74. Late Night

It looks nothing much, this thing for two instruments: there is almost a year and a half’s hard labour in it. In that time Milhaud would have been able to produce four symphonies, five quartets and several settings of Paul Claudel. Ravel’s nothing much is the cornerstone of this unusual repertoire for violin and cello. This late-night journey begins in Jonian Kadesha’s native Greece with Xenakis’ homage to his homeland that he was forced to leave during the Greek Civil War. Called Dhipli Zyia this brief work is a combination of pulsating rhythms and yearning melancholy. Nikos Skalkottas studied in Weimar Berlin earning his living playing violin in cinemas and cafes. This Duo is a marriage of his Greek folk heritage, the Berlin cabaret scene and the Second Viennese School.