Product Description
Escape was written in 1995 and epitomizes
material used in Apostolos Paraskevas First Guitar concerto Phygein Adynaton written the same
year. Composed in a narrative evocative
and virtuosic way for the first part is based on quick motive gestures and
simple melodic lines. The second part fast and rhythmic creates a dynamic
contrast to the previous material and concludes (as a rounded binary form) with
a variation of the opening mood but darker now and totally surrendered. Escape was premiered by
Michael Nicolella in Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington,
USA in 2001.
Duration:
approx. 7 minutes
Apostolos Paraskevas is a classical guitarist and composer as well as an award-winning film
director and producer. He has received multiple international awards for his
compositions and was nominated for a Grammy Award. He is the only guitarist
ever to have a major orchestral piece performed at Carnegie Hall under the
direction of Lukas Fossand the only musician who has performed there in a
Grim Reaper outfit. He was the founder and served for 16 years as the artistic
director of the International Guitar Congress-Festival of Corfu, Greece. He is a voting member of the Recording
Academy (Grammys).
After
his undergraduate music studies in Volos he pursued advanced studies in
classical guitar with Costas Cotsiolis (diploma, 1990) and Leo Brouwer (Havana
1984, 1988), as well as postgraduate studies in composition with Lukas Foss and
Theodore Antoniou (DMA in composition, Boston University, 1998). Paraskevas
embarked on a successful career as a guitar soloist and contemporary composer,
achieving distinctions in both disciplines: Grammy nomination for Chase
Dance (Bridge Records, 1999); first prize for Night Wanderings
(Lukas Foss Composition Competition, 2000); first prize for Phygein Adynaton
(National Composers Conference, 1997); and numerous prestigious commissions,
performances, and publications. Following teaching posts at Northeastern and
Boston Universities, Paraskevas has taught since 2001 at the Berklee College of
Music in Boston (professor of composition and classical guitar).
His
eclectic compositional style arises as an idiosyncratic integration of
seemingly conflicting influences from avant-garde approaches to harmonic
structure, form, and timbre, to pop-folk modal and rhythmical concepts
amalgamated into a personal evocative musical language, characterized by
rhythmic verve, melodic grace, dramatic (and sometimes unexpectedly humorous)
gestures, and ritualistic or theatrical elements. The latter feature has also
led Paraskevas to the creation of films, notably the acclaimed I Finally Did
It (Gold award, California Film Awards 2010), dealing wittily with Death, a
recurring extra-musical theme in his music.
The Groves Dictionary of Music
Costas Tsougras
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