A la Russe

[vkioulaphides]

Dear mandolin friends around the world,

I am delighted to share with you a most wonderful performance of my Samovar, a concert-piece written in the turn-of-the-century a la Russe style, by Het Consort in the Netherlands, one of the very finest plucked ensembles anywhere in the world. The soloist is Ferdinand Binnendijk, a brilliant mandolinist, in this case showcasing his dazzling skills on the rather awe-inspiring liuto cantabile, a five-course plucked instrument with an enormous range and rare expressive capabilities.

https://youtu.be/4RqCgq_m9EM



I hope you enjoy listening to this beautiful performance as much as I have. The score and parts are yours for the asking, via the Café messenger.

Happy May 1st!

Victor

[vkioulaphides]

Happy to see this piece mature so beautifully in the hands of such fantastic artists as Ferdinand and Het Consort. A huge round of applause to them all!

[Jim Imhoff]

Hey Victor, I am trying (along with Fabio Giudice) to convince my wife I need a liuto cantabile, maybe this will help. Problem is I spent a small fortune on my Gibson K4 and besides that, when I look at Calace's liuto music it is way beyond my skill level. I would like to look at this score just to see what I would be getting into. I will message you as requested. By the way, I don't have anything in the works for CMSA just yet, I presented all the new Mandocello Solo music I could find. You got anything in the works?
jim

[vkioulaphides]

Hi, Jim.

Haha... yes, yes. Any time you feel, however vaguely, that there's something missing from your life, get a liuto cantabile! As promised, I have just emailed you the solo part to my Samovar. If and when you want to read it through with your ensemble, I can just as happily send you all the other parts.

As for the latter half of your question, it is my life as a composer that's on hold right now. On one hand, one of my operas is slated to be revived in Estonia next year; while the score was composed many years ago, the re-orchestration for this production would take me a good 6 months to complete, working 24/7. On the other hand, I am currently negotiating a movie deal— for me to write the soundtrack, of course, not for me to appear in the movie. In that industry, everything is hyperbolic, everyone talks big, it's all a million-dollar-this and a million-dollar-that; it's all thin air to me, until and unless I see some ink on the dotted line. All the same, I need to be on standby. If the Spanish and Italian co-producers strike a deal in the next few days, my life above water is over. I'll have to start cranking out music for the various scenes ASAP, just to have some running musical commentary as the filming begins. Both crazy and exciting...

I certainly want to and will certainly get back to writing some more music for my beloved plucked instruments. Now just isn't the time, I'm afraid.

Cheers,

Victor

[Jim Imhoff]

Maybe they'll let you have a cameo moment? Playing in the back of some smokey cafe?
Hey, my Granddaughter is a New York casting agent, I could put in a good word!
jim

[vkioulaphides]

Thanks a million, Jim. Hey, it's never too late for me to start another career just as I'm about to retire from academia.

In fact, I almost got to do exactly what you describe a few years ago. A casting agent approached me out of the blue— or rather after reaching out to Carlo Aonzo, who had however already left NYC while on one of his US tours and had passed the reference to me. They just wanted someone to look the part and I checked most of the boxes, I guess: Mediterranean-looking man (check), playing or rather holding a bowlback (check), who would be willing to lounge around the sets for endless hours, waiting for that one, glamorous shot that would earn him his 15 seconds of fame (no check). I politely declined. There is the alternate reality of the big screen and then there's all my real work, writing music, rehearsing for my own concerts, making a living and all that.

Cheers,

Victor

[Jim Imhoff]

Well.... that "alternate reality" thing sounds pretty interesting when you look at the reality we actually live in.
By the way... just how do you hold a bowl-back???
jim

[vkioulaphides]

By the way... just how do you hold a bowl-back???

Lovingly, that's how.