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Fantasia & Toccata for 16 Contrabasses at LNSO | Rīga

An absolutely crazy formation of an ensemble of 16 contrabasses is going to premiere a new piece of mine at Riga in October. 16 Contrabassists from many countries around Europe are going to join their forces and make a concert on the 8th of October at the central concert hall in Riga.

LNSO CHAMBER MUSICTHE LNSO DOUBLE BASS CHOIR
16 DOUBLE BASSES AND ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Thursday, October 8, 2020 at 7 PM – 9 PM
Lielā ģilde

Programme:
Hans ZIMMER, Carlos GARDEL, John WILLIAMS, Miloslav GAJDOŠ,
Antonio VIVALDI, Gundega ŠMITE (premiere), Dimitris MARONIDIS (premiere)

The LNSO’s principal double bass, open and friendly Oskars Bokanovs has had his share of piano duets in the previous season, and he now invites friends and colleagues from near and far to surprise you with double bass solos, duets, quartets, and even a double bass orchestra. The program includes music of all styles and eras – from Vivaldi to film scores, from tango to Czech engravings, as well as new works by Gundega Šmite and Dimitris Maronidis. The stately instrument will reveal its melodic and virtuoso strings, a feast for musicians and listeners alike because 20 double bass players on a single stage – it is not to be missed.

https://www.facebook.com/events/788264345333281/

Multiplexing now in permanent collection of MOMus | Thessaloniki

As of today 22.6.2020, my kinetic sound sculpture Multiplexing belongs to the permanent collection of MOMus Museum of Modern Art in Thessaloniki, Greece. I feel thrilled! I am taking this opportunity to share a few thoughts about the way a composer might feel when expressing himself in a quite different medium than pure sound (visuals, sculpture, etc). 

Generally, I believe that apart from the technical differences between various forms of art, there is common ground in the process of expressing oneself through artistic means. Same agonies, efforts, failures, etc. Nevertheless, there were two very special aspects I experienced with this work and I would like to share. The first is the way I interacted with the audience-spectators and the second is the way I had to treat the work after its first exhibition was over.

Read More »Multiplexing now in permanent collection of MOMus | Thessaloniki

Four (Hommage) Études performance by Hayk Melikyan | Armenia

Four (Hommage) Études is getting performed in Armenia by Hayk Melikyan. The piece consists of 4 etudes made as hommages to four composers (Lachemnam, Ligeti, Reich and Smite).  Each etude highlights some aspects of the compositional style of the composer to whom it refers but is always seen from a pedagogical perspective

Date of concert 12 July 2020

Live Recording of Clarinet Concerto | Latvia

Please find on youTube a live recording of my new Concerto for Clarinet, String Orchestra, and Electronics, conducted and performed by Guntis Kozma and Sinfonia Concertante at Riga, Latvia on 12th of March 2020.

The piece was commissioned by Mūzikas Festivāls deciBels at Riga, Latvia, and was composed in January of 2020. Please use a pair of headphones, or loudspeakers to listen to this music.

Orbits at BUAP by Carmen Fergoso | Mexico

On March 15th 2020 (17 pm) Orbits for piano and tape, is getting another performance at Mexico by Carmen Fergoso at the Auditorio Multiaulas EMA1 Facultad de Artes BUAP along with works by Lockwood and Capuzano. The piece was composed back in 2014 and was premiered in Latvia. A new work based on similar sonic concepts is coming very soon!

Clarinet Concerto premiere in Rīga by Guntis Kuzma | Latvia

Concerto for Clarinet, String Orchestra and Electronics is getting its premiere at Latvia on the 12th of March by Sinfonia Concertante and Guntis Kuzma who is going to be both the soloist and conductor! The piece was commissioned by JVLMA Mūsdienu Mūzikas Festivāls deciBels, a festival on Contemporary Music in Latvia.

Prob_My Berio for solo Flute premiere in Thessaloniki

Prob_My Berio Chain for solo flute is getting its premiere on 24th of February 2020 at Vafopouleio Cultural Center at 20:30 by Andreas Smyris. The piece was composed 17 years ago, while I was still a student at the Music Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. It was part of an assignment in the Computational Models Course which was taught by Emilios Cambouropoulos at that time. In this piece, I implement first order Markov Chains to analyze and then re-compose the Sequenza for solo flute by Luciano Berio. The piece is a tribute to this great Italian Composer.

Read More »Prob_My Berio for solo Flute premiere in Thessaloniki

5 Movements performed by Jana Luksts at DiMenna Center | New York

A new video just released! An amazing performance of 5 Movements for solo piano by the Canadian pianist Jana Luksts at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in New York! This piece was composed back in 2017, in a period when my young son was obsessed with the music of George Gershwin. Listening to the music of Gershwin on a daily basis has influenced my own composition one way or another. Isn’t a composer supposed to be a filter on reality?

Dedicated to my son Iason Maronidis, for being a startling light of hope.

Jana Luksts, piano
Mariano Wainsztein, director
Daniel Baruch, sound
George Katehis, editing, production

Muted Blast (.2) Concert of meta.ξ | New York

Transient Beauty for tape and Orbits for piano and tape are going to be performed at New York on 15th of November 2019 by the Canadian pianist Jana Luksts!

-meta.ξ, a collective of Greek composer/artist/design-curators, is presenting a concert of cutting-edge works featuring piano, electronics, double bass, interspersed with electro-acousmatic music. meta.ξ is bi-laterally based between the United States and Greece, with members living and working everywhere in between. The collective aims to strengthen the voice of the post-crisis generation of Greek composers, while embracing subversive and under-represented artists internationally.

With performances in prestigious venues across the globe, this is the first time meta.ξ will bring a concert to New York City. Jana Luksts (piano) and Evan Runyon (double bass), will navigate and experiment with scores involving electronics, robotics, and light design.

Programm, Muted Blast 2, metaξ (meta-ksi.com)
Benzaquen Hall, Dimenna Center for Classical Music
Jana Luksts, piano (www.janaluksts.com)
Evan Runyon, bass (http://evanruyon.com)
November 15, 2019 at 8PM

4 (Hommage) Études published by Universal Edition | Vienna

Four (Hommage) Études for solo piano is now published by Universal Edition. The piece consists of 4 short pieces for solo piano of which, each one makes a tribute to the following composers, Lachenmann, Ligeti, Reich, Smite. The purpose of the work is to introduce young students to the aesthetics of modern music in an enjoyable way.

You can buy your copy here

You can listen to the piece being performed by Tobias Weiss here

Interactive Music Systems | Exhibition 2019 AUTh | Thessaloniki

Please find here a short video with excerpts from the works of my students created during our easter semester course “Interactive Music Systems” at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. All projects are based on Arduino programming, interfacing with various hardware sensors (photodiodes, distance sensors, switches, potentiometer, etc) and communicating with various software platforms like Live Ableton, PureData, etc.