DINO MASTROYIANNIS Concert Pianist
Press & REFERENCES
Mastroyiannis has been called the "musical ambassador of Greece," and these 23 compositions (63 if you itemize the "44 Miniatures on Original Greek Folk-Tunes" that comprise the album's first 18 minutes) by eminent 20th-century Greek composers makes it easy to see why. Whether you know a little, a lot, or nothing at all about these deceptively simple works by Hadjidakis, Kalomiris, Konstantindis, Psathas, and Theodorakis, you'll come away with the distinct impression that they are to Greece what Edward MacDowell's Woodland Sketches were, and are, to 19th-century America.
Arsenio Orteza - “WORLD Magazine” (USA) - (March 2011)
This affectionately well-played collection of solo Greek piano music makes no pretense to be anything else but a tribute to traditional folk-based nationalistic material.Dino Mastroyiannis plays it all with authority and panache.
Peter Burwasser-FANFARE Magazine (USA) (January-February 2011 Issue)
Dear Dino, I wanted to extend to you my warmest congratulation and deepest respect. It is true you have a completely natural flair for these works. I feel very proud to have my work on this CD Dino, thank you so much for including “Waiting for the Aeroplane”…Congratulations again on a fantastic outcome with the CD, it is a great artistic success.
Warmest regards,
JOHN PSATHAS, August 18, 2010
How little one hears of Greek music. So here’s a welcome selection of piano music by several of the composers who established a Hellenic tradition based on folk music in the early twentieth century, perhaps influenced by what Bartók, Falla, and others were doing to the north and west. Thus Konstantinidis wrote sets of little pieces for children and adults using old songs and dances, while Hadjidakis used them for larger pieces and ballets. The better-known Theodorakis is here with several numbers that include Zorba’s Dance, and from a younger generation, Psathas. Such collections are best heard in small doses, but this one remains consistently involving and Dino Mastroyiannis plays everything most convincingly.
Ballet Review (USA), June 2011
“After nearly 20 years as a concert pianist, Dino Mastroyiannis has assembled a program of memorable piano miniatures by five great composers of native land. In his performances, these rare gems of Greek piano literature are enchantingly sincere.”
“Fanfare” magazine, USA (November-December 2010 issue)
"This pianist is well known as ‘The Music Ambassador of Greece’. We would also add that this title is rightly chosen...impressive how a ‘simple’ piece in the hands of a virtuoso could become truly a work of art which persons of all ages find interesting."
newspaper “DAN”, April 5th 2010 (Montenegro)
"Riscoprendo il Mozart più segreto"
newspaper "Libertà" (Italy, 2006)
"Your apprehension of my works totally corresponds with their deeper character, their virtuosity and their mental demands and reflects their quintessence. For all the above, thank you and congratulations! "
MIKIS THEODORAKIS (02-04-2005)
"The new great talent of Greece…rich and multi-faceted technique...perfect feeling for rhythm.”
newspaper Hodobný Život (Slovakia)
"Ζωντανεύει στο Πιάνο ο χαμένος Ελικώνας"
εφημερίδα "Ελεύθερος Τύπος", 22-02-2005
"Ακούγοντας το Μαστρογιάννη στην αποθεωτική ερμηνεία, τη γεμάτη ευαισθησία και εμπνευσμένη προσέγγιση του έργου (αναφορά στο Κοντσέρτο «Ελικών»), θυμήθηκα την αείμνηστη Έρση Σαράτση…είχε απόλυτο δίκιο, όπως απέδειξαν τα πράγματα…Ο Ντίνος αναδείχτηκε σε πανευρωπαϊκής φήμης σολίστ του Πιάνου, με ερμηνείες που εξέπληξαν δύσκολους ακροατές σε μεγάλες μουσικές αίθουσες της Ευρώπης…"
εφημερίδα «Θεσσαλία», 24-03-2010
Classical piano music—from Greece? You might be surprised at this disc.
You don’t often think of Greece when thinking of classical music, but its influence, both in composition and in instrumental music is hardly negligible. On this recording, noted Greek pianist Dino Mastroyiannis, who has worked heavily with legendary composer Mikis Theodorakis, takes us on a tour of some of the best of modern Greek piano music. Quite frankly some of it like the 44 Dances of Yiannis Konstantnides and the Ionian Suite and For a Little White Seashell of Manos Hadjidakis sound a little derivative, even if the former is intended for younger players. But then one also comes across the magnificent Nocturne by Manolis Kalomiris and the recent Waiting for the Aeroplane by John Psathas, along with Manos Hadjidakis’s Six Folklore Paintings and you begin to see what has been accomplished by Greek artists since around 1900.
So while I can quibble with one or two of the selections as being a little weak-kneed for this recording, overall the effect is quite entertaining and instructive. Dino Mastroyiannis plays with obvious authority in this music, persistent idiomatic awareness, and with a rich and broadly orchestral tone when called for. If the concept interests you, no need to delay.
Steven Ritter
"Audiophile audition" / web magazine for music,audio & home theater
July 26, 2011
Many of the works on this CD are excerpts of much larger works, collections of works with 40 tunes each. Some of these are simple Greek folktunes, and some are complex nocturnes by Greek composers. This CD was obviously a labor of love for Dino Mastroyiannis, and supported by a larger artisitic community (it was recorded in the Architecture Dept. of the University of Thessaly, Greece). This CD is entirely accessible, and I would think many pianists who are performing would want to listen to this to glean some fresh, rarely performed repertoire to add to their mix.
Delmarva Public Radio - Classical 89.5- Great Music and NPR News (21-10-2011)
Με τη δεξιοτεχνία που διαθέτει και τη βαθιά μουσική παιδεία, έχει τη δυνατότητα να ερμηνεύει με απόλυτη αισθητική, δύσκολες κλασικές συνθέσεις, γεγονός που έχει επισημανθεί διεθνώς. Μια εντελώς πρόσφατη δισκογραφική του δουλειά είναι αυτή που κυκλοφόρησε σε CD με τίτλο «Zorba’s Dance» («Ο Χορός του Ζορμπά») που διαπραγματεύεται ελληνική μουσική για σόλο Πιάνο. Πρόκειται για επιλεγμένα κομμάτια που ο ακροατής μπορεί να ακούει ώρες χωρίς να κουράζεται. Η μουσική και πιανιστική εμπειρία του Ντίνου Μαστρογιάννη, μαζί με το ξεχωριστό του ταλέντο, αναδεικνύουν με ιδιαίτερη ευαισθησία την ποιότητα των συνθέσεων, δίνοντας την εντύπωση στον ακροατή πως ακούει ολόκληρη ορχήστρα.
Γιάννης Μουγογιάννης – εφημερίδα «Θεσσαλία», 15-10-2010
«Το παίξιμο του κ. Μαστρογιάννη διακρίνει μια εσωτερική αυτοσυγκέντρωση. Σ’ ένα ρεπερτόριο κατάφωρα εκτεθειμένο, κατόρθωσε να ενσταλάξει μια αστραφτερή διαύγεια και σπάνια στοχαστικότητα. Σε συνδυασμό με το βαθύ καλλιτεχνικό συναίσθημα που τον διέπει και την ευγενή παρουσία του, ο. κ. Μαστρογιάννης εξέπληξε με τη εμβρίθειά του, που ενίοτε έφτανε σε ελκυστικότατη υπερβολή – ίδιον επίσης του ίδιου του Μότσαρτ που, ως πιανίστας, ενστάλαζε τα πιανιστικά του έργα με χαρακτηριστικά της εκρηκτικής προσωπικότητάς του…Ο κ. Μαστρογιάννης απέδειξε για άλλη μια φορά πως είναι εξαίρετος μυσταγωγός αυτής της παράδοσης στην εποχή μας, με συνεχή καλλιτεχνική παρουσία που διαπνέεται από αξιοπρέπεια ευγένεια ήθους και σπάνια αρετή σοβαρότητας.»
Δρ. Ευτυχία Παπανικολάου Επίκουρος Καθηγήτρια Μουσικολογίας Πανεπιστημίου Μαϊάμι, Οχάϊο, ΗΠΑ
εφημερίδα "Θεσσαλία", 31-12-2006
