Musical tales for flute and guitar
There’s the city that surrounds us and the city that resides within us: People we’ve grown attached to and their lasting impact on us. Thoughts such as these inspired, or, rather embellished, an enjoyable new flute-and-guitar CD release, «City 1,» by Stella Gadedi on flute and Giorgos Mouloudakis on guitar performing works by a variety of composers, among them Eric Satie, Astor Piazzola, Igor Stravinsky, Francis Poulenc, and Manos Hadjidakis. «Giorgos [Mouloudakis] and I have performed together over the past 15 years and perform these songs, which are the repertoire’s most charming for flute and guitar,» said Gadedi. Her musical partner, Mouloudakis, added: «And from the best, we chose those that we could love, songs that can build a lovely tale – in other words, these songs function as a vehicle of an inner state.» While acknowledging that the material selected features regularly on flute-and-guitar releases, Gadedi said the project’s aim was to achieve both excellence and expression. «You find them on virtually all albums for flute and guitar. Our objective, therefore, was to perform exquisite versions and express the songs our way, more appropriately, as we’ve tested them for years before audiences and seen how positively they’ve functioned,» explained Gadedi. When asked to elaborate on their approach, and how they believed it differed from previous recording attempts at the material, Mouloudakis said the aim was to create a homely and personal sound. «We wanted our interpretation to carry warmth, a sound that differs from that of the concert hall, one directed at a group of friends… a domestic sound, one the listener would hear at home, as if two friends were playing flute and guitar right next to him or her,» said Mouloudakis. Gadedi added that the two also avoided a lofty approach. «We wanted these songs to sound as we sense them, in other words, to have a daily, down-to-earth appeal about them, played with warmth and simplicity without any celestial dimension,» Gadedi said. «In classical music, material is approached with such awe that ultimately leads to the loss of love, directness, and connection.»
