New Music (Unlisted-2)

Mixed music ~

Solo trio --> standard-modell (Antoine Alerini, Noam Bierstone & Joshua Hyde)
Ensemble --> Orchestre des Lauréats du CNSMDP
Conductor --> Laurent Cuniot

"… Rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée, ni dans les opérations de l’art, ni dans celles de la nature, et l’on peut poser en principe que, dans tout opération, il y a une égale quantité de matière avant et après l’opération ; que la qualité et la quantité des principes est la même, et qu’il n’y a que des changements, des modifications…”. 
Extract from “Traité élémentaire de chimie” (1777) - Antoine Lavoisier



and matter was (not) perfectly conserved [2015] • for trio, ensemble & electronics

"where the murmurs die" - for guitar & orchestra
[HEADPHONES HIGHLY RECOMMENDED]

Natalya Makovskaya - Guitar
Orchestre des Lauréats du CNSMDP
Philippe Aïche - conductor

where the murmurs die [2016] • for guitar & orchestra

". . . d'un archétype métallique" (2017) 
for eight instruments and electronics

Live recording
May 1st
Columbia Composers Concert series 2017
DiMenna Center for Classical Music - NYC

Talea ensemble under the baton of Jeffrey Means. 

The piece addresses the coexistence of multiple acoustic and electronic sonic entities while it explores the relationship between instrumental and sound complexity. The framework of this project takes advantage of the technology and generates an electrified sonic world that counterbalances the acoustic complexities articulated by the ensemble. Metallic sounds, idiomatic frictions, granulated textures and chaotic microtonal clouds are some of the sonic entities interacting within a dramaturgical framework of intricate sonic interconnections and electrified acoustical masses. The generalized standpoint stems from the genesis of an electrified sonic world derived from the electronic processing of acoustic sounds that behave as the sonic extension of the instrumental ensemble in a unified way – the assembly of a “sonic twin”. The emergence of gestural interactivity pointing to an idiomatic stream of sonic behaviors captures the dramaturgical framework of the piece, highlighting a network of distinguishable sonic objects all perceived in a unified sonic fabric.

". . . d'un archétype métallique" (2017), for eight instruments and diffused electronics

trace - écart - for harp, electric guitar, cymbalum, double bass & electronics

Ensemble C Barré
Eva Debonne - harp
Cyril Dupuy - cymbalum
Thomas Keck - guitar
Charlotte Testu - double bass

Mónica Gil & Rudy Romeur - sound engineering

Premiered @ Festival Messiaen au Pays de la Meije 2017
Recorded @ GMEM Marseille

trace - écart [2017] • for harp, electric guitar, cymbalum, double bass & electronics

Machine learning (2018)
for amplified baritone saxophone and diffused electronics

IRCAM
Concert Cursus 2018
Centquatre, Salle 400 
June 16th, 2018

Interpreter : Elvis Sousa
Pedagogical supervision : 
• Mikhail Malt (Ircam)
• Claude Delangle (The Conservatory of Paris) 
Dedication: to Fred Lerdahl

In my piece Machine learning, I want to highlight the sound qualities of the key mechanism of the saxophone. It is amplified by several microphones on the outside, but also inside the main body of the instrument. This enabled me to access the hidden acoustic nuances of the instrument and investigate a new sonic territory, that of a sonic pallet full of various percussive sounds resonating in different ways. The goal of this project is to capture this hidden acoustic world of the instrument’s mechanism while understanding its potential for music making. Therefore, the performer is put in a place where he/she is reinvestigating the acoustic results of the traditional, common performance practices of the saxophone. The electronics are sonically intertwined with the acoustic properties of the resonant body of the instrument while expanding its acoustic and spatial possibilities. The final result is a projection of an augmented saxophone where acoustic and electronic sounds intermingle in a halo of mechanical sounds, metallic and versatile.

Machine learning (2018), for amplified baritone saxophone and diffused electronics

électro-folie (2020)
• l'aversion reflétant ''...for Violectra" (2018)
for electric violin and live, diffused electronics

Alicja Pilarczyk - e-violin
Piotr Peszat - audio recording, production
Stylianos Dimou - electronics design and audio mixing

Performance "non-lieux:nie-miejsca"
24.10.2020 
Trafostacja Sztuki w Szczecinie

électro-folie (2020) • l'aversion reflétant ''...for Violectra" (2018) is a piece for electric violin and diffused electronics. It is governed by the idea of percussive fragility and sliding instability. The main sound archetype is the organic interaction between wooden bow attacks and metallic thimble attacks on the strings of the e-violin. The piece gradually introduces multiple “glissando” gestures, slithers on the strings, in various speeds projecting a hidden world of granular subtleties that occur during the interaction of the thimbles on the strings. This becomes the central goal of the musical discourse while the structure is evolving.

The e-violin is one character within a virtual quadraphonic space (4 loudspeakers). The role of the electronics, primarily live, is to grasp the percussive density and transform it in the frequency and time domain. One of the roles of the live electronics is to generate a kind of “glue” that surrounds the instrumental gestures transforming them into a robust, thick and dense construction. In addition to that, the computer is responsible for the generation of multiple “e-violin identities”, instances that interact in a continuous counterpoint. One of the goals of the project is the disorientation of the audience by placing the e-violin, in unpredictable places, within the virtual quadraphonic space and blending it with the generated electronics.

électro-folie, for e-violin and live electronics (2020)

Les Instances (2019)
for diffused synthesized sounds and large ensemble

2019 annual Columbia Composers concert series
Conductor: James Baker 
Ensemble: Talea ensemble
March 29th, 2019
DiMenna Center for Classical Music – New York 

The piece was written for TALEA ensemble 
and is heartily dedicated to George E. Lewis

In "les instances" I am exploring the coexistence among digital, synthesized sounds and instrumental material. I am interested in experimenting with the reflection of an instrumental group on a synthesized soundscape that dominates the music discourse and has no spectral and/or sonic similarities with the material articulated by the ensemble. The structure of the piece is driven by a continuum of interchangeable, phrasal collages of distinct sonic and rhythmical structures, projected as sonic blocks, and formulating, eventually, the dramaturgy of the piece. The piece was written for Talea ensemble and is heartily dedicated to George E. Lewis.

Les Instances (2019), for diffused synthesized sounds and large ensemble

« ... What would I do without this world faceless incurious
where to be lasts but an instant where every instant
spills in the void the ignorance of having been
without this wave where in the end
body and shadow together are engulfed … »

(Samuel Beckett)

FRANCISCO ALVARADO
corps et ombre ensemble s'engloutissent [2018]

Florentin Ginot - double bass

Ensemble LINEA
Adam Starkie - clarinet / bass clarinet
Marie Andrée Joerger - accordion
Victor Hocquet - percussion
Ieva Dudaite - prepared piano
Marco Fusi - violin
Elodie Gaudet - viola
Elsa Dorbath - cello

Claire Levacher - conductor

Éditions Durand

Premiered @ Opéra National du Rhin / Festival Musica 2018
Aide à l'écriture d'une oeuvre originale du ministère de la Culture 2018

---------------------------------------------

Taken from Samuel Beckett’s « textes pour ne rien dire », the quote « corps et ombre ensemble s’engloutissent » was an inspiration to stablish a body/shadow type of relationship, in three different layers in this piece. The relationship between the double bass player and its instrument, between the soloist instrument and the ensemble and finally, between the double bass sonorities and the musical material construction, through them.

	What most interested me in this Beckettian image is that shadow no long exists as a reflection of the body, damned to follow each given dictated gesture. By engulfing themselves, they are at the same level, trying to annihilate one another, “pills in the void”.

	I used this idea to elaborate the musical material. One could say that the double bass works as the body. Indeed, I started by composing the double bass line and by making spectral analysis of the sounds of this line (using informatic tools). I could extract notes, harmonic champs, rhythms, in short, a very rich musical reservoir that allowed me to write the ensemble part afterwards – the shadow. Nevertheless, during the piece, the ensemble will emancipate, proposing new sonorities that will be used by the double bass, gradually alternating roles. This ambiguity concerning the source, will be established from the beginning of the piece, that starts with an ensemble opening, that we may consider firstly as the “body”, but which is actually composed by sounds that the double bass will play later on, in a kind of anticipated consequence.

	The body/shadow relationship is also used to manage the instrumental density of the score, in the soloist, ensemble and tutti passages of the piece. Even if the double bass is clearly presented as the soloist, it is often delicately doubled by other instruments. It will melt sometimes with the ensemble or it will clearly play as the shadow of another instrument.

	Finally, the most visible body/shadow connection is the one between the double bass player and its instrument. Actually, we may have the impression of seeing two dancing bodies. Even if it is the player who drives the instrument, the last one, being considerably big, impose its rhythm, its cadence, a sound inertia.
As this implicit choreography evolves, one may ask the question: which on is the body, which one the shadow? And finally, which one is engulfing the other one?

corps et ombre ensemble s'engloutissent [2018] • for doublebass & ensemble

OPTICAL FLOW 1.1.1.1. 1.1.1. Perc.1, Perc.2, Hrp, Pno, 1.1.1.1.1 and electronics.
Premiered in April 2013 at CNSMDP, conducted by Robert HP Platz.

OPTICAL FLOW [2013] • for ensemble & electronics

Stylianos Dimou
électro-folie (2020)
l'aversion reflétant ''...for Violectra" (2018)for electric violin and live, diffused electronics

Alicja Pilarczyk - e-violin
Piotr Peszat - audio recording, production
Stylianos Dimou - electronics design and audio mixing

Performance "non-lieux:nie-miejsca"
24.10.2020 
Trafostacja Sztuki w Szczecinie

électro-folie (2020) • l'aversion reflétant ''...for Violectra" (2018) , is a piece for electric violin and live, diffused electronics. It is governed by the idea of percussive fragility and sliding instability. The main sound archetype is the organic interaction between wooden bow attacks and metallic thimble attacks on the strings of the e-violin. The piece gradually introduces multiple “glissando” gestures, slithers on the strings, in various speeds projecting a hidden world of granular subtleties that occur during the interaction of the thimbles on the strings. This becomes the central goal of the musical discourse while the structure is evolving.

The e-violin is one character within a virtual quadraphonic space (4 loudspeakers). The role of the electronics, primarily live, is to grasp the percussive density and transform it in the frequency and time domain. One of the roles of the live electronics is to generate a kind of “glue” that surrounds the instrumental gestures transforming them into a robust, thick and dense construction. In addition to that, the computer is responsible for the generation of multiple “e-violin identities”, instances that interact in a continuous counterpoint. One of the goals of the project is the disorientation of the audience by placing the e-violin, in unpredictable places, within the virtual quadraphonic space and blending it with the generated electronics.

électro-folie (2020) l'aversion reflétant ''...for Violectra" (2018)

Stylianos Dimou is a distinguished Greek composer renowned for his expertise in acoustic, electroacoustic, and acousmatic music. In addition to his compositional work, he is an accomplished conductor, accordionist, and electronic music improviser. Dimou’s contributions to the field have earned him numerous awards and recognitions, supported by prestigious international organizations such as the Fulbright Program, the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Public Humanities Initiative, Ernst Mach weltweit, Federal Ministry of Culture and Media of Austria, SWR Experimentalstudio, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and Cité Internationale des Arts.

Dimou's musical education began with advanced studies in Music Composition at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, where he completed his BMus and MMus under the guidance of Prof. Christos Samaras. He further developed his compositional skills at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music, earning an MA in Composition while studying with notable composers Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, Robert Morris, and David Liptak, and exploring advanced electronic music with Allan Schindler "(deceased)".

In 2017-18, Dimou participated in the prestigious Cursus program at the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music (IRCAM) in Paris, where he received professional training in Composition and advanced Electronic Music, under the mentorship of Mikhail Malt. He subsequently served as a Composer and Music Researcher at the OeAD organization, affiliated with the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Austria.

Dimou’s dedication to artistic excellence led to his selection as Composer in Residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris during the fall of 2019, an opportunity extended by The Embassy of Greece. He earned his Doctoral Degree from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University, where he conducted advanced artistic research and pursued graduate studies as a Dean’s Fellow. His doctoral studies were guided by Prof. George Lewis, Prof. Fred Lerdahl, Prof. Georg Friedrich Haas, and Prof. Brad Garton, specializing in Composition, Music Theory, and Computer Music.

Stylianos Dimou is a tenured Associate Professor of Composition at the Grieg Academy, University of Bergen, Norway, within the Faculty of Fine Art, Music, and Design. He specializes in both acoustic and electroacoustic music, with teaching interests that encompass Composition (acoustic, mixed electroacoustic, and acousmatic), Music Technology, Music Theory, and Analysis. Dimou teaches across undergraduate and graduate programs, fostering students' exploration of contemporary compositional practices.

Dimou's research explores the creative symbiosis between human performers and technological systems across various artistic mediums and performance practices. His work emphasizes sonic hybridity and spatial immersion, with a focus on the integration of interactive sound systems, digital signal processing, and multichannel audio. His research delves into the complex structural relationships between chromatic and microtonal aggregations in intricate sonic architectures, with a particular focus on the music of Georges Aperghis. By investigating the intersections of instrumental and electroacoustic elements, Dimou seeks to create cohesive artistic frameworks that expand the boundaries of contemporary music.

Prior to his appointment at the University of Bergen, Dimou served as an Adjunct Faculty member at the University of Peloponnese, Greece - Spring 2024 -, where he taught sound design, interactive sound systems, digital signal processing, and immersive audio. He also held the position of Research Assistant Professor in the Academy of Music at Hong Kong Baptist University - Spring 2021 to Fall 2024 -, where he taught Composition, Music Technology, and Electroacoustic music. His work at these institutions emphasized the integration of technology into music performance, with a particular focus on live interactivity and the creative possibilities offered by technological innovation in the compositional process.

Among Dimou’s most distinguished accolades are the Ulysses Network / IRCAM Award for Artistic Excellence (2018-2019), 1st Prize at the 2nd International Composition Competition "Amici della Musica di Cagliari," and 1st Prize at the International Prize for Composition "Luigi Nono" (3rd edition). He also won 2nd Prize in the 24th Annual Martirano Award, 1st Prize with the Audience’s Prize at the Weimarer Frühjahrstage für zeitgenössische Musik (2012), and the Prize for orchestral music at the 5th [‘tactus] Young Composers Forum (2013). Dimou was a finalist for the Roche Young Commissions at the Lucerne Festival Academy (2013), judged by Pierre Boulez. His academic achievements include the Charles S. Miller Prize (2029) from Columbia University and the Wayne Brewster Barlow Prize from the Eastman School of Music.

https://stylianosdimou.com/biography

Machine learning (2018), for amplified baritone saxophone and diffused electronics

Stylianós Dimou