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October 2009, Vangelis Katsoulis
Radio Art welcomes with great pleasure for the month October an exceptional composer and great man Mr. Vangelis Katsoulis.
He has worked for the Third Program of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) for many years. He was one of the basic contributors together with Manos Hadjidakis to the creation of the legendary era of the Third Program that is probably the best cultural program that has ever been developed in our Country.
Vangelis Katsoulis is a genius pioneer Greek Composer who leads a low profile career highly concentrated in his music compositions creating excellent music works. Without doubt the music of Vangelis Katsoulis shades abundant light to the dark eras of the time that we live in.
Lambros Mitropoulos “..Many times life is like a march in the dark. Some time it ends and we haven’t even figured what has happened. But there are some times that the door opens and we see the lost paradise…” “Deep down music is confession…When the masks fall; music takes this character of confidence. Like that music can talk to the soul of the other person and make it vibrate… The Sounds are the pretext for the awakening of various emotions…”
Vangelis Katsoulis -------------
Thanassis Dritsas talks about Vangelis Katsoulis I consider it as one of the most important moments in my musical life when I first met Vangelis Katsoulis around mid 90s. At that time I recorded in his advanced technology studio a collection of piano pieces after the name Kyklos Hellinikos. I will never forget the first time that I played his wonderful full length concert Yamaha piano. Since then first I had the opportunity to listen to most of his compositions and second I was very lucky to develop a long term friendship with Vangelis.
By listening to his music I understood that he always stands at the top of modern musical streams and he has definitely developed his own stylish pathway. It is clear to me that he obviously achieved this because Vangelis maintains a solid knowledge of the past in various musical traditions, so he can look into the future as he stably steps on the shoulders of giants. Although he can move around various musical styles you can notice that since his earlier works (70-80s) he has developed a successful approach to minimalism-of course via a personal style.
He progressively then moved to the field of free jazz, ethnic and improvised music however, throughout this journey he has never betrayed his devotion to melody. In addition Vangelis Katsoulis always remained up-to-date with modern computer & sound technology and this fact provides him the possibility to continuously explore the musical future. Vangelis Katsoulis is a very talented composer and his musical style achieved an international approval. In addition his music can be heard pleasantly by a wide audience of various musical preferences. He is a very experienced musician, by using the word “musician” in a holistic approach, and he can reliably advice and teach younger composers. Katsoulis belongs to this particular group of composers who can penetrate our dreams and drive them to a better future world. In addition, and most importantly for me, Katsoulis is a reliable and honest man, a man of action and not of word, an important Greek composer but also a civilian of the world and a distinguished member of the international musical community.
Thanasis Dritsas Cardiologist – Composer
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Sort Biography of Vangelis Katsoulis Vangelis Katsoulis studied music in Greece and Germany.
His compositions have strong character beyond the style borders, cancelling the border lines among the different music forms.
Initially, around 1979, his music was influenced by the avant-garde movement of that time, later on his works turn into minimalism and more recently he applies elements of Jazz music into his compositions.
Ηe has been working extensively with electronic music and specifically with the music applications by using modern computerized technology. He is considered as one of the specialists in this field.
He has composed music for symphonic orchestra, opera, piano, chamber music, music for theatre, cinema, ballet, electronic and Jazz music as well.
Many of his works have been performed in live concerts in Greece and abroad. In the summer of 2008 his opera “Orfeas” was performed at the Experimental Theater of the Greek national opera.
Some of his works have been performed at the Athens Concert Hall as well.
He was awarded the first prize for best soundtrack at Thessaloniki International Film Festival in 1994.
His recordings are acknowledged with participations of top musicians, such as:
Arild Andersen: Probably the greatest contra basso player of Europe in the field of jazz music that started from the quartet of the saxophone player Jan Garbarek.
Paul Wertico: Drums player of the Pat Metheny Group since 1983. He is one of the most talented drum players of our time. Paolo Fresu: He belongs to the best trumpet players of Europe. Since 1983 he has been the art director of the international festival "Time in Jazz". Bendik Hofseth: Saxophone player and great composer. The Philharmonic Orchestra of Oslo, as well as other Orchestras, has played many of his works.
Takis Farazis: Great Greek piano player and composer. He has composed music for cinema and mainly for theatre. Vangels Katsoulis’ Recordings: · “The Exile of Dreams”
This is the most recent work of V. Katsoulis, where the romantic disposition, the electronic approaches, the Greek form, world music and scholar music meet and create an exceptional work full of magic and musicality.
With: Paolo Fresu trumpet and flugelhorn, Bendik Hofseth tenor saxophone, Arild Andersen bass, Paul Wertico drums and percussion, Takis Farazis piano, Vangelis Katsoulis keyboards and percussion.
· "Piano Works"
with: Alexandra Papastephanou piano. Great compositions, where the melodic line rules with the overtone of Bach and Bartok creating an incredibly emotional and intoxicating world. · “An Unbearably Short Glance”. With Arild Andersen, Paolo Fresu, Bendik Hofseth, Paul Wertico and pianist Takis Farazis
· "Silent Voyage". Apart from Arild Andersen features three new collaborations; with Paolo Fresu trumpet player, Bendik Hofseth saxophonist and Paul Wertico drummer. The album was acclaimed by numerous magazines and newspapers as the best of the year, even as one of the most important during the last 20 years.
· "Through the dark" featuring Markus Stockhausen, Arild Andersen and David Lynch, presented at Athens Concert Hall on 1996. A year later, it was released by LYRA record Company and was acclaimed by the music critics as the best jazz CD in the country so far.
· “Whispers of Immorality"
with: Thymios Papadopoulos, Andreas Georgiou, Apostolis Anthimos, George Maglaras. · "The Slipping Beauty"
The composer plays all instruments. Work with completeness, beauty and expressional maturity. This is the first Greek record that the recording and the lining took place with digital technique. · "Minimal Suite - Double Image"
with: David Lynch, Howard Davidson, Paul Allen, Savina Yiannatou, Minas Alexiadis, Apostolis Anthimos, George Maglaras and Yiannis Ekmektsoglou. Reviews for Vangelis Katsoulis’ works “Through The Dark”...Vangelis Katsoulis…watch out for his name, because the man is incredibly talented. …I have to say that for me, this is one of the most introspective records I have heard in ages. Pure magic, which is really all I can say about this recording.
Hans Stoeve, Power Spot, Australia, March 1998
“Silent Voyage” …it makes a stronger and stronger impression each time you listen to it. It is not often we hear music from this part of the world, so when it happens it is a pleasure to hear such fine music.
Tor Hammero, Puls, Norway, November 2002
“An Unbearably Short Glance” Vangelis Katsoulis shows us that he knows how to create a powerful atmosphere, but also lets each musician play with his own distinctive character…
...His music radiates kindness. This is very, very gentle jazz – but by no means does this imply that it is boring. I play the CD often. It does me good.
Erlend Fjesna, Jazz Review, December 2005
“The Exile of Dreams” With this super band, Vangelis Katsoulis has created even more great, beautiful and powerful music.
Tor Hammero, Nettavisen, Norway, 2009
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