Interview with….

Dimitris Kotronakis

 

 

What can make classical guitar dynamic and ... classic still?

By nature, classical guitar is a low-pitched and weak instrument; still it carries with it a great and particularly dynamic tradition from Iberia and South America. I think that if you don’t confine yourself to the restricted boundaries of “classical” guitar and allow for the Latin element to penetrate your art, then you’ll be able to adopt the Spanish and South-American temperament and dynamism. Incorporating varied styles in your technique, being able to play different tunes, effectively helps define your personal style, without denying the “classical” nature of the instrument

Is it really just for particular audiences?

Not at all! Aesthetic pleasure has nothing to do with the specialised knowledge of a particular audience. It should be brought to any type of audience and this should be the aim of the soloist. I don’t agree with the attempts to classify classical music as an elitist genre. At a concert, the soloist’s duty is to prepare for a mixed audience, with different degrees of knowledge of classical music, and to try to move them all.

Which living person do you admire most, and why?

Paco de Lucia; probably the greatest guitar virtuoso (regardless of style) and also a gifted performer with deep feeling and elegance in rendering music. He has created his very own musical style, lying between flamenco and jazz with elements from the classical guitar; his compositions are original, balanced and always fresh.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

I don’t think I’m the right person to talk about myself… I feel I still have a great lot to learn about music. My achievements are still small; perhaps only those that relate to technique could be deemed great achievements. I’d say I have developed a completely personal, and therefore possibly unique, technique and have overcome many of this instrument’s technical challenges. In fact, some of the techniques I use are already imitated by other musicians and this is a great honour for me. Having said this, though, I should make it clear that I don’t consider technical issues vital, a true soloist starts from the point of having resolved these problems anyway. Understanding and rendering music are de facto far more significant.

What was the greatest challenge in your career, and the greatest fortune?

The greatest challenge was playing as a soloist with a symphonic orchestra. I think it’s a key milestone for anyone wishing to enter the sector with high expectations. For me the challenge of such an endeavour is manifold, starting with just simply getting on stage to play solo in front of the audience. Quite recently actually I made a recording with a symphonic orchestra and that was also a big challenge; this was the Amsterdam concerto by Thanassis Moraitis, recently released by EMI Classics.

The greatest fortune is that I had remarkable instructors and I mainly refer to Vassilis Kanaras, who coached me for 14 years from the age of 7, and I owe him a lot.

What has been your greatest disappointment?

Once, at a guitar competition one of the judges gave me 0 points out of 100! Actually I recently collaborated with him (he’s a conductor!). Also, I’ll never forget that in the public open exams for teachers’ recruitment in Greece, I failed in playing the guitar! Basically they decided I was incompetent to teach the guitar to 12 year olds!

Do you think art is a material process?

Not at all. For me it’s more about the strenuous and constant effort to improve oneself, studying daily and continuously being musically up to date.

Which trait do you think an artist should possess?

Hard work, nothing more.

How easy or difficult is it for a contemporary Greek artist to find recognition outside of Greece?

It’s extremely difficult! Greece is a small country, too far away from music centres across the world. It has no significant tradition in classical music; imagine there isn’t even a Music Academy, while classical guitar concerts are few and far between. This means that recognition for a Greek artist is even hard to achieve in their homeland. So in terms of geographical distance from European centres of music activity, such as London, Paris, Vienna etc, the situation really is tough. Still, this doesn’t mean that a Greek artist will find it harder to be recognised and established as a musician compared to someone coming from central Europe, for example. Recognition is more a matter of the artist’s merit and also of the public relations that he or his manager can cultivate!

Who would you like to play on stage with?

I’m a lonely artist…I prefer performing on my own, although there are a lot of guitarists I admire. Still, I do prefer going solo.

In times of crisis, the arts are often called upon to justify their existence. What place do you think art in general, and your music in particular, can have in today's world?

At times art has assumed various roles within society; quite a lot of artforms, such as the written word, theatre and cinema, can often become militant arts. However, I think that in visual arts and mostly in music generally and my music in specific this militancy has no reason. Aesthetic pleasure, which can be seen as a type of food for “the intellect”, has always been and will be music’s ultimate purpose. Consequently, its place in world is the same, regardless of any type of crisis, economic or other. It’s similar to nutrition for the body; we need it in times of crises as much as in times of prosperity. So I don’t think there’s any difference.

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