Supporting instruments/

Saxophone and Accordion, two instruments with a common destiny with Duo SaccX, Theofilos Sotiriadis and Panagiotis Andreoglou

Saxophone and accordion, two instruments with a common destiny: They were established and glorified far from the hegemony of classical tradition. The saxophone was the voice of jazz music and revolution while the accordion celebrated the folk music of the world. In today’s era where tradition, classicism and avant-garde are mixed and transformed, the two instruments continue to star precisely because of their “non-aristocratic” origin.

The duet’s program includes a musical journey from the second half of the 18th century to the present day. The first route will take us to Russia by Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) with three excerpts from the work Pictures at an Exhibition (1874). The work was originally written for piano, but in its symphonic arrangement by Maurice Ravel it has achieved a prominent place in the symphonic music repertoire. The saxophone solo in the “Old Castle” section is considered one of the most lyrical melodies in a symphonic work.

Next stop is Germany, presenting one of the most important composers of the second half of the 18th century: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), son of Johann Sebastian Bach. The Sonata in G minor 1020 for flute and harpsichord, a work that is both timeless and equal to the great Bach school, was for many years wrongly attributed to his father Johann Sebastian Bach.

The sequence includes a big leap to the present day. The solo work for accordion Boîte à rythme (1999) by the award-winning French composer and accordionist Franck Angelis (1962) is deeply influenced stylistically by jazz and Roma (and Balkan) music.

In the solo work Rock Me! (2007) by Australian composer Barry Cockcroft, the rock and roll persona of the saxophone will emerge in all its glory, invoking unconventional sound media.

On this journey, tango music could not be absent. The origin of the Tango by the Russian composer Alfrend Schnittke (1934-1998) is not clear. The composer used this Tango on different occasions: In the film Agony (1974) and in the opera Life with an Idiot (1992), adapting and varying it. The present transcription is based on the opera version.

The Argentinean Milonga is considered the precursor of the tango. The Cypriot composer Michalis Andronikou (1977), who lives and works in Canada, wrote and dedicated Milonga Triste to this duo in 2017.

The multi-award-winning Franco-Italian virtuoso Richard Galliano (1950) is considered to have changed the history of the accordion with his art. His tenure alongside his mentor Astor Piazzolla defined him both in terms of performance and composition. Tango pour Claude is the last leg of the musical journey, or rather, the beginning of the next one.

Theofilos Sotiriadis is a graduate of the Department of Psychology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and a PhD holder of the Department of Music Science and Art of the University of Macedonia. He studied saxophone with distinction at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, at the École Nationale de Musique de Créteil in Paris, with a scholarship from the State Scholarships Foundation, and at Bowling Green State University (postgraduate) in the USA, also with a scholarship as an assistant professor. The development and dissemination of the Greek saxophone is a central axis of his artistic and pedagogical activity through extensive recordings, official participation in international festivals of contemporary music, artistic activity and scientific research. Distinguished Greek composers have dedicated their works in his honor, which he himself presented in first performances. His discography includes three personal digital recordings and seven participations. He is the creator of the Macedonian Quartet “Osmosis”, the Saxarácas Saxophone Orchestra of the Municipal Conservatory of Thermi, the Greek Saxophone Library and a founding member of the civic non-profit company Beartive with important productions in the field of education and culture.

He teaches saxophone – for more than twenty years – at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki and the Municipal Conservatory of Thermi with many distinctions of his students both in the artistic and professional arena. In the past he taught at the Music School of Thessaloniki and in numerous municipal and private conservatories as well as saxophone specialization seminars in Europe, Turkey, Ukraine and America. He is a visiting lecturer at the Department of Music Science and Art of the University of Macedonia. For more information: https://www.theofilossotiriades.com/.

Panagiotis Andreoglou studied accordion and piano at the Municipal Conservatory of Kavala, where he received a degree and a diploma in both instruments. He is a graduate of the Department of Music Studies of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, where he studied musicology and music pedagogy, and of the Department of Music Science and Art of the Panestimiol University of Macedonia, where he studied accordion. He completed his postgraduate studies in accordion at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. His involvement in contemporary music has led him to collaborate with composers, having premiered over 30 works for accordion. In 2017, he was awarded a Fulbright Artist Fellowship and conducted research on works that combine accordion performance with electronics at Bowling Green State University in the USA. He has lectured on contemporary accordion techniques at universities and contemporary music festivals in Europe and America.  He has appeared as a soloist at many international music festivals, while his performances have been broadcast live by the state radios of Denmark, Latvia and Greece.