Mantzaros Philharmonic Society - Mantzaros: 5 Sinfonias (2022)

Although the works in this CD bear the title ‘Sinfonia’, they should not be connected as a genre, or classified stylistically with the classical symphonies that have dominated the orchestra repertory since the Classical Era.

They belong to a genre of short autonomous musical pieces of introductory nature, very popular mainly in the Italian scene, under the term ‘sinfonia’, more akin to what Alessandro Scarlatti (1660-1725) used to describe as ‘the Italian overture’.

Each such ‘sinfonia’ comprises of a single unified part (as opposed to the three or usually four distinct parts of a classical symphony) in which all the motives are developed one after the other, even when the various musical themes vary in style and character.

The sample parts of this unique genre included in this CD come from a group of 18 piano sinfonie, all most probably written from 1832 onwards, when Mantzaros had long acquired music maturity in his compositions. Some of them were published by Italian editors after his death and he is again deemed the first Greek composer to have introduced the specific genre along all his others firsts.

From a harmony and development point of view they are characterised by a more than predictable strict devotion to the chosen tonality and a general conservatism even when some musical motives could be categorised as ‘exotic’ (for example in the Sinfonia ‘di Genere Orientale’ – of Oriental Genre). This must surely have a lot to do with the fact that Mantzaros wrote all those works for pianoforte and therefore his available timbre was one and only.

The titles used in some of the ‘sinfonie’, either serve as programme explanatory as in the case of the Sinfonia ‘La Tempesta e la Caccia’ – Tempest and Hunting, or underline special characteristics of the particular piece, as in the cases of the Sinfonia ‘di Genere Orientale’ and the ‘Grande Sinfonia Militare’. The above 18 sinfonie in handwritten score for piano are located in the Greek National Library (Montsenigos Archive).