November 29 to December 1, 2019
The conference will be held under the auspices of the International Musicological Society (IMS) and the Hellenic Musicological Society
Why Skalkottas and why Today
It is with great pleasure and anticipation that this conference is taking place in the context of "2019 - Skalkottas Year". The conference is dedicated to the life and works of Nikos Skalkottas (1904-1949), one of the most important Greek composers of the twentieth century, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of his death and the deposition of his Archive at the Music Library of Greece "Lilian Voudouri" of The Friends of Music Society.
Nikos Skalkottas is a representative composer of European music creation of the first half of the 20th century. His life and his work show the critical elements of contemporary music. He is a pioneer, innovative, inspired, and participant in the development of European music of his time as well as the development of the history of Greek music composition, while being secluded in his own art. He believed in himself, no matter the response of the audiences, he considered himself a European, but he also wanted to write many large scale works so that his country would have an important composer. One can wonder what kind of music would Skalkottas be writing if he lived today.
The conference is organized Today because, 70 years after his sudden death, we still have not revealed all the magnitude of his genius. Even though he is one of the most researched and played Greek composers of the past century, there is much more to accomplish in order to discover his works and compositional technique. This conference will give a chance to musicologists and musicians to present their research on Skalkottas and his environment. It is also happening Today, one year after the Aimilios Chourmouzios-Marika Papaioannou Foundation deposited the composer’s archive at the Music Library of Greece "Lilian Voudouri" of The Friends of Music Society to keep safe, document and make it available for research under ideal circumstances.
We are thankful to the co-organizers of “2019- Skalkottas Year”, the Athens Concert Hall, the Athens State Orchestra, the Greek Composers’ Union, the Foundation of Aimilios Chourmouzios-Marika Papaioannou, and the European University of Cyprus for their support and for sharing the same vision about the great composer. We also express our gratitude towards the most important musicological organization, the International Musicological Society, which immediately embraced our idea for a Skalkottas conference and offered their auspices. Similar gratitude is extended to its branch here in Greece, the Hellenic Musicological Society and to all the members of the Organizing and Program Committees. Last but certainly not least we would like to thank the Ministry of Culture and Sports, General Directorate of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage, Directorate of Modern Culture Heritage for appreciating our efforts to highlight the work of such a universal composer and for offering their generous support.
Official language of the conference will be English.
Conference venues: Music Library of Greece of the Friends of Music Society at the Athens Concert Hall
Organizers: Music Library of Greece “Lilian Voudouri” of the Friends of Music Society, Megaron—The Athens Concert Hall, Athens State Orchestra, Greek Composer’s Union, Foundation of Emilios Chourmouzios—Marika Papaioannou, and European University of Cyprus.
Organizing Committee Thanassis Apostolopoulos, George Boumpous, Alexandros Charkiolakis, Titos Gouvelis, Petros Fragistas, Vera Kriezi, Martin Krithara, Stephanie Merakos, Georgia Petroudi, Valia Vraka
Program Committee Antonio Baldassarre, Nikos Christodoulou, Ludwig Holtmeier, Eva Mantzouranis, Stephanie Merakos, Evi Nika-Samson , Nikos Maliaras, Tatiana Markovich, Kostas Tsougras, Panos Vlagopoulos, Petros Vouvaris, Valia Vraka, Giorgos Zervos
|
With the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, |
