Kyriakos was born in Amfilochia on September 29, 1945. He was born in Lefkada, where he learned music at the Philarmonic Band as well as the National Conservatory of the City with the late Fotis Varlachos. He continued his studies at Athens’ National Conservatory of Athens (1963-1966), studying piano with Krino Kalomiri and theory of music under Michalis Vourtsis. He was there to accompany Maria Callas on her final performance in Greece, August 30, 1964 in Lefkada. He moved to Paris a few months later, just after the fall of the 1967 dictatorship. He moved to Paris on a French State scholarship (1969-1972). He continued his studies with Max Deutsch, composer and educator (composition, analysis and orchestral conducting), and sought the guidance and advice of I. Xenakis and Luigi Nono. His first public performance (Episodes, for piano solo), took place shortly after the May 1968 uprising in Paris. It received favourable reviews. His music was frequently performed and he received his first commissions from French Radio and TV as well as the Ars Nova Orchestra and Dance Group of Vitry. Many of his works have been performed at renowned international music festivals, including Bordeaux, Bordeaux, Royan, Reims and Paris. He also works regularly with the Vitry contemporary dance group and Michel Cazerta, the choreographer. Editions Transatlantiques published a portion of his Paris works. In Paris, he also released the first record of one of his works: Four-channel electro-acoustic Music for the Ballet Smog. This was one of the first four-channel tape pieces in the world. He made his debut in Greece as a composer during the 4th Hellenic Week of Contemporary Music, Athens (19th – 26th September 1971), with Docimology. In Autumn 1975, he returned to Greece to stay. He was invited by Manos Hatzidakis to work as a producer at the Third Programme of Hellenic Radio (1975-1976). He was a regular employee at the Hellenic Radio in 1977 and served as the head of the music departments for the 2nd and 1st programmes, and as the director of the 3rd programme from 1982 to 1994. He has been living and working in Lefkada since 1999, where he was born and began his musical journey. He was the Artistic Director at the Cultural Center in the Municipality Lefkada and the cultural institutions “Speech and Art Festival”, “International Percussion Festival”, and “International Folklore Festival.” From 1999 to 2002, his work includes a variety of compositions, including symphonic and choral music, dance and theatre music, jazz and fusion pieces, and songs about Greek and World poetry. He also wrote music for films in the years following 1980. His music for Paragelia by P. Tasios wins the first prize at Thessaloniki’s Film Festival in 1980. He also wrote the music for Stigma (1982), D. Panagiotatos’ The night with Silena (1996), M. Ditsas’ Night Exit (1991), N. Grammatikos’ U Turn (1991) u0026 A time to kill (1993). Many recordings of his music have been released by many labels, including EMI, CBS and ENM. Every release received at least favorable reviews. He released Silent Days on UTOPIA in 1991. In 1993, Colours in Double was released. The CD Colours in Double is a tribute to Vassilis Soukas’s art. It contains the works Colours in Double (recorded live at Festivals of Irakleion and Patra (’87), in which the musician played substantial solo parts. His entire recording collection was reissued on 8 CDs by FINEAS, an independent record label owned and operated by S. Gavrielides Publications. His work has been commissioned by Greek cultural authorities and organizations. It has been performed across Europe, Australia, and America by renowned music ensembles such as the Bolshoi Soloists and the Ensemble Modern of Frankfurt, Polyrhythmia of Sofia and the Okada percussion group of Tokyo, the Russo, Mlada Quartets and the Symphony Orchestras of Leipzig and Ljubljana. From its inception, the Athens Concert Hall, or Megaron, has hosted many works by Kyriakos, as well as performances by other soloists and ensembles such the organist Daniel Chorzempa, and the Camerata Orchestra. Giorgos Leontsakos, a music critic, writes in volume 9B of Dictionary of World Biography that “No other Greek avant-garde composer’s return of tradition was more impressive than Sfetsas.” He was known in France for his sound ‘pointillisme’, which is a distinctive sound that combines soundcolours with harmonic sensitivity. These soundcolour combinations were then organized into’microstructures’, which are spread out on an imaginary sound canvas. This brought to mind Joan Miro’s paintings, which had charmed him at the time. His most distinctive work, Docimology, dates from this time. His musical turn Concert Music Slides 1977, chronologically, follows his return (1975). It includes melody (tonal and modal), themes, elaboration and improvisation as well as chords that are contradicted with unisoni. He also uses elements and inspirations from folk music, both Greek and Eastern cultures. (His Love Song is performed in Byzantine music by a cantor). Other codes or methods of communication, such as. jazz, rock). Sfetsas’ music is infused with authenticated codes for communication. This allows the music to grow and reveal a deep loneliness, as well as a search for the other. It can be difficult to tell the difference between the socio-environmental and personal factors. One can see a strong need for communication behind his persistent writing. The three sections of his huge (duration: 6’46 ”!)) are rugged and contain some classical ‘elaboration’. Piano suite Cactus Light (’80 – ’83) often gives the impression that one pianist is improvising. Moments of a Lonesome Town is one of his most captivating works. It shows how, despite the loneliness and inhumanity of modern life, the search for the other continues with a more emphatic lyricism. “So, hope still persists.” discogs
