8.570191 4

Michalis KontaxakisMichalis Kontaxakis is considered today to be one of the leading young Greek guitarists. He studied the guitar withVassilis Mastorakis, graduated from Costas Cotsiolis’s class, and also studied at the Robert SchumannMusikhochschule in Düsseldorf with Joaquín Clerch. After winning many other international prizes, in 2005 hebecame the first Greek musician to take first prize in the prestigious International Francisco Tárrega GuitarCompetition. He now appears in solo recitals, in a duo with the noted Croatian guitarist Dejan Ivanovic, and in avariety of chamber music ensembles across Europe in major concert halls and at the most important guitar festivals.His activities also include performances with many European orchestras and regular collaboration with the JeanPiaget Institute in Lisbon, where he often gives master-classes. He lives and teaches the guitar in Athens.

Many thanks to Vassilis Mastorakis, Alkis, my family and Elisavet for her tolerance. A big thanks to Costas Cotsiolisfor his help and support, and to Norbert and Bonnie for the excellent work they do. Special thanks to Joaquín Clerchfor trusting his music to me, and finally, I would like to thank Certamen Internacional de Guitarra ‘FranciscoTárrega’. This recording is dedicated to the memory of Yiannis Metzakis (1962-2005).

Laureate Series • Guitar

Michalis KontaxakisFirst Prize:2005 Tárrega InternationalGuitar Competition, Benicásim

GUITAR RECITAL

M. PONCEA. KHACHATURIANF. TÁRREGAE. KRENEKJ. CLERCH

570191bk USA 9/6/06 3:39 pm Page 4

8.5701913

music so alien to his style and apparently lost his copyof the work. There were various manuscripts of thepieces and the guitar version was revised in 1955, afterearlier additional arrangements for piano and fororchestra. The present version follows a copy thatMartin gave to the Zurich guitarist Hermann Leeb in1938, and the manuscript includes a modest note fromthe composer to Leeb, asking whether any changes areneeded. In his reply Leeb expressed his satisfactionwith the work and the hope that greater familiarity withthe guitar might lead to other compositions. The firstpiece, Prélude, opens with a slow introductory passage,leading to passages of greater rapidity, with a shortrhythmic and melodic figure predominating in astructure that draws on elements of serialism. The Air,marked Lent et bien rhythmé, is neo-classical in mood,leading to the third piece, Plainte, with its Spanish-tinged melody in the upper part, accompanied by chordscharacteristic of the composer. The work ends withComme une Gigue (Like a Gigue), which returns to thetonality and something of the angularity of the firstpiece, while providing contrast in its central section.

Ernst Krenek was born in Vienna and became apupil of Franz Schreker at the Vienna Music Academy,following his teacher in 1920 to the Berlin Musik-hochschule, where his musical style began to develop inother directions. His compositions of the 1920s wonhim a reputation as an enfant terrible, bringinginternational success with his jazz opera Jonny spieltauf, and in the 1930s a change to serial composition,notably in the opera Karl V, withdrawn through politicalintrigue from a planned staging in Vienna in 1934. Hisopposition to National Socialism and the Anschluss ledhim to emigrate in 1938 to America, where he enjoyed acareer of distinction as a teacher and as a prolific

composer, exploring the possibilities of serialism andother contemporary techniques of composition.

Krenek’s Suite for guitar was written in 1957 anddedicated to the guitarist, teacher and composerTheodore Norman. The five short movements are basedon a single series of twelve notes, audibly so, with thedue octave displacements. The second and fourthslower movements form a contrast with the faster first,third and fifth.

For aficionados of the guitar Francisco Tárreganeeds no introduction. He was an important figure inthe revival of serious interest in the guitar in the secondhalf of the nineteenth century, winning an internationalreputation as ‘the Sarasate of the guitar’ and exercisinginfluence through his compositions, transcriptions andteaching. Verdi’s opera La traviata, based on the playby Alexandre Dumas, La dame aux camélias, was firstperformed in Venice in 1853. The Fantasía on themesfrom the opera, attributed by some to Tárrega’s teacher,Julian Arcas, or an even earlier prototype, follows theconvention of such pieces, with well-known melodiesfrom the opera, presented in a musical rather than adramatic order, ending with arias and duets from thefirst act, where Violetta, the courtesan of the title, andthe young Alfredo fall in love. The mazurka ¡Marieta!and the gavotte Maria, the latter dedicated to themandolin-player Baldomero Cateura, are characteristicof Tárrega’s idiomatic writing for the guitar.

The versatile and prolific Soviet Armeniancomposer Aram Khachaturian’s A minor Prelude is ashort piece of deceptive simplicity and great charm, anapt conclusion to a virtuoso recital.

Keith Anderson

8.570191 2

The Mexican composer Manuel Ponce was born in1882 in Fresnillo. In 1893 he served as a chorister inAguascalientes and the following year became anorganist. In 1901 he moved to Mexico City, studyingpiano and composition, followed by a period from 1904in Bologna and then in Berlin. He returned to Mexico in1907 to teach the piano at the Conservatorio Nacional,establishing himself as a composer, notably with thefirst performance of his Piano Concerto in 1912, anddoing much towards the establishment of a recognisablyMexican musical identity. He served as conductor ofthe National Symphony Orchestra and in 1925 returnedto Europe for further study with Dukas in Paris. In 1933he returned to Mexico, appointed director of theConservatorio Nacional. The following year heestablished a chair of folk-music in the School of Musicof the Universidad Nacional Autónoma.

In 1923 Ponce had met the great guitarist AndrésSegovia, and their friendship bore fruit in a number ofcompositions for the guitar, including a concerto,Concierto del sur, chamber music, and a number ofworks for solo guitar, some of them pastiches,following the example of the violinist Fritz Kreisler.Sonata III was written in 1927. It follows the traditionalstructure of a sonata, with a D minor first movement insonata-allegro form, its second subject marked piùtranquillo ed espressivo. A livelier central developmentis followed by a recapitulation. The second movement,Chanson, has a gently lilting theme that is heard againafter a short contrasting middle section. The lastmovement is a rondo, its principal theme framingepisodes of contrasting mood and key.

Born in Havana in 1965, the guitarist and composerJoaquín Clerch studied the guitar and composition in hisnative city before continuing his studies at the SalzburgMozarteum, where he was a guitar pupil of Eliot Fiskand worked in early music with Anthony Spiri andNikolaus Harnoncourt, graduating there with distinctionin 1991. He has won an international reputation as a

guitarist and since 1999 has held a professorship ofguitar at the Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf.

Clerch’s Preludios de Primavera (Preludes ofSpring), homage to Francisco Tárrega, consist of sevenshort pieces for guitar, a tribute to a form used byTárrega. The inspiration for the work came to thecomposer in April 2005 and the set of pieces wascompleted in July, each dedicated to a friend or amember of the composer’s family. The first prelude,Primavera, slow and expressive at first, is preceded bya line from the Cuban song-writer and lyricist SilvioRodríguez from his Mariposas (Butterflies), ‘Todo loque tocas se hace primavera’ (All that you touch turnsto spring), a suggestion of the Latin-American elementthat lies behind the pieces. Las olas de Moncofa (TheWaves of Moncofa), headed by a quotation from RaúlRoa, was written in April 2005 at Moncofa on the Gulfof Valencia. Homenaje a Tchaikovsky (Homage toTchaikovsky) reflects the Russian composer’s melodicidiom, while the mood of El Adios (The Farewell) isprefigured in sad lines of farewell from a love poem byPablo Neruda. Y sì pienso en la Habana (And if I thinkof Havana), written in Germany, leads to the essentiallySpanish Souvenir de Granada, and the set ends with agentle dedication to Clerch’s daughter Minerva,Cuando tu no estás (When you are not here).

Of Huguenot descent, the son of a Calvinist pastor,Frank Martin was born in Geneva in 1890, returningthere after periods spent in Italy and in Paris. He wasassociated with Jaques-Dalcroze and his theories ofrhythm and movement, and he moved, eventually, withhis third wife, to Holland, where he died in 1974. Hewon contemporary distinction as a composer and as ateacher, but in the first capacity falls into no easycategory, although he eventually developed a musicallanguage that draws, however eclectically, onSchoenberg’s serial technique. His Quatre piècesbrèves (Four Short Pieces) for guitar were written in1933 for Segovia, who was seemingly not pleased with

Michalis Kontaxakis: Guitar Recital

570191bk USA 9/6/06 3:39 pm Page 2

8.5701913

music so alien to his style and apparently lost his copyof the work. There were various manuscripts of thepieces and the guitar version was revised in 1955, afterearlier additional arrangements for piano and fororchestra. The present version follows a copy thatMartin gave to the Zurich guitarist Hermann Leeb in1938, and the manuscript includes a modest note fromthe composer to Leeb, asking whether any changes areneeded. In his reply Leeb expressed his satisfactionwith the work and the hope that greater familiarity withthe guitar might lead to other compositions. The firstpiece, Prélude, opens with a slow introductory passage,leading to passages of greater rapidity, with a shortrhythmic and melodic figure predominating in astructure that draws on elements of serialism. The Air,marked Lent et bien rhythmé, is neo-classical in mood,leading to the third piece, Plainte, with its Spanish-tinged melody in the upper part, accompanied by chordscharacteristic of the composer. The work ends withComme une Gigue (Like a Gigue), which returns to thetonality and something of the angularity of the firstpiece, while providing contrast in its central section.

Ernst Krenek was born in Vienna and became apupil of Franz Schreker at the Vienna Music Academy,following his teacher in 1920 to the Berlin Musik-hochschule, where his musical style began to develop inother directions. His compositions of the 1920s wonhim a reputation as an enfant terrible, bringinginternational success with his jazz opera Jonny spieltauf, and in the 1930s a change to serial composition,notably in the opera Karl V, withdrawn through politicalintrigue from a planned staging in Vienna in 1934. Hisopposition to National Socialism and the Anschluss ledhim to emigrate in 1938 to America, where he enjoyed acareer of distinction as a teacher and as a prolific

composer, exploring the possibilities of serialism andother contemporary techniques of composition.

Krenek’s Suite for guitar was written in 1957 anddedicated to the guitarist, teacher and composerTheodore Norman. The five short movements are basedon a single series of twelve notes, audibly so, with thedue octave displacements. The second and fourthslower movements form a contrast with the faster first,third and fifth.

For aficionados of the guitar Francisco Tárreganeeds no introduction. He was an important figure inthe revival of serious interest in the guitar in the secondhalf of the nineteenth century, winning an internationalreputation as ‘the Sarasate of the guitar’ and exercisinginfluence through his compositions, transcriptions andteaching. Verdi’s opera La traviata, based on the playby Alexandre Dumas, La dame aux camélias, was firstperformed in Venice in 1853. The Fantasía on themesfrom the opera, attributed by some to Tárrega’s teacher,Julian Arcas, or an even earlier prototype, follows theconvention of such pieces, with well-known melodiesfrom the opera, presented in a musical rather than adramatic order, ending with arias and duets from thefirst act, where Violetta, the courtesan of the title, andthe young Alfredo fall in love. The mazurka ¡Marieta!and the gavotte Maria, the latter dedicated to themandolin-player Baldomero Cateura, are characteristicof Tárrega’s idiomatic writing for the guitar.

The versatile and prolific Soviet Armeniancomposer Aram Khachaturian’s A minor Prelude is ashort piece of deceptive simplicity and great charm, anapt conclusion to a virtuoso recital.

Keith Anderson

8.570191 2

The Mexican composer Manuel Ponce was born in1882 in Fresnillo. In 1893 he served as a chorister inAguascalientes and the following year became anorganist. In 1901 he moved to Mexico City, studyingpiano and composition, followed by a period from 1904in Bologna and then in Berlin. He returned to Mexico in1907 to teach the piano at the Conservatorio Nacional,establishing himself as a composer, notably with thefirst performance of his Piano Concerto in 1912, anddoing much towards the establishment of a recognisablyMexican musical identity. He served as conductor ofthe National Symphony Orchestra and in 1925 returnedto Europe for further study with Dukas in Paris. In 1933he returned to Mexico, appointed director of theConservatorio Nacional. The following year heestablished a chair of folk-music in the School of Musicof the Universidad Nacional Autónoma.

In 1923 Ponce had met the great guitarist AndrésSegovia, and their friendship bore fruit in a number ofcompositions for the guitar, including a concerto,Concierto del sur, chamber music, and a number ofworks for solo guitar, some of them pastiches,following the example of the violinist Fritz Kreisler.Sonata III was written in 1927. It follows the traditionalstructure of a sonata, with a D minor first movement insonata-allegro form, its second subject marked piùtranquillo ed espressivo. A livelier central developmentis followed by a recapitulation. The second movement,Chanson, has a gently lilting theme that is heard againafter a short contrasting middle section. The lastmovement is a rondo, its principal theme framingepisodes of contrasting mood and key.

Born in Havana in 1965, the guitarist and composerJoaquín Clerch studied the guitar and composition in hisnative city before continuing his studies at the SalzburgMozarteum, where he was a guitar pupil of Eliot Fiskand worked in early music with Anthony Spiri andNikolaus Harnoncourt, graduating there with distinctionin 1991. He has won an international reputation as a

guitarist and since 1999 has held a professorship ofguitar at the Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf.

Clerch’s Preludios de Primavera (Preludes ofSpring), homage to Francisco Tárrega, consist of sevenshort pieces for guitar, a tribute to a form used byTárrega. The inspiration for the work came to thecomposer in April 2005 and the set of pieces wascompleted in July, each dedicated to a friend or amember of the composer’s family. The first prelude,Primavera, slow and expressive at first, is preceded bya line from the Cuban song-writer and lyricist SilvioRodríguez from his Mariposas (Butterflies), ‘Todo loque tocas se hace primavera’ (All that you touch turnsto spring), a suggestion of the Latin-American elementthat lies behind the pieces. Las olas de Moncofa (TheWaves of Moncofa), headed by a quotation from RaúlRoa, was written in April 2005 at Moncofa on the Gulfof Valencia. Homenaje a Tchaikovsky (Homage toTchaikovsky) reflects the Russian composer’s melodicidiom, while the mood of El Adios (The Farewell) isprefigured in sad lines of farewell from a love poem byPablo Neruda. Y sì pienso en la Habana (And if I thinkof Havana), written in Germany, leads to the essentiallySpanish Souvenir de Granada, and the set ends with agentle dedication to Clerch’s daughter Minerva,Cuando tu no estás (When you are not here).

Of Huguenot descent, the son of a Calvinist pastor,Frank Martin was born in Geneva in 1890, returningthere after periods spent in Italy and in Paris. He wasassociated with Jaques-Dalcroze and his theories ofrhythm and movement, and he moved, eventually, withhis third wife, to Holland, where he died in 1974. Hewon contemporary distinction as a composer and as ateacher, but in the first capacity falls into no easycategory, although he eventually developed a musicallanguage that draws, however eclectically, onSchoenberg’s serial technique. His Quatre piècesbrèves (Four Short Pieces) for guitar were written in1933 for Segovia, who was seemingly not pleased with

Michalis Kontaxakis: Guitar Recital

570191bk USA 9/6/06 3:39 pm Page 2

8.570191 4

Michalis KontaxakisMichalis Kontaxakis is considered today to be one of the leading young Greek guitarists. He studied the guitar withVassilis Mastorakis, graduated from Costas Cotsiolis’s class, and also studied at the Robert SchumannMusikhochschule in Düsseldorf with Joaquín Clerch. After winning many other international prizes, in 2005 hebecame the first Greek musician to take first prize in the prestigious International Francisco Tárrega GuitarCompetition. He now appears in solo recitals, in a duo with the noted Croatian guitarist Dejan Ivanovic, and in avariety of chamber music ensembles across Europe in major concert halls and at the most important guitar festivals.His activities also include performances with many European orchestras and regular collaboration with the JeanPiaget Institute in Lisbon, where he often gives master-classes. He lives and teaches the guitar in Athens.

Many thanks to Vassilis Mastorakis, Alkis, my family and Elisavet for her tolerance. A big thanks to Costas Cotsiolisfor his help and support, and to Norbert and Bonnie for the excellent work they do. Special thanks to Joaquín Clerchfor trusting his music to me, and finally, I would like to thank Certamen Internacional de Guitarra ‘FranciscoTárrega’. This recording is dedicated to the memory of Yiannis Metzakis (1962-2005).

Laureate Series • Guitar

Michalis KontaxakisFirst Prize:2005 Tárrega InternationalGuitar Competition, Benicásim

GUITAR RECITAL

M. PONCEA. KHACHATURIANF. TÁRREGAE. KRENEKJ. CLERCH

570191bk USA 9/6/06 3:39 pm Page 4

Michalis Kontaxakis, First Prize Winner in the 2005 International Francisco Tárrega GuitarCompetition, is considered today to be one of the leading young Greek guitarists. He studied the guitarwith Vassilis Mastorakis and Costas Cotsiolis, and at the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule inDüsseldorf. In this recital, featuring a guitar made by Alkis, Athens, he performs the world premièrerecording of Preludios de Primavera (Preludes of Spring) by Joaquín Clerch, and Tárrega’s enchantingFantasy on themes from La Traviata.

MICHALIS KONTAXAKISGuitar Recital

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* Denotes World Première RecordingRecorded at St John Chrysostom Church, Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, from 23rd to 26th March, 2006

Producers: Norbert Kraft and Bonnie Silver • Engineering and Editing: Norbert Kraft Booklet Notes: Keith Anderson

Cover Photo: Michalis Kontaxakis (by Thanasis Tamvakidis) • Guitar by Alkis, Athens

Manuel Maria Ponce (1882-1948): Sonata III (1927) 15:451 Allegro Moderato 7:002 Chanson: Andantino

molto espressivo 3:113 Allegro non troppo 5:34

Joaquín Clerch (b.1965): Preludiosde Primavera: Homenaje aFrancisco Tárrega (2005)* 13:424 Primavera 3:375 Las olas de Moncofa 0:326 Homenaje a Tchaikovsky 1:337 El Adios 2:448 Y si pienso en la Habana… 1:109 Souvenir de Granada 2:000 Cuando tu no estás 2:07

Frank Martin (1890-1974): Quatre pièces brèves pour la guitare (1933) 9:28! Prélude 2:42@ Air 1:42

# Plainte 2:47$ Comme une Gigue 2:17

Ernst Krrenek (1900-1991): Suite, Op. 164 (1957) 6:05% Allegro moderato 0:56^ Andante sostenuto 1:35& Allegretto 0:43* Larghetto 1:40( Allegro 1:11

Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909):) Fantasy on themes from

La Traviata 7:11¡ ¡Marieta!: Mazurka 2:34™ Maria: Gavota 1:27

Aram Il’yich Khachaturian (1903-1978): £ Prelude for Guitar 1:47

570191 Inlay USA 9/6/06 3:52 pm Page 1