythms (sometimes asymmetrical and folkish), chords contradicted by unisoni, elements or inspirations from folk music (from Greece and Eastern cultures, either traditional or elaborated through ‘ethnic’ schools) and Byzantine music (his Love Song is performed by a cantor), and other codes or techniques of communication (e.g. jazz, rock). However, by replacing this ‘hermetic’ idiom with authenticated codes of communication, the music of Sfetsas expands sometimes into great lengths, and reveals a painful loneliness and a quest for the other, in which it is difficult to distinguish between the personal and the socio-environmental factors. Behind the persistence of his writing one can guess a dramatic need for communication. Despite the ruggedness of the themes and some instances of classical ‘elaboration’, the three parts of his gigantic (duration: 61’46″!) piano suite Cactus Light (’80-’83) often give the impression of one lonely pianist improvising. One of the most fascinating of his latest works is Moments of a Lonesome Town: within the aloneness and inhumanity of the modern world, the quest for the other continues, with a more emphatic lyricism. So, hope still persists.”

Orchestrals

1. Situations, for Symphonic Orchestra, 1967 Paris

2. Exposition, for Symphonic Orchestra, El.Guitar & El. Bass, 1968 Paris

3. Images, for StringOrchestra, 1968 Paris

4. Osiris, for Large Symphonic Orchestra with El. Guitar, El. Bass, El. Organ, El. Piano,
and a Large Percussion group, 1970-71 Paris

5. Concert Music Slides, double concerto for Violin, Piano & Orchestra, 1977 Athens. Work commissioned by violοnist Spyros Rados.

6. Sound of Present &Future, for Oboe, Viola & Chamber Orchestra, with multi-media stage action (optional), 1986 Athens. Work commissioned by the 1st International Festival of Patras. First performance, July 1986 at the Fortress of Patras by the ” The Bolshoi Soloists” ensemble conducted by Alexandre Lazarev.

7. Colors in Double (Diplochromia), for folk clarinet and chamber orchestra, 1988 Athens. (Work commissioned by Theodore Antoniou and the Heraklion Crete Festival. First performance, August 27, 1988 at the Heraklion Festival with the great Vassilis Soukas as folk clarinet performer and the ALEA III Boston University Orchestra conducted by Theodore Antoniou.

8. Concerto, for Tuba or Trombone and Orchestra, 1988-89 Athens. (Work commissioned by the Greek Radio. First performance, July 1990 at the Athens Festival, Herod Atticus theater, by Yannis Zouganellis tuba soloist & Efthimios Kavalieratos conducting the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra.

9. Midnight Music, for Violin and String Orchestra, 1992 Athens. First unofficial presentation, February 7, 1994 at the “Apollo” theater in Patras by Yiannis Mavridis violin, and the “Soloists of Patras” conducted by Dimitris Botini.World official premiere at the Athens Concert Hall, February 12, 1994, by the sameperformers.

10. Four in a game, symphony concerto for 4 brass: horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba and large Orchestra, 1993 Athens (Work commissioned by the Organization of the Athens Concert Hall, O.M.M.A.)

11. Greek Mass, for 4 soli voices: S.A.T.B., mixed Choir and Orchestra, 1995-97 Athens. Poetic libretto by the composer based on poetry selections by: Hesiod, Hermes Trismegistus, Psalm Ρ΄120, Genesis of the old Testament, Basil the Great, Andreas of Crete, Plato, Skythinus of Tius, States of Thebes, Palladas of Alexandria, Andreas Kalvos, Miltos Sachtouris, Cleitos Kyrou, Hector Kaknavatos & Lefteris Poulios. Work commissioned by the Organization “Thessaloniki Cultural Capital of Europe 1977″.

12. The wind of my unknown soul, fantasia concertante for cello and string orchestra, 1997 Athens. First performance 4 December 2000 at the Athens Concert Hall by Renato Ripo vcello, and the Camerata orchestra conducted by Alexandre Myrat.

13. Songs of lonely days, for plucked string orchestra, 2000 Lefkada. Work commissioned by the Municipal Enterprise for Cultural Development of Patras, D.E.P.A.P. (Dedicated to Thanasis Tsipinakis).

14. Piano Concerto, for piano and orchestra, 2001 Lefkada. (Dedicated to pianist Anastasios Pappas).

Vocals

1. Artefact (no text, only syllables) for Baritone, Bass and electrically amplified ensemble, (pno, perc, vcl, dbass), 1971 Paris

2. Love Song, poetry by the Byzantine poet Macedonian Hypatos, for voice and 5 instruments, (tenor-cantor or mezzo, fl, clar, vln, vcl, dbass). 1978 Athens

3. The God Forsakes Antony Score, poetry by C. P. Cavafy, for mezzosoprano and mixed choir a capella, 1979 Athens

4. Sacred Way, poetry by Angelos Sikelianos, for mezzosoprano (or Tenor) and Piano, 1981 Athens. First performance August 1981 in Nydri Lefkada, by Thanos Petrakis tenor, Nelli Semitekolo piano

5. The City, poetry by C. P. Cavafy, for mezzosoprano, mixed choir, string orchestra, 7 Brass: 3 trpts, 3 trbns, Tba, 2 Percussion, players: Drums, T-Tam. 1984 Athens. (Recorded by Third Radio Program, February 1985, Anne-Marie Muhle mezzo-soprano, Greek Radio Choir and Orchestra conducted by Dimitris Horafas

6. Landscape, on 5 poems by Miltos Sachtouris, for female voice and piano, 1984 Athens. First
performance in 1984 by Radio France Musique, Marcella Hatziano mezzo, Danae Kara piano

7. Damocrates, Poetry by Straton, for mixed choir acapella, 1987 Athens. Written for the International Choral Festival of Karditsa where it was first performed

8. To the Muses, poetry by Andreas Kalvos, for female voice and 5 instruments (fl., vln., vcl., pno., perc.) 1992 Athens. Work commissioned by the “Stegi Kalon Tehnon & Grammaton” for the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the poet’s birth. First performance, December 16, 1992 at the National Gallery of Athens. Savina Giannatou voice and ensemble conducted by Alkis Baltas

9. Four Songs, (in English) poetry by Charles Cotton for female voice and piano, 1989 Athens. Work commissioned by Th. Antoniou and Southeastern American College. First performance, July 12, 1989 at “Rematia” theater in Chalandri. Susan Lambert soprano, Takis Farazis piano

10. Five Miniature Songs, poetry by Yiannis Negrepontis, for voice and piano, 1990 Athens. Written for the TV show “Periplaniseis” by Director Giorgos Emirzas. Performed by Spyros Sakkas baritone, and Giorgos Kouroupos piano

11. Ionian Lyre, poetry by Aristotle Valaoritis, for female voice and String Orchestra, (4, 4, 3, 3, 1), 1994 Athens. Work commissioned by the Municipality of Lefkada. First performance Sunday, August 7, 1994, in the medieval castle of Lefkada, in the context of the “Festivals of Speech and Art” and in a special honorary concert and event for the contribution and work of the composer

12. Desert Flowers, (no text) for female voice and 12 instruments, 1994 Athens (folk clar. + ten. sax, fl. + sopr. sax., trpt, trbn, 2 perc. – one drummer, pno, dbass and String Quartet) Work commissioned by the Athens Concert Hall O.M.M.A. First performance, January 28, 1995 at the Athens Concert Hall (Irini Karagianni voice, Thanasis Zervas folk clar.+ten. Sax., David Lynch fl. + sopr. sax, and ensemble conducted by Miltos Logiadis

13. Soneto la rosa, poetry by Dionysios Solomos from the Italian Poems, for female voice and Trio (vln., vcl., pno), 1994 Athens. First performance in 1995 at the “Apollo” Municipal Theater of Patras by Irini Karagiannis voice, Vladislav Halapsis vln, Marina Kislitsina vcl, Ala Halapsis pno

14. Oblivion, poetry by Lorenzo Mavilis, for female voice and 4 instruments, (trpt, vln, vla, pno), 1995 Athens. Work commissioned by the University of Patras and the Topalis Foundation. First performance in 1995 at the Municipal Theater Apollo of Patras

Chamber music

1. Docimology for 13 players, (2 fl. + 2 picc., ob., basn., trpt., el. guit., pno., 2 perc., vln., vla., vcl., dbass) 1969 Paris

2. Formes d’absence, for 13 players, (picc., bass clar., el. guit, el. bass., vcl, 2 dbasses, 3 vibra & perc.,) 1969 Paris

3. String Quartet, number 0, (project for practice!) 1969-70 Paris

4. Sequences Picturales, for 19 players, (fl., + picc., ob., 2 clar., basn., hn., trpt + tr. Picc., 2 trbns., tba., 2 perc., pno., hammond organ., 2 vlns., vla., vcl., dbass) 1971 Paris

5. Extrapolation, for 5 electrically amplified instruments, (trbn., el. guit., vln., vla., vcl.,) 1972 Paris

6. Ba-Ka-Akh, for 6 percussion players, 1972-73 Paris

7. Taqsim, for cello and piano, 1974-75 Paris

8. Eight Miniatures, for cello and bassoon, 1977 Athens

9. Double Image, (a kind of sonata) for violin and piano, 1984 Athens. First performance autumn 1984 at the National Gallery (Dimitris Vraskos vln., and Nelli Semitekolo pno)

10. Music for a dance dream, for 15 players, (ob., clar., bass clar., basn., hn., trpt., trbn., 2 perc., el. pno., 2 vlns., vla., vcl., dbass) 1985 Athens. First performance in 1986 in Boston by ALEA III orchestra conducted by Theodore Antoniou

11. Four Pieces, for 2 pianos, 1986 Athens. (Work inspired by AldousHuxley’s book The Doors of Perception). First performance, August 10, 1986 at the 1st Patras International Festival (Meropi Kollarou, Lola Totsiou pianists)

12. Moments of a lonesome town, for 6 instruments, (fl., clar., vln., vla., pno., perc.,) 1986 Athens. Work commissioned by the group “Symmolpa”. First performance, October 1986 at Dimitria Festival in Thessaloniki

13. String Quartet, No. 1, dedicated to my son Markos, 1987 Athens. First performance, April 17, 1989 at the Municipal Theater of Kalamata by the russian Quartet “Mlada”

14. Duo, (Remebrance) for sopr. saxophone and piano, in memory of Philippos Vlachos, 1989 Athens. First performance, July 12, 1989 at the “Rematias” theater in Chalandri (Takis Paterelis sopr. saxophone, and Takis Farazis piano)

15. Brassy Sound, for trombone or tuba and piano, 1989 Athens. First performance, November 1989 in Moscow and other cities of the ex Soviet Union by Yiannis Zouganellis tuba, and Natalia Michailidou piano

16. Sonata, (Cyan hue), for cello and piano, dedicated to my daughter Olga Sfetsa, 1990 Athens. First performance, May 1990 at Vafopouleio Cultural Center of Thessaloniki by Dimitris Magriotis cello, and Lola Totsiou piano

17. FictionMoments, for C trumpet and piano, 1994 Athens. First performance, July 1995 at the Rematia theater in Chalandri (Socratis Anthis trumpet, and Ala Halapsis piano

18. Blue Orient, for viola and piano, 1994 Athens. First performance, July 1995 at Rematia theater in Chalandri (Sergei Smirnov viola, and Ala Halapsis piano

19. Desert Flowers, (no text) for female voice and 12 instruments, 1994 Athens (folk clar. + ten. Sax., fl. + sopr. sax., trpt., trbn., 2 perc., – one drummer, pno., dbass and String Quartet). Work commissioned by the Athens Concert Hall O.M.M.A. First performance, January 28, 1995 at Athens Concert Hall (Irini Karagianni voice, Thanasis Zervas folk clar.+ten. Sax., David Lynch fl. + sopr. sax, and ensemble conducted by Miltos Logiadis

20. Soneto la rosa, poetry Dionysios Solomos (from Italian Poems) for female voice and Trio (vln, vcl, pno), 1994 Athens. First performance, 1995 at “Apollo” Municipal Theater of Patras (Irini Karagianni voice and Trio: Vladislav Halapsis vln, Marina Kislitsina vcl, and Ala Halapsis piano)

21. Trio, for vln, alto sax. and pno, 1994 Athens. First performance in 1998 at Cultural Center (Pieridis Hall) Glyfada, by Tatsis Apostolidis vln, Thodoros Kerkezos alto sax, Aris Garoufalis piano

22. Oblivion, poetry by Lorenzo Mavilis, for female voice and 4 instruments, (trpt., vln., vla., pno), 1995 Athens. Work commissioned by the University of Patras, “Topali Foundation”. First performance, 1995 at the “Apollo” Municipal Theater of Patras

23. Κοντσερτίνο, για Πιάνο και Έγχορδα (4, 4, 3, 3, 1), 1996 Αθήνα (Το έργο είναι αφιερωμένο στον Μάρκο Σφέτσα που το πρωτόπαιξε σε μεταγραφή για 2 πιάνα, σε ηλικία 10 ετών, με τη δασκάλα του κα ’λλα Χαλάψη τον Ιούνιο του 1997 στην αίθουσα του Σύγχρονου Ωδείου Αθήνας. Α΄ δημόσια εκτέλεση Μάϊος 1999 στο Μέγαρο Μουσικής Αθηνών με σολίστ τον Αναστάσιο Πάππας και την ορχήστρα Καμεράτα με δ/ντή τον Αλέξανδρο Μυράτ)

24. Κοντσερτίνο, για Βιολί και Πιάνο, 1996 Αθήνα (Το έργο είναι αφιερωμένο στην Όλγα Σφέτσα)

25. Χρόνος Ομορφιάς, για Βιολοντσέλο και Πιάνο, 1997 Αθήνα

26. Χαμένες μνήμες, για Σοπράνο Σαξόφωνο και Πιάνο, 1997 Αθήνα (το έργο γράφτηκε εις μνήμην Κώστα Γιαννουλόπουλου)

27. Τα τρία πρόσωπα του Νοεμβρίου, για Κουαρτέτο Σαξοφώνων, 1998 Αθήνα

28. Rev Bows, για 6 Βιολοντσέλα, 1999 Αθήνα

29. Νυχτερινό Μήνυμα, για Βιολί και Πιάνο, 2000 Λευκάδα

30. Veneration thoughts, για 13 μουσικούς: (Picc, Bass Cl, Sop. Sax, Ten. Sax, C Tpt, Trb, 2 Perc, Strings: 2, 1, 1, 1), 2002 Λευκάδα. (Έργο γραμμένο και αφιερωμένο στη μνήμη του δασκάλου μου στο Παρίσι Max Deutsch)

Solo instruments

1. Episodes, for solo Piano, 1968-69 Paris

2. Improvisation, for Electrically Amplified Flute, 1969 Paris

3. Strophes, for solo guitar, 1973 Paris

4. In the stream of the sun, Book I (The magical children’s world), for solo piano, 1980-81 Athens

5. Three ballads, for solo piano, 1986 Athens

6. Sonata, for solo piano, 1990-91 Athens (dedicated to Sofia Sfetsa)

7. In the stream of the sun, Book II (The magical children’s world), for solo piano, 1993 Athens

8. Four dimensions on a Lefkas landscape, for solo piano, 2000 Lefkada

Ensembles

1. String Quartet, No. 0, 1969-70 Paris (Learning and Practice Work!)

2. Extrapolation, for 5 electrically amplified instruments, 1972 Paris (trbn., el. guit., vln., vla., vcl.,)

3. Ba-Ka-Akh, (pronounced Bа-Ка-Aкh) for 6 percussionists, 1972-73 Paris

4. Taksim, for Cello and Piano, 1974-75, Paris

5. Eight Miniatures, for Cello and Bassoon, 1977 Athens

6. Double Image, for violin and piano, 1984 Athens First performance Autumn 1984 at the National Gallery (Dimitris Vraskos violin, Nelli Semitekolo piano)

7. Four Pieces, for 2 pianos, 1986 Athens. (inspired by Aldous Huxley’s book The Doors of Perception. First performance, August 10, 1986 at the 1st Patras International Festival by Meropi Kollarou, Lola Totsiou pianists)

8. Moments of a lonesome town, for 6 instruments, 1986 Athens (fl., clar., vln., vla., pno., perc.) Work commissioned by the group “Symmolpa”. First performance, October 1986 at the Dimitrios Festival in Thessaloniki

9. String Quartet, no. 1, 1987 Athens. (Work is dedicated to Markos Sfetsas). First performance, April 17, 1989 at the Municipal Theater of Kalamata by russian quartet “Mlada”)

10. Desert Flowers, (no text) for female voice and 12 instruments, 1994 Athens (folk clar. + ten. Sax., fl. + sopr. sax., trpt., trbn., 2 perc., – one drummer, pno., dbass and String Quartet). Work commissioned by the Athens Concert Hall O.M.M.A. First performance, January 28, 1995 at Athens Concert Hall (Irini Karagianni voice, Thanasis Zervas folk clar.+ten. Sax., David Lynch fl. + sopr. sax, and ensemble conducted by Miltos Logiadis

11. Soneto la rosa, poetry Dionysios Solomos (from Italian Poems) for female voice and Trio (vln, vcl, pno), 1994 Athens. First performance, 1995 at “Apollo” Municipal Theater of Patras (Irini Karagianni voice and Trio: Vladislav Halapsis vln, Marina Kislitsina vcl, and Ala Halapsis piano)

12. Trio, for vln, alto sax. and pno, 1994 Athens. First performance in 1998 at Cultural Center (Pieridis Hall) Glyfada, by Tatsis Apostolidis vln, Thodoros Kerkezos alto sax, Aris Garoufalis piano

13. Oblivion, poetry by Lorenzo Mavilis, for female voice and 4 instruments, (trpt., vln., vla., pno), 1995 Athens. Work commissioned by the University of Patras, “Topali Foundation”. First performance, 1995 at the “Apollo” Municipal Theater of Patras

14. The three faces of November, for Saxophone Quartet, 1998 Athens

15. Revbows, for 6 Violoncellos, 1999 Athens

16. September days, for Tenor Saxophone & Wind Quintet, 2002 Lefkas

Sheet music

  • Γαλάζια Ανατολή για Βιόλα και Πιάνο, 1ο Μέρος. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Δοκιμολογία για 13 εκτελεστές. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Τραγούδια των μοναχικών ημερών για Ορχήστρα Νυκτών Εγχόρδων. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Τα τρία πρόσωπα του Νοεμβρίου για Κουαρτέτο Σαξοφώνων. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Fiction Moments για Τρομπέτα (σε Ντό) για πιάνο. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Κονσέρτο για Πιάνο και Ορχήστρα. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Ο άνεμος της άγνωστης ψυχής μου φαντασία κοντσερτάντε για Βιολοντσέλο και Ορχήστρα Εγχόρδων. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Τέσσερα Κομμάτια για δυο Πιάνα. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Χρόνος Ομορφιάς για Βιολοντσέλο και Πιάνο. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Veneration thoughts για 13 μουσικούς. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Χαμένες μνήμες για Σοπράνο Σαξόφωνο και Πιάνο. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Ντούο, (Αναπόληση) για Σοπράνο Σαξόφωνο και Πιάνο. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Νυχτερινό Μήνυμα για Βιολί και Πιάνο. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Μουσική του Μεσονυκτίου για Βιολί και Ορχήστρα Εγχόρδων. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Four dimensions on a Lefkas landscape για σόλο Πιάνο. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Ερωτικό Τραγούδι για φωνή και 5 όργανα. [Κατεβάστε]
  • Ionian Motion . [Κατεβάστε]
  • Τρίο για Βιολί, ‘Αλτο Σαξόφωνο και Πιάνο. [Κατεβάστε]
  • September days για Τενόρο Σαξόφωνο και κουιντετο πνευστών. [Κατεβάστε]

Publications

… Kyriakos Sfetsas in his Episodes makes the most merciless evocations to the piano, thanks to a style that elevates with a fantastic effectiveness the “cluster” and the glissando to the level of institutions.

Antoine Golea in CARREFOUR, Paris 3-12-1969

 

Episodes for piano by Kyriakos Sfetsas, a composition full of high tension. An expression of idiomatic language and form. They are all justified by the seriousness and the knowledge of the musical “écriture”.

Louis Dandrel in LE MONDE, Paris 12-12-1969

 

… The vacuum in the contemporary Greek music left by the untimely death of Yanni Christou will not be filled immediately. The possibility, however, of the emergence of a young talented composer that will be able to follow the example of Scalkottas, Christou or Xenakis, cannot be ruled out. These were the thoughts and hopes that went through our mind when we heard the news about the 25 year old Kyriakos Sfetsas making his first public presentation in Paris with Episodes for solo Piano, which was favourably received by the critics.

George Pilichos in TA NEA, Athens 10-2-1970      

 

Max Deutsch himself directed the Experimental Group in the performance of Docimologie by a young Greek composer Kyriakos Sfetsas. Music resembling a rich tapestry, a work for 13 soloists, every element of wich captures the attention of the audience with its variety of tempos, the preciseness of its approaches, finalized in a dynamic synthesis.

Anne Ray in LE MONDE, Paris 16-2-1971

 

… Paris that has of late “adopted” a great number of young Greek artists, has been recently impressed by the young Greek composer Kyriakos Sfetsas, whose ambition is to follow the steps of the great Iannis Xenakis. He is the favourite disciple of professor and composer Max Deutsch, and with the help of his famous master he has managed to make his presence strongly tangible in the scene of contemporary music in Europe.

George Pilichos in TA NEA, Athens 31-5-1971

 

… L’ “Open Festival” de Montparnasse… works of electroacoustic music with interesting compositions by the disciples of Max Deutsch, and among them the most talentd one, Kyriakos Sfetsas.

Anne Ray in LA QUINZAINE LITTERAIRE, Paris 15-7-1971

 

… Now contemporary Greek works and Greek performers of contemporary music represent Greece in the musical centers of Europe and receive favourable reviews… from Antoniou to Terzakis, Aperghis and Sfetsas whose musical presence in Europe and the U.S.A is being verified with more and more concerts.

Foivos Anoyannakis in ATHENS NEWS, 9-10-1971

 

… In the second part, the Sequences Picturales (1971) convinced us that Kyriakos Sfetsas (born in 1945) whose Docimologie impressed us very much, is one of the most encouraging discoveries to emerge from the series of September Contemporary Music Concerts. Once again in Sequences Picturales we have the various parts separated by distinct pauses and a continuous lively search, genuine and unpretentious. The music captured our attention from the first note to the last one, always suggesting new ideas, new timbres that instead of weakening, were giving solidity to the sense of form. Yes, in the case of Sfetsas we could probably talk about a case of personal style.

Giorgos Leotsakos in TA NEA, Athens 23-10-1971

 

Kyriakos Sfetsas, Sounding of Present Future, 1986

(A ceremonial audio-visual triptych)

The core of the musical material, the non-musical philosophic beginning of musical thought, the perpetual transmutation of modal structures, and the multiple counterpoint of harmonic consonances in an independent, multi-leveled rhythmic motion, render the huge dimensions of the “metaphysical” landscape described by the composer.

Aleka Symeonidou in the “Dictionary of Greek Composers”.

 

…Four places, four worlds, four integral but related pieces which do not wish and should not be considered “theme-based compositions”. On the contrary, they contain a multitude of themes which interact in admirable balance, and often in impressive pointedness. So, these four pieces are characterized by an unpredictable thematic alternation and a strong “scattering tendency”, which nevertheless is always restrained in the end, meanwhile having provided the work with various other dimensions. The whole manner of writing reflects the composer’s conscious and unconscious impulses, while displaying a distinctive departure from familiar formalistic and conventional solutions. On listening, the prolific sound-world of the Four Pieces for 2 Pianos assumes the shape and dimensions of a mythical – even unrealistic – landscape where one can witness the sacrament of self-knowledge and redemption of modern man, through imaginatively staged processes of “self-transcendence” and “internal meditation”.

Christos Tsanakas, SOUND magazine (HXOS), February 1987.

 

…We next heard the first performance of Kyriakos Sfetsas, (born 1945) Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra, a long, masterfully written work composed especially for Yannis Zouganellis, perhaps one of Europe’s best tuba interpreters. The concerto itself was very interesting, full of melodic and harmonic devices, and echoing the music of, among others, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, etc. The tuba part was expertly written. The soloist amazed the audience once more with his indefatigable ability to treat the instrument either as a blazing brass or as soft-toned woodwind.
Dimitrios K. Katsoudas in the ATHENIAN August 1990

 

The clarinet of Vassilis Soukas, with its truly magical qualities and its deep Byzantine extensions, is the starting point for Diplochromia – this is the title of the CD recently released through the University of Crete Press (and distributed by LYRA). It contains two works by Kyriakos Sfetsas (“Diplochromia” and “Lyrical Suite”), based on the solo clarinet playing of this great folk artist. And all this with sound compositional structure and full functional incorporation of modern musical elements and folk inspiration. Sfetsas is a real master in this, with exceptional creative imagination and ability. Fortunately, he is no longer director of the Third Program of the National Radio, so now he has the time to write more music.

Giorgos Charonitis in ATHINORAMA, issue No. 904, 4-10th February 1994.

 

The Athens premiere of the “Fantasia Concertante” for cello and orchestra entitled The Wind of my Strange Soul by Kyriakos Sfetsas was of particular interest in the concert given by “Camerata” on December 4, 2000. Ambient, nostalgic and melodic, the work easily won the audience, all the more for having been rendered so exceptionally by Renato Ripo on the cello and “Camerata”, under the direction of Alexandros Myrat.

Nikos Dontas, KATHIMERINI, 20th December 2000.


…although the earlier works, such as Docimologie (Paris 1969), are more reminiscent of Pousseur in their sensitive instrumentation and the clear harmonic relationships between isolated sounds.
Giorgos Leotsakos in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
…His return (1975) to Greece coincided with a bewildering expansion of his musical vocabulary, in works such as
Diafanies Moussikis Kontsertou (‘Concert Music Slides’, 1977), wich now embraced tonal and modal as well as atonal melody, elaborate developmental alongside improvisational writing, elements of Greek folksong and neo-Byzantine church music, and allusions to jazz and rock music.
His attemts to link these apparently incompatible musical gestures were not altogether without succes, though they occasionally led to somewhat overblown musical proportions, for instance in the hourlong To fos tis kaktou (‘Cactus Light’ 1980-83).
With works rich in musical and dramatic character, including Ichissi parontos mellontos (‘Sounding of Present and Future’, 1986) and Diplochromia (‘Colours in double’, 1988), the crisis came to an end, Sfetsas emerging as one of the most stimulating figures active in Greece at the end of the century.
Giorgos Leotsakos in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

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