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REVIEWS
Reviews of CD release Piano Works by Christos
Tsitsaros Centaur Records CRC2382
Tsitsaros's
music is conventionally tonal, but incorporating atmospheric
references to tonal inflections of the folk and church music
of his native Cyprus. Figurations and piano textures
which suggest piano music of the romantic era place the composer-who
is his own first-rate interpreter here-in the tradition of
virtuoso pianist-composers, who have often been drawn to write
vivid impressions of time and place like those contained in
this appealing recital.
(Records International Catalogue,
September 1998, p.19.)
Pianist-composer Christos Tsitsaros was born
in Cyprus in 1961, and received his formative education in
the United States. He states in his program notes that
he began improvising as soon as he started playing, at the
age of seven. That extemporaneous quality of music making
has continued to inform his mature work. His 1993 None Tales
is a good example. The work is a suite of brief impressions,
between one and three minutes in duration, ranging from syncopated
dances and jazzy melodies pinned down with driving bass lines,
to concise contrapuntal exercises. One can imagine the
pianist happily working out the tuneful snippets at the instrument. The
music is simple, fresh, and enjoyable, like a good peasant
meal.
Tsitsaros represents himself with mainly small pieces on this
CD, most just a few minutes long, that are tuneful and tautly
constructed. His most significant foray into a larger
form is his Cyprian Fantasy, a five part, Baroque-style suite
played without breaks between the sections. The composer
took two years to complete this piece, and his bigger ambitions
have been rewarded with music that is dynamic, colorful, and
technically engrossing. Despite the potentially sentimental
inspiration if Cypriot landscapes, church bells, folk songs,
and Byzantine hymns, Tsitsaros maintains a rigorous grasp of
his diverse elements, producing a virtuosic concert piece with
a vibrant profile.
Christos Tsitsaros plays his own music with
vigor and precision. This is a fine album of uncomplicated,
accessible new piano music.
(Fanfare, November/December 1998,
pp. 349-350.)
Review of Songs Without Words
American
Music Teacher, Feb-March,
2005 by Virginia
Houser
Songs Without Words, by Christos Tsitsaros. Hal Leonard Corporation
(7777 W. Bluemound Rd., P. O. Box 13819 Milwaukee, W153213),
2004. 39pp. $7.95. Late-intermediate--early-advanced.
This imaginative
collection is a fresh addition to the late-intermediate piano
repertoire that will motivate students with its beautiful sounds
and emotional appeal.
Christos Tsitsaros has purposefully written this music to present
students with "the kinds of challenges that are present
in the late-intermediate and early-advanced literature of the
great piano masters." Although these works are teaching
pieces, they are musically satisfying. Written in the tradition
and style of romantic character pieces, they use a rich harmonic
vocabulary; they are in small-scale ABA form; they convey contrasting
moods and use evocative titles; and, very importantly, the
composer's adept handling of the musical and technical elements
makes these pieces accessible to students without a sense of "writing
down" to them.
The opening piece, "A Winter Fable," is
immediately appealing with its spacious open writing, giving
ample opportunity for balanced phrasing and dynamic shading
between the sequenced patterns. "Scherzo" requires
lightness in fingerwork and pedaling. The wide dynamic range
with sudden changes, detailed pedal indications and passages
of finger legato make "Searching" one
of the more challenging pieces in the collection. "Mirage" effectively
incorporates a continuous bass rhythmic ostinato. "On
the Wings of a Song" is a small toccato with alberti-like
accompaniment figuration that must be balanced against the
melody. The delightful "Milonga De Los Ninos" contains
a repetitive Latin style dance rhythm. The toccato-like B section
of "Sounds of the Rain" is framed by contrasting
A sections of gentle patterns with an Asian flavor.
From pre-college
students to adult players, fro private or recital settings,
this poetic music will entertain and satisfy. Reviewed
by Virginia Houser, NCTM, Manhattan, Kansas.
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