Erato Alakiozidou

"Henriette"

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great composer, pianist and chief musician, Nikos Astrinidis (1921-2010), Subways Music presents, in a digital online version and with availability on all major international music platforms, the album, "Henriette". The piano soloist Erato Alakiozidou, "Henriette", as the composer called her, performs alongside other excellent performers, representative works chosen together with Nikos Astrinidis himself.

Tracks:
1. «Deux Pièces en style Grec» op.16 №1 for violin & piano
2. «Deux Pièces en style Grec» op.16 №2 for violin & piano
3. Pièce de concert op.57 for saxophone & piano
4. Prelude №1 op.14 for solo piano
5. «Eisai mia thalassa» for metzo soprano & piano | poetry: Anna Takakou
6. Cappricio in modo balcanico for violoncello & piano
7. «Den noiazomai gia plouti» for tenor & piano | poetry: Makidonios Ipatos
8. Prelude №2 op.14 for solo piano
9. «Treis mousses» for mezzo soprano & piano | poetry: Antipatros the Thessalonikeus
10. *Danse Antillaise op.27b pour quatre mains

A note by Astrinidis
“I am very touched that Henriette, as I call her in French, has taken the initiative to record my works. This effort started as an idea back in 2003, when she made a tribute to my works here in Thessaloniki, but also in Athens. In the end, she succeeded and for that I am very happy, because her talent is combined with many other virtues and she always manages to accomplish what she undertakes. In this album, which also features excellent artists, I have given all the guidelines as far as my works are concerned. But I always like to leave the performers free to express themselves through the music. I sincerely thank everyone who took part and devoted themselves to the study, so that they could convey everything that I feel exactly. Above all, I thank my beloved student and friend who managed to give life to this creation after many adverse circumstances. She has studied most of my works and performed them in concerts and recitals and for that I thank her deeply for the love and devotion she has shown over the years. The works that can be heard on the disc are a selection made together and represent all periods of my life. The most recent work is the work for saxophone, the story of which has to do with my friend Stathis Mavrommatis who was the director of the Athens Philharmonic. I wrote a piece in his memory for his grandson to perform. Of course, I didn't have the saxophone technique, so I studied works by French saxophone composers from the 1930s onwards. Then the inspiration came to me and so I am very happy that I succeeded and wrote this work and honored my friend and his grandson. The rest of the works were written in Paris and Cairo and are older works, but very important and dear to me."
Thessaloniki 11.05.2010
Nikolaos Astrinidis

Contributors:
​​Erato Alakiozidou: piano - recording editing
Featuring: Angeliki Kathariou (mezzo-soprano) and Ioannis Neagou (tenor), Eftychia Veniotas (piano), Victor Davaris (cello), Theofilos Sotiriadis (saxophone), Maria Spanou (violin)
Recording: Kostas Kontos - Laboratory of Electroacoustic & Music Technology A.P.Th
Cover painting: Butterfly
Painter: Iro Fitraki
Executive Producer: Georgina Merediti
Production: Subways Music - Sofocles Sapounas