Performing Sicilianos: An Analytical and Interpretative Approach to the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 51 by Yorgos Sicilianos.

Abstract or Summary:

Yorgos Sicilianos (1920–2005), originally a proponent of Greece’s National School Movement, over a period of 30 years experimented with atonal neoclassical styles, the twelve-tone method and integral serialism and sought solutions to problems of form and structure. After 1980 he concluded that the term ‘post-diatonic music’ best described his compositional style, which by then drew inspiration from literary works to give form and meaning to his music. This paper investigates and analyses the compositional influences, process and technique of Sicilianos’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (1987), and provides an interpretative approach by giving due consideration to the extent to which the analysis informs a performance of the piece. The analysis reveals critical structural parameters that not only impact the subjective aspects of interpretation but also determine practical matters of performance. The Concerto is the eighth work in his mature compositional period (1980 2005) and it exemplifies this later style. It is inspired by Samuel Beckett’s play That Time (1976), whose content and structure Sicilianos uses for the organisation of the Concerto’s pitch and form. Giving consideration to the roles of the author/composer and performer, as defined in post-modern and post-structural theory, and using various analytical approaches, this paper attempts to provide practical guidance towards the preparation and performance of the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 51, to aid future performers in interpreting the work with fidelity to its composer’s vision.