Category Archives: Friends

The friend of Schubert’s winter traveler

Sometimes I think that my blog could have a single topic — the circulation and uses of this musical landmark which resonates across Western culture:  Since Dr. Pantelis Polychronidis, my “other self,” is a collaborative pianist, the question of the … Continue reading

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Piano music at sunset/Im Abendrot

Pantelis loves walks but does not like to go out at sunsets because they slide into something indeterminate that makes him feel insecure.  Sunsets may lead to bliss or annihilation, or both. In lieder, sunsets come at the end of … Continue reading

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Φιλία και ετεροτοπία μιάς μεταπολεμικής περιθωριακής παρέας

Πώς κατορθώνει μια παρέα διανοουμένων που λειτουργεί στο περιθώριο της αριστεράς, της κριτικής και της κουλτούρας να υπερασπιστεί τόσο σθεναρά και μακρόχρονα την εξέγερση, την ποίηση, τη σκέψη και τη φιλία; Το λογοτεχνικό περιοδικό Βόρεια-Βορειοανατολικά:  Κείμενα παραμεθορίου, με έδρα τη … Continue reading

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Listening to a friend (2)

Having a friend is a rigorous exercise in attentive listening:  We do not listen just to what our friend says but to our friendship summoning us. Having pianist Dr. Pantelis Polychronidis as my “other self” is a multiple exercise in … Continue reading

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Rhythmic listening

As a cosmic, poetic, musical, temporal force, rhythm has an etymological and philosophical resonance that emerged in archaic Greece and continues to echo through recent studies of meter, sound, difference,  time, and performance. Such studies have been focusing on the … Continue reading

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The pianist’s “divine madness”

Sequentia Cyclica (1948-49) is by any measure a demonic artwork.  One of the longest and arguably the most monumental piece of classical piano music, it is based on this theme, a version of the well-known Gregorian chant Dies irae: This … Continue reading

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Heine & Schubert’s “Der Doppelgänger”

Franz Schubert’s seminal song “Der Doppelgänger” (1828) is suspended in a unique historical and stylistic moment of classical music, with its ostinato piano part looking back to Bach’s passacaglia and its declamatory vocal part looking forward to Wagner’s Sprechgesang.  It … Continue reading

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“Ο Μάρκος Μέσκος στον Μέλανα Δρυμό της ποιητικής”

Το τεύχος 86 (Μάρτιος 2020) των Σημειώσεων είναι αφιερωμένο στον Μάρκο Μέσκο.  Στη  συμμετοχή μου τονίζω πως ο Μέσκος και η υπόλοιπη παρέα του περιοδικού “κάνουν τη μεγάλη θεωρητική τομή στην ελληνική ποίηση στη δεκαετία του 1970 όταν με το … Continue reading

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The pride of friends

Is he one of the very best collaborative pianists in the world? A distinct feature of powerful friendships is that great friends admire each other greatly. With our great friends, we identify in each other with some important personal things … Continue reading

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The time of friends

Friends operate on their own time.  The time they spend together cannot be estimated by calendars and schedules since they walk together at the unique pace of their friendship. When friends communicate, the time they share expands.  It grows flexible … Continue reading

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