Gourzi, Konstantia

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

“…il vento del nord…”

“…il vento del nord…” was my first composition for madrigal choir. It has been the wish of the commissioning ensemble and the conductor to set Ibykos’ text to music. The main idea was then to base the composition on the acoustic colour of the vowels, while the piece concludes with a free repetition with or without words.

Ave Maria

The composition Ave Maria was written on the occasion of a collaboration with the female choir of the Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting). It was created as an interlude between two longer pieces. The composition is solely based on setting the two words “Ave Maria” to music; there is no other text. An ostinato can be found throughout the whole piece, taken over by alternating voices while the other voices sing the main motif together in tonal friction and in higher pitches.

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