32 piano pieces (1940) on BIS played by Nikolaos Samaltanos.

This is an exciting find and highly recommended - provided that you get on OK with the "freely atonal". Having said that, the language is highly consistent, relatively easy to get on with and seems rational with no hint of "wrong-notedness". Mind you, the friend who sent me the recordings was similarly excited and he's no fan of 20th century modernism, but is very much a fan of piano music (especially virtuosic) of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Still a bit mystifying though considering what Skalkottas said about these pieces (freely translated by Leo Black).

"This piano music is for special occasions: recitals with new original pieces, or to develop a new line of virtuosity . . .One could also try to develop a new way of playing - a more modern technique as it were - to suit the idea of the composition and the musical material presented. I would recommend a technique based on short, clear, rounded harmonies 'heard beforehand' and on imagination, though this must lead neither to near-misses nor to mere velocity. As far as possible the pedal should used little and intelligently; the piano is a small instrument and must not be misused in hopes of an orchestral sound. . ." [my emphasis].

Lasting 90 minutes or so, this is a work in 32 movements rather than a collection of 32 pieces and if the sleeve note (by Christophe Sirodeau) is to be believed, has a detailed overall plan thick with Golden Sections, references between the pieces and so on. Skalkottas was not a "composer-pianist" (he was expected by some to become a major violinist). In his early period he wrote very little piano music: words from his lips to the effect of "Nowadays [presumably late 1920s] one can write piano music only a la Debussy or Schoenberg, and since they've done it best themselves, it's better to leave it alone." Debussy? He certainly doesn't go there. Strange that he didn't mention Busoni, especially since he studied with Weill and Jarnach (both Busoni pupils) in the mid-1920s and also since the general colour and language sometimes suggests an area between Schoenberg and Busoni. But in the end, mentioning other composers seems like grasping at straws. E.g., no 16 - Nightpiece - could be described as seeming to lie somewhere between Bartok and Sorabji without the decoration; that might be useful as an indication but isn't as a description. These pieces are thoroughly individual in style and as probably as good an example as any by this composer. Perhaps it's not surprising - from 1921-33 he was in Berlin and therefore in a position to see/hear much of what the culture of that time had offer. from 1933 onwards, he was completely isolated from anything remotely modern; he probably saw a couple of Schoenberg scores (piano concerto + 4th quartet) after WW2 and that was about it.

I could talk about individual pieces, but I'll resist the temptation except to say that my friend likened no. 4 - Catastrophe in the jungle to Xenakis in its apparently incoherent virtuosity - and I don't blame him. There are some amusing atonal jazz numbers in the second half as well.

10 of these pieces are published by UE. There's another recorded performance from Idith Meshulam and here are some clips.

http://www.amazon.com/Nikos-Skalkottas-32-Piano-Pieces/dp/samples/B000255LUW/ref=dp_tracks_all_1

There are some pretty severe differences in timings between her and Samaltanos e.g.,
                                          NS                    IM
1 - Andante religioso              5:14                  4:18
4 - Catastrophe in the jungle   1:26                  2:26
6 - Reverie in the old style      3:27                  2:33
9 - Marcia funebre                 4:15                  3:06
16 - Night music                    7:17                  4:11
17 - Morning serenade of the
                         little maid    1:15                  2:25
19 - Etude phantastique         1:27                  2:13
26 - Slow fox                        2:30                  4:04

In other words, Samaltanos plays the fast ones (much) faster + the slow ones slower. Judging by what I'm able to compare, Samaltanos is definitely the one to go for.

Having instigated this thread and not posted a word on it since, I'd better say that I've been reading auto's contributions with much interest and will be seeking out some more.

(posted in error)

It's been interesting comparing the BIS recording of the violin concerto (with Georgios Demertzis) with the recording of an early performance by Yfrah Neaman in 1965. Neaman does well, but it's a bit of a struggle, especially in the first movement. Demertzis is most impressive, the violin part sounding even more  difficult than it does in Neaman's performance. I don't have any sleeve notes to hand, but the writing seems absolutely consistent with some comments made by John Papaioannou about Skalkottas's own playing:-

"His most unusual way of playing the violin was characterized by an exceptionally pure and disembodied sound, with almost no vibrato. Yet it was exceptionally warm and always mathematically precise, even in the wildest passages in his own work".


And from another source, the same writer, who accompanied him in a performance of the 4th Sonatina at a private gathering in 1942:-

"His technique was unusual; vibrato was almost non-existent, or extremely slow; the sound had the purity of a flute, yet was deeply expressive; the technique was breathtaking: the rapid passages gave the impression of lightning . . ."

I don't know if this approach is as unusual as Papaioannou suggests: I'll see if any of our colleagues on the violin/viola threads can enlighten.

The orchestration sounds somewhat more transparent than it does on the 1965 version, no doubt because it's better played. But it does allow the violin to "sing" - this is Skalkottas at his most lyrical. It doesn't seem opaque any more - but the second movement is still the favourite.

I suspect not. There is a Skalkottas archive in Athens, but I think Papaioannou would have mentioned if there were any recordings to be heard. (His notes for the 4-record box set I mentioned earlier has an extensive bibliography - now well out of date, of course). He reckons that the 4th Sonatina performance was the only time that one of his works was performed in Greece before his death. There's a duo for violin and viola which he no doubt played through with a sympathetic and supportive viola player from the Athens Orchestra, but whether or not it was played even privately . . . As for anything recorded in Berlin pre-1933 . . . ?

I've just come across some clips from the 3rd + 4th quartets.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00004SYCL/ref=cm_rdp_product_img

I had a score of the 4th in front of me and the playing from the New Hellenic Quartet seems quite staggering.

Zacharias is a pretty competent violinist who's researching Skalkottas (good to know that someone is) at the Royal Academy of Music. This was more of a concert than a presentation, the two Skalkottas works being padded out with a performance of the Bartok solo violin sonata. The relevance of this last work to Skalkottas escaped me, but, for purposes of comparison, it seemed to confirm how idiomatic Skalkottas's violin writing actually is. I did find Zacharias's intonation, internal clock and sense of continuity a bit dodgy - not criticisms I'd level at the cellist (Paulos Carvalho) who joined him for a performance of the 1947 Duo, a substantial and impressive 4-movement work.