The folk music of Greece is the ‘topos’ shared by the four composers on this album, part of Naxos’s Greek Classics series. Greek-Cypriot composer Solon Michaelides’s evocative Dawn at the Parthenon is infused with impressionist elements whereas Manolis Kalomiris, the leading figure in Greek national music, turns more to the voluptuous richness of Rimsky-Korsakov in his Island Pictures. Yannis Constantinidis’s two suites are notable for their subtle dance rhythms and expert orchestration while Nikos Skalkottas’s ingenious Greek Dances, one of his most popular works, are heard here in Walter Goehr's edition for string orchestra.
