Ikonostas - Omaggio a Pavel Florensky

Pavel Florenskij was a Russian theologist, scientist, philosopher and writer. A genius. Born on 1882, he was arrested shot in 1938. It was a political murder. His books have recently been published in Western countries. Reading them, I was especially fascinated by a poetical essay entitled Ikonostas - which I read in the Italian version published by Adelphi Edizioni and entitled Le porte regali (The Royal Doors). This books deals with the art of icon painting and introduces to a metaphysic of the images and of the light completely unknown to Western art. With the help of such a book, a sensitive reader can enter the doors of the Iconostasis, a border between the visible and the invisible world. Whilst reading Florenskij, it happened to me to listen to a recording of a Russian guitar piece performed on the Russian guitar by Matanya Ophee and by Stanley Yates. I asked their advice and help on a project of mine, writing a piece - if not for the 7 string Russian guitar - at least for the normal six string guitar, tuned in a way that approached the Russian guitar tuning. With their encouragement, in the Fall of 2004, I composed this work, conceived as a homage to Pavel Florenskij.

gilardin.jpgAngelo Gilardino was born in 1941 in Vercelli, Italy. He received his early musical education in guitar, cello and composition in the local music school in Vercelli. New compositions dedicated to him by composers from all the world, and premiered by him, number in hundreds. Since 1967 Gilardino directs the Edizioni Musicali Bèrben series of twentieth century guitar music series, perhaps the leading series of its kind worldwide. Important parts of his compositional output are the collection of the sixty Studi di virtuosità e di trascendenza, two Sonatas, the Variazioni sulla Follia, the Variazioni sulla Fortuna, the Musica per l'angelo della Melancholia Suite, all for guitar solo and four Concertos for guitar and various chamber ensembles. His works are regularly performed in concert, recorded and featured as test pieces in competitions. He has given more than 200 courses, seminars and master-classes in various European countries, invited by universities, academies, conservatories and festivals. In 1997, he has been appointed as the artistic director of the "Andrés Segovia" Foundation of Linares, Spain.