Harry Stafylakis (b. 1982)
www.hstafylakis.com

Never the Same River (2016) 
for orchestra

Commissioned by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Read by the Aspen Conducting Academy Orchestra, Felix Mildenberger conducting. Recorded live by Adam Borecki on July 20, 2016 in Harris Hall, Aspen, CO.

World premiere by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Mickelthwate, at the Winnipeg New Music Festival on January 31, 2017 in Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

Score and parts available for rental (PDF or hard copy) through my website: www.hstafylakis.com/contact



Program Notes:

“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”
—Heraclitus

The above aphorism, attributed to pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus (quoted by Plato in the dialogue Cratylus), expresses a view of the universe as being in a constant state of change. A musical analogue to this concept of impermanence is the chaconne, a Baroque form wherein a constantly repeating pattern (e.g. harmonic progression, bass line, etc.) provides a foundation for a process of continuous variation, decoration, figuration, and melodic invention. 

Never the Same River is a texture-based composition that attempts to embody Heraclitus’s philosophy of simultaneous constancy and flux. The work is propelled by a 26-note melody that outlines a perpetually-repeating harmonic progression, serving as the chaconne theme. First presented by the harp and percussion, the theme serves as a vehicle for the gradual textural development of the musical surface. The orchestra slowly emerges as captured harmonic resonances of the harp and percussion theme accumulate and gradually take over the texture. 

Throughout the work, the instruments of the orchestra act as semi-independent musical streams whose ever-shifting interactions conspire to effectuate a large-scale rhythmic, melodic, articulative, registral, and dynamic intensification. At the peak of this textural crescendo, the music buckles under its own weight and breaks off into disconnected fragments that struggle to rekindle the musical flow in fits and starts. Although the chaconne theme has been looping almost continuously, as the music winds down to its calm conclusion there is a sense of having traversed a great distance.
— HS

www.hstafylakis.com

Never the Same River (orchestra)

Never the Same River (2016) for orchestra

In Memoria, was written after the recent passing of my Nan and draws upon her love of choral music, and sets the text Ave Maris Stella (Hail Star of the Sea). 

Performed by the Cardiff University Contemporary Music Group Vocal Ensemble in the annual Student Showcase: 5th April 2017.

CMG Vocal Ensemble
Soprano: Sarah Derrick, Clare Pooley, Jessica Thomas, Carwen George, Mariana Dickinson, Xiaoyue Ruan, Robyn Pullen
Alto: Elan Richards, Rebecca Lawrence, Amelia Clarkson, Leigh Banner, Nadia Field-Lefert, Alexandra Butler
Tenor: Carwyn Harris, Sebastian Noltenius Palos, Christopher Davis, David Russell
Bass: Frederick Hodkin, Conall Keaveney, Luke James, Bernard Bertshinger, Owen McCarthy, Timothy Johnston

Recording mastered by Timothy Johnston.

© Copyright Thomas R Haslehurst 2017

In Memoria

A French dance based on two Gaillardes by Pierre Attaingnant.
Live performance recording with Mélanie Clapiès, Eunae Koh, Carrie Frey, and Isidora Nojkovic.

Gaillarde (2017)

Be Gentle No.1 (2017)

Max Vibes 3 [WIP]

A Love Scene for a film that does not exist.

Performed by Musiversal Studio Orchestra

Painting by MartinoPitture
https://www.instagram.com/martinopitture/

Invocazione I

The Truth Unfolds (2019)

The Next Chapter (2019)

In This Moment (I Choose) was created in collaboration with Jixue Yang, premiere pianist, and the Contemporary Performance Department at the Manhattan School of Music.

For more information and scores, visit elizabethgartman.com

Artwork by Lou Veramessa

In This Moment (I Choose)

Outcast Star

From birdsong-inspired compositions to political monodramas, the wide-ranging music of composer Alexander Liebermann is sought after across the United States and Europe. His recent compositions include a climate-change reflecting monodrama commissioned by the Deutsche Oper Berlin, a birdsong-inspired string trio commissioned by members of the Staatskapelle Dresden, and a soundtrack for the documentary film Frozen Corpses Golden Treasures.

As a nature enthusiast, Liebermann devotes much of his time to the sounds of wildlife; his original and accurate transcriptions of animal vocalizations are viral on social media and featured in the world-renowned magazine National Geographic. His first book Birdsong: A Musical Field Guide, is published by Just A Theory Press.

Liebermann graduated from Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, Juilliard, and Manhattan School of Music. For his dissertation on Erwin Schulhoff, Liebermann received the Saul Braverman Award in Music Theory. Liebermann resides in New York, where he is a music theory and ear training faculty member at Juilliard’s preparatory division Music Advancement Program.

Gaillarde (2017)

Alexander Liebermann

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