The Symphonic Concerto for piano and orchestra (1935) by Manolis Kalomiris: Reaffirming the national-ideal topos through the (old) western canon

Abstract

Manolis Kalomiris's Symphonic Concerto for piano and orchestra (1935) consolidates the virtuosic piano performance and the complexity of romantic symphonic texture with the appearance of authentic Greek folk material, its westernized treatments, and symbolic self-references arising from the Greek National School principles. The work is critically examined through historical and analytical perspectives, aiming at a better understanding of the composer's aspirations expressing the indigenous artistic, cultural and political circumstances of the period when it was completed. Examples of the relative Greek and international "concertante" repertoire, from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, are also taken into comparative consideration.