As was announced this past Thursday, the Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts has launched two OMNI on-Location videos to close out the calendar year. Both of them present solo performances by the Greek classical guitarist and D’Addario Artist Dimitri Soukaras. The videos were made in different settings, each providing a reflection on the nature of the music itself.
The richer video provided an account of the performance of the “Fuoco” movement from Roland Dyens’ “Libra Sonatine.” As might be expected, this is a highly virtuosic selection whose energy may reflect the hustle and bustle of urban life. As a result, the performance was filmed on the roof of a building in Athens, perhaps the building where Soukaras himself lives. The lighting (which appears to be natural) suggests the end of the day, with thoughts of dynamic night life that is soon to come.
Greek classical guitarist Dimitris Soukaras in the video of his performance of the music of Roland Dyens
The other video presents Soukaras performing his own arrangement of the first of Erik Satie’s “Gymnopedie” compositions. Those familiar with Satie’s life and works know that he was a pioneer of minimalism before that word became a part of familiar vocabulary. There is a “bare bones” quality to both the thematic line and its accompaniment; and even the harmonic accompaniment is “minimal” to the extent that it never arrives at a strong cadence. In this case Soukaras worked with his videographer Pano Andrianos to provide a “minimal” visual setting to match Satie’s aesthetic.
A “minimal” video account of the music of Erik Satie
Both of these videos are less than five minutes in duration, but each has its own way of taking an adventurous approach to minimalism.
No comments:
Post a Comment