C_Music NOW

Raw Portraits

Galan Trio

As a call to the musical forces of our time, the Greek Composers Union presents a programme comprising works by five composers, alongside two new commissions. It is a carefully curated selection of pieces that were either written specifically for the evening’s protagonists – the Galan Trio – or have since become established reference points within the contemporary Greek piano trio repertoire.

The organising principle underpinning the programme is both clear and riveting: the presentation of works that embrace a diversity of aesthetic and technical approaches, seeking to capture the breadth, vivacity, and ongoing creative ferment of today’s ever-evolving laboratory of contemporary Greek music. All participating composers – Dionysis Boukouvalas, Eleni Ralli, Stylianos Dimou, Sofia Sergi, and Christina Athinodorou – are distinguished members of the Union, each representing distinct creative orbits and formal concerns across the spectrum of Greek musical production in the first quarter of the twenty-first century.

Special mention must be made of the Union’s initiative to commission two new works through an open call, which will serve as the culmination of the evening. This constitutes a conscious and forward-looking gesture, one that acknowledges the continuum of musical creation in Greece – a core mission of the Union, which sustained its activities even during the years of the German Occupation – and affirms the need to remain attuned to the emergent voices shaping the musical landscape of tomorrow. The two new works are by Fani Kosona and Dimitris Mousouras.

As a testament to its vital connection with contemporary Greek creation, the demanding task of performing these works is entrusted to the Galan Trio. Renowned for its dynamic stage presence and unflappable commitment to the living pulse of art music, the ensemble moves with assured virtuosity between the imperatives of the classical repertoire and a spirit of exploration, fostered through the commissioning and performance of new works for piano trio. Following the presentation of original programmes across Europe and the United States, the Galan Trio’s return to the Athens Epidaurus Festival – after its appearance in 2018 as part of the Claude Debussy tribute – marks a welcome homecoming and a shared occasion for celebration.

Program

Dionysis Boukouvalas Aubade (2023)

Eleni Ralli Portraits (2022)

Stylianos Dimou Quando l'an[I]ma è [S]atu[R]a: meaningless meandering for [Anit] (2013-14)

Sofia Sergi Towards the Flame (2009 / 10)

Christina Athinodorou Messa Aktis (2013)

2 New Works

Fani Kosona Fragility / Ductility (2026)

Dimitris Mousouras Perpetually (2026)

---

Quando l'an[I]ma è [S]atu[R]a: meaningless meandering for [Anit]
for amplified piano trio

“Quando l'anIma è SatuRa: meaningless meandering for [Anit]” is a piece for amplified violin, cello and piano finished in January 2014. The technical aspects of the music deal with fluidity and the sculpting of sound, means that aim to highlight a visceral and tactile gestuality. The fundamental principle of this work is the conception of structure as a potential byproduct of microscopic elaborations of the timbral and gestural dimensions of music. The stream of sonic energy results from a continuous, self-generated – without any particular reference to a formal scheme – “domino” process consisted of heterogeneous gestural and timbral elements that formulate shapes in the unfolding of the structure. Objects and gestures are generated in various layers, in an unpredictable way, depicting the gradual formulation of the structural shape of the piece. Therefore, every single parameter is interacting, producing “cells” that gradually spread out, communicate and connect each other, resulting to the formation of focal sonic/ harmonic moments and gestural interconnections, all combined generating the dramaturgical forces of the piece. The notion behind this approach is pertinent to my need for a stochastic comprehension of the behavior and/or the theatricality of either independent musical units or generalized structural moments throughout my music.
•
Το έργο για βιολί, τσέλο και πιάνο (με ηχητική ενίσχυση) ολοκληρώθηκε τον Ιανουάριο του 2014. Κεντρικό μέλημα της σύνθεσης είναι η ρευστότητα του ήχου και η διερεύνηση της σωματικής, απτικής σχέσης των μουσικών με το όργανό τους — μια χειρονομιακότητα που γίνεται αισθητή στον ίδιο τον ήχο. Η δομή του έργου δεν σχεδιάστηκε εκ των προτέρων: αναδύεται φυσικά μέσα από τη λεπτομερή επεξεργασία του ήχου και της κίνησης σε μικροεπίπεδο. Η μουσική εξελίσσεται σαν μια αυτογενής αλυσιδωτή αντίδραση — ένα «ντόμινο» — όπου κάθε στοιχείο γεννά το επόμενο χωρίς να ακολουθεί κάποιο σταθερό τυπολογικό σχήμα. Ήχοι και χειρονομίες εμφανίζονται σε διαφορετικά επίπεδα ταυτόχρονα, με τρόπο απρόβλεπτο, διαμορφώνοντας σταδιακά τη μορφή του έργου. Οι επιμέρους παράμετροι αλληλεπιδρούν και παράγουν μικρά «κύτταρα» ήχου που εξαπλώνονται και συνδέονται μεταξύ τους, δημιουργώντας έτσι τις δυνάμεις που κινούν δραματουργικά το έργο. Πίσω από αυτή την προσέγγιση βρίσκεται η επιθυμία μου να κατανοώ τη μουσική συμπεριφορά — τόσο σε επίπεδο μεμονωμένων στιγμών όσο και στο σύνολο της δομής — με έναν τρόπο που αγκαλιάζει το απρόβλεπτο ως δομική αρχή.