Interview 07.01.09: Dimitris Kotronakis

Today, GTID has the pleasure to introduce Dimitris Kotronakis. He is a young classical guitarist from Greece, and I'm sure we will all be hearing a lot more about him, the world over, soon. The first thing you will notice about his playing is his "insane" virtuosity. Yet, his is not the virtuosity of the immature player who wants to "play fast" no matter what. That is NOT virtuosity. Through the crystal clear textures that Dimitris Kotronakis delivers, at any tempo, one can feel a musical maturity and depth of understanding that few -young or old- achieve.

Dimitris Kotronakis has transcended the inherent difficulties of smooth interpretation on the classical guitar, building a unique repertoire he delivers with unique zest. In this interview, Dimitris has kindly shared some of the secrets behind his more than impressive classical guitar technique.

Guitar Theory in Depth (GTID): Dimitris, I know that you are interested in music in a more general sense than only guitar music. You have achieved success both as performer and composer, in addition to having studied musicology.
What are your plans from here? I ask this because few performers are as deeply interested in the theoretical and seemingly dry aspects of music. On the other hand, few composers (these days) are virtuoso performers, and vice-versa.

Dimitris Kotronakis: I don't see myself as a composer, even though for many years I took superior music theory lessons. For instance, I have a degree in fugue and I studied composition for a year. I was awarded in a Greek competition for composers, and have repeatedly transcribed musical works written for various instruments for classical guitar... but these things are not enough to make me a composer!

My love for music is deep, and I never stop exploring musical fields that captivate me. All the fields, including musicology, contribute to my evolution as a performer. And, of course, all this extra knowledge contributes significantly to anyone who wants to be called a soloist. You can't just practice the instrument; you must focus and comprehend the musical "text". The same is true for composers, who should have a spherical knowledge of the instrument they write music for.

My plans include the completion of my doctoral thesis in musicology; but I will always remain a guitar performer, as this is my greatest love. At the same time, I will keep on searching for new musical fields, still relatively unknown to me, to plunge into. Sound recording and sound technology in general, are examples of subjects that interest me...

GTID: How do you find the balance between these different, yet mutually complementary activities? I know there are many people out there who have limited their career choices because they were told that it was not possible to do so many things at the same time. How do you cope? What would you say to young, ambitious musicians who are after more encompassing careers?

Dimitris Kotronakis: I am not sure I always find any kind of balance... I usually scramble to catch up with everything! This way, however, there is no spare time for me to get bored, or tired with the everyday routine.

It is indeed difficult, of course, to be occupied with so many things at the same time; you need to organize your time very carefully. But this is the only secret to be revealed. When I organize my time properly, I always discover that I can incorporate something new to my schedule, and I often do so... for instance, I started taking e-learning courses of sound recording; there is no need for much work to be done, but it is amazingly interesting.

My advice to young musicians is to organize their time properly. If they accomplish that, their involvement in many different things will be only beneficial. Human memory and the human brain function by means of connections; the more connections there are, the more solid grounding our knowledge will have. Our brain is limitless; don't be afraid to overload it! If I lock myself in a room to study guitar for ten hours in a row, that doesn't mean I am going to have a great career! Young guitarists should devote most of their time to becoming better musicians.

GTID: I find it fascinating that you have broken the barrier to smooth performance at fast tempos. The guitar is possibly one of the most difficult instruments to achieve this on. (That is one of the reasons for which, in spite of being a guitarist myself, I listen to very little guitar music). Could you briefly outline the basic guitar technique principles that underly your virtuosity?

Dimitris Kotronakis: I agree that the guitar is indeed one of the most difficult, of not the most difficult instrument to play fast phrases on, which, at the same time, are clear and "musical".

My technique is based on one simple thought: there is no need to use only two fingers (i m) in fast transitions. Some people, like Paco de Lucia, do this very well, but it is not a one way street.

I use three (p m i) or even four fingers (p a m i), as well as combinations of two (p m) with three and four fingers, in order to accomplish the same result with the open stroke technique. Or I even use three fingers (a m i) or (p a m) in the rest stroke technique.

The whole idea evolves from the tremolo technique. The problem is to match and control left and right hand together. I always need to have three (or two) notes on the same string, played by (a)mi, and one on a lower string played by the thumb. I'll give you: some examples.


In addition, I have established the use of the index finger as a pick: an old technique of lute players that helps in fast leggato phrases. The idea came up to me when I was trying to play big legato phrases, without the use of the left hand "slur" technique, especially in chromatic scales.

The "pick" technique is much more well-balanced than slurs and offers the capability to make crescendos and diminuendos whilst playing legato. Moreover, it's a very good substitute of the "tremolo" technique, which fills the gap of the first note of the tremolo (the one that is missing because of the thumb note). I often use this technique, particularly when I play violin transcriptions like Paganini's 5th and 24th Caprices, and of course in the "Flight of the bumble bee" where tied notes should run into each other very smoothly. This is a technique that I still have to develop way further. Here is an example from Rimsky Korsakov's piece:

GTID: You have a great interest in music written by contemporary composers, and especially Greek composers. It is a shame that little is known about most of them other than locally. Can you briefly outline the role they have played in the evolution of the classical guitar in the past decades?

Dimitris Kotronakis: There are two great Greek names that played a significant role in the evolution of the guitar: Miguel Abloniz (Michalis Avlonitis) and Alexandre Lagoya (Alexandros Chatzioannou). They were both Greeks, born in Egypt. Lagoya, of course, is not considered as a composer, even though he wrote two or three works. Abloniz, on the other hand, is mostly remembered for his educational work, and his adaptations, rather than the many pieces he wrote for guitar, some of which made their way to concert halls.

Concerning the Greek composers who worked in Greece almost exclusively, the most important is perhaps Kyriakos Tzortzinakis. He was a composer and guitarist, who even though he passed away too soon (only 39 years old), left behind more that 100 works for guitar. Most of these pieces are are really exceptional, especially taking into account the time they were composed; the 1970s and 1980s.

I could also mention Dimitris Fampas, who was both composer and performer, and had an internationl career. Another significant name is Nikos Mamagakis, who is still alive and the only non-guitarist among the ones I have mentioned. In spite of that, he has written many works for the instrument, some of which are particularly popular in Greece, like the work "The New Excursion", which I have also recorded in a CD issued in 2007.

GTID: As I see it, the guitar lends itself so well to traditional styles like flamenco or the blues, that it is hard for innovative trends to really set in, on a larger scale. On the other hand, the guitar is so difficult to grasp for non-guitarist composers that the evolution of guitar music has not been par with that of music in general. This means that it is -or has been so far- a performer's instrument par-excellence.

What trends do you see in the evolution of classical guitar music? Where do you see classical guitar music going in coming years?

Dimitris Kotronakis: Contemporary classical music for guitar is going through a crisis, similar to and probably dependant on the general crisis contemporary classical creation is going through. Unfortunately, I don't see significant evolution in the near future. I believe that, from a compositional point of view, the guitar has become bogged down. Great composers who write music for the instrument can be counted on the fingers of one hand, and the enrichment of the guitar repertoire is taking place quite slowly.

I couldn't possibly know where classical guitar music will be going in the coming years... What I do know for sure is that the great variety of guitar styles (classical, jazz, flamenco, fingerstyle, blues, folk etc), as well as the many different techniques used, can provide composers and guitarists of today and tomorrow with an extremely interesting palette of materials. If composers cooperate closely with performers, they will bring about very interesting results.

Composition cannot be accomplished with a computer alone. The curse and blessing of the guitar is that the writing of a composition handbook for guitar that addresses to non-guitarist composers is rather impossible!

GTID: What advice would you give to young guitarists, career-wise, given the present, fast-changing conditions of the music world?

Dimitris Kotronakis: Young guitarists should always keep up with innovations (new techniques, new interpretation approaches), not only concerning the guitar, but also technology. The internet has opened the door to a huge world, where everyone can have exposure and be heard by thousands of musicians, or just music-lovers, all over the world. At the same time, we can meet and listen to hundreds of other guitarists and musicians. Take advantage of this, it is almost certain it will pay off for your hard work and time -more than enough! In addition, don't content yourself with the security of your guitaristic microcosm. Come out of it, get to know and study music in its full dimension.

GTID: I'm sure our readers would love to know where you'll be playing in the coming months...

Dimitris Kotronakis: June 27, July 4, and August 8, Domus festival, Venetian Museum, Naxos island, Greece (concert)

July 9-18, International Guitar Festival del Noreste, Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico (concert and masterclass)

October 20, Lakehead University -Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada (concert)

November 9-14, 5th Warsaw Guitar Festival, WGF, Kielce and Warsaw, Poland (concert with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra)

GTID: What projects are you working on at the moment, other than your doctoral thesis?

Dimitris Kotronakis: Since it concerns me as a musicologist, unfortunately my doctoral thesis is a full time job, so I don't have time for any other projects at the moment. However, as a guitarist, this autumn I am completing the recording of a wonderful Greek concerto for guitar and orchestra. Unfortunately, though, since the recording is yet to be completed, I am in no position to announce anything, not even the composer, the orchestra, or the record company.

GTID: How can our readers stay up-to-date with your projects and album releases?

Dimitris Kotronakis: They can always visit my websites, where they will find lots of information about me, including new albums, videos, MP3s, reviews etc.

Make sure to visit Dimitris Kotronakis -Official Website and Dimitris Kotronakis at MySpace

To contact management for Dimitris Kotronakis, e-mail: Suzanne Bulua