Dimitris Papadimitriou: Piano Concerto No. 1 – Titos Gouvelis, Athens State Orchestra & George Petrou

World Premiere Recording

Cosmopolitan like his hometown Alexandria: in Dimitris Papadimitriou’s work, traditional European music meets folklore from the Mediterranean, ancient Greek tonality combines with modern contemporary sounds.

George Petrou has now recorded Papadimitriou’s orchestral works with the Athens State Orchestra, together with Titos Gouvelis, who lends power and brilliance to the solo part of the piano concerto.

The Piano Concerto is the main work on this finely balanced Super Audio CD.

The focus is on the relationship of the individual to his environment – sometimes affectionately turned towards, sometimes indifferently passive, sometimes militantly aggressive. Especially in the large-scale third movement, conflict dominates, with the huge orchestra threatening to swallow up the soloist from time to time.

The excerpts from the suite “Miniatures” form a good overview of Papadimitriou’s oeuvre.

Echoes of film music are no coincidence: in Greece, Papadimitriou is one of the genre’s greats. The luxurious sound is also in widescreen format – Papadimitriou’s multifaceted orchestral colours shine particularly brightly on the high-quality Super Audio CD, with impressive depth in the varnish of the three-dimensional reproduction.