Gourzi, Konstantia

Gourzi, Konstantia

nine lullabies for a new world for solo viola

Konstantia Gourzi
(born in Athens/Greece, 31 March 1962)

Konstantia Gourzi’s name often appears as composer as well as conductor in the announcements of her concerts. Her portfolio of compositions includes not only operas, film music and works for music theatre and orchestra, but also numerous solo pieces and chamber music. Konstantia Gourzi’s musical work is documented in detail through radio recordings, television broadcasts and live streams. Recordings of her extensive discography were released at ECM, NEOS, NAXOS and SONY Classical.

Composer’s notes

When Nils Mönkemeyer asked me to write a piece as a Hommage à Bach that would function as a sound bridge between two Bach suites, I was likewise fascinated and aware of the particular responsibility. After several attempts I decided to write a piece that refers to the energy and importance of Bach’s work for me. That way I developed the nine lullabies. All nine miniatures are moments of a certain mood that do not correspond to the character of major or minor modes, but to a distant remembrance of chants from a fantasy world. Composing these pieces resembled painting colourfully over the first Bach suite on transparent paper.

Konstantia Gourzi – A biographical essay > READ