Ioannis
Fulias, The
two piano sonatas of Dimitri Mitropoulos:
From late romanticism to National School of Music, Panas Music,
Athens 2011 [405 pages].
Many
years after the death of his creator, the compositional work of Dimitri
Mitropoulos experiences a successful revival,
with a series of performances, recordings, editions, but also musicological
studies. The man who, until very recently, was mentioned – almost exclusively –
as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, in the few last years is
increasingly recognised as the composer Dimitri Mitropoulos, since his –
previously ignored, but extremely important – contribution to Greek art music
is now subject to a radical re-evaluation and begins to conquer a posteriori the
prominent position it deserves.
Acting in this context, the present study constitutes the first monograph devoted to Mitropoulos’ compositions and especially to his two piano sonatas: the juvenile and totally unknown Piano sonata in E-flat major that additionally bears the programmatic subtitle “My soul”, and the Greek sonata, which marks the culmination of the first creative period of the composer. The research focuses on a critical reconstruction of the history of the creation and the early reception of both these works, proceeds to a restoration and a completion of the music text of the first sonata, makes a thorough analysis of these two works and, finally, decides on the possible programmatic connotations of the earlier of these compositions but also on the legitimacy of the alleged national character of the later Greek sonata. Thus, the rapid evolution of Mitropoulos’ compositional style during the second decade of the 20th century is verified with the assistance of a multidimensional and profound analytical approach, while his prestigious, historically prominent and stylistically quite distinct place in the multi-faceted phenomenon of the Greek National School of Music is also sufficiently highlighted.
See also the
contents and the introduction of this book [in Greek].
© Ioannis Fulias