Early recordings by
young artists are often infused with
a fiery drama that offsets the imperfections
later laid to rest by experience and
countless hours of repetition. The freshness
of the sounds produced by a talent still
in his 20s can be revelatory if not
revolutionary. They also tend to be
rife with imperfections in their interpretations
of traditional works. This is due, at
least partially, to the zeal with which
they are performed. The works of a young
composer are also often the most exciting
of a composer’s career, as that is where
the greatest amount of experimentation
is evident while the young person finds
their voice. This album appears to be
the first recording by Panayiotis Demopoulos,
a young man obviously in love with the
classics, and quite talented in his
own right. It is an attempt to highlight
his strengths and establish himself
in some way both as a composer and as
a performer. Predictably the results
are mixed.
The recording of the
Liszt works is not particularly well
done. The levels were not set high enough,
nor were the microphones set close enough
to the piano. The recording itself seemed
muddy, and made the performance itself
seem very inexact and imprecise. It
is difficult to discern either Mr. Demopoulos’s
actual level of technical prowess or
his emotive ability. Either that or
the damper pedal on the piano was not
properly working. The entire recording
is drenched in a bath of acoustic reverb.
Happily, the Beethoven
Sonata is a much better recording, and
the performance much more enthusiastic.
The second movement seems to be particularly
well suited to Mr. Demopoulos’s abilities,
and for these few minutes at least the
recording stands as far above average.
He also displays a solid understanding
of the many variations in the third
movement, and does a notable job throughout.
The last several tracks
on the album comprise a single work
in four movements titled Tetractys
for solo piano. This work was written
by the performer, and is the most interesting
work on the disc. Apparently the thematic
material is based around a tone row
derived arithmetically, but not mathematically,
from a Pythagorean formula combined
with the first three notes of Nuages
gris. If that sounds confusing,
the liner notes do little to clarify
through their brief discussion of the
use of Venn diagrams and mathematical
set theory to create the harmonic material
used. That being said, whether created
through Schoenberg-influenced mathematical
mysticism, John Cage-ish serendipity,
or pseudo-scientific inspiration, the
work itself is quite good. Each variation
is distinctive, but in the final estimation,
and hangs together very well. It feels
as if it is a tone poem of sorts, rising
slowly and quietly at the beginning
and ending in a nearly violent crash
and clatter at the end of the fourth
movement. Overall it is an interesting
piece, which one would hope, signifies
the beginning of a prolific compositional
career for Mr. Demopoulos. That being
said, it represents the smallest part
of the album, which is unfortunate.
While an entire album of works by a
young performer/composer in the classical
music realm could possibly seem pretentious
and would probably be largely ignored,
the other selections do little to raise
this disc above the crushing pile of
those released every year. Tetractys
is given little chance to find its
way to the surface of the musical landscape.
While I sincerely hope
that we have not heard the last of Mr.
Demopoulos this early effort is nothing
particularly special. Should he become
one of the great performers or composers
of this time, this album will become
an essential recording due to its early,
raw fervor and the Tetractys.
However, should he go the route of most
musicians, performing where he can but
never truly distinguishing himself,
this will go into the oblivion of history.
There is nothing particularly off-putting
about it, and it is harmless enough.
Alas, that hardly seems enough for a
solid recommendation. Better luck to
him on his next effort.
Patrick Gary
Panayiotis Demopoulos, piano