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International Piano

Zoe Samsarelou does not lack ambition.

Over nearly two and a half hours, ‘Ek-stasis’ takes a long-range view of Dionysus from his mythical or cult status, via his ritualistic and historical connotations, to his influence on Western civilisation across some two and a half millennia.

For this purpose, the two-dozen works represented here have been grouped into 10 categories – each (more or less) chronological in itself – that between them illustrate those successive stages of the Dionysian process. Essentially it involves continuous passage from the physical to the abstract, and if the actual music might not always seem to embody this directly, there is rarely any doubt as to the appropriateness of its wider context, nor of the light shed through juxtaposing pieces that are neglected these days or have simply fallen out of the repertoire.

The journey begins at ‘Seduction’ – initiated by a pert number from Francois Dandrieu and continuing with the proto­Impressionist sensuality of Deodat de Severac, then the pan-tonal obliqueness of Dimitri Terzakis. ‘Pathos’ (seen as a concept rather than an emotion) takes in another incisive Dandrieu vignette, heading to the inward anguish of what is almost Dukas’s last utterance, then the physicality of a piece from the multifaceted suite Mediterranean Desert of Giorgos Koumendakis. ‘Illusion is framed by a ‘satiric’ item from Couperin and a heady aphorism by Lina Tonia; between comes Debussy’s trailblazing Prelude à l’àpres-midi d’un faune in the revelatory transcription by Leonard Borwick.

Couperin at his most bracing starts ‘Metamorphosis’, also taking in the most evocative from Mischa Levitzki’s handful of encores and a no less affecting miniature by Nikos Skalkottas. A ‘Bacchic’ prelude and toccata from Couperin begins ‘Transcendence’, followed by the enveloping richness of Florent Schmitt and a coursing miniature by Nestor Taylor, before the hieratic tones of further late Skalkottas brings up a nominal intermission.

Rameau at his most inventive launches ‘Instinct’, followed by an unexpectedly visceral dance from Massenet’s forgotten opera Bacchus and a lively character­study by Sergei Bortkiewicz – ending with more capriciousness courtesy of Terzakis. Moving on to ‘Catharsis’, the tensile elegance of Louis-Claude Daquin precedes two of Debussy’s alluring Epigraphes antiques, as heard in the latter’s solo transcription, and followed with a vividly descriptive genre piece by Dimitris Marangopoulos. The next two categories are each represented with just one collection apiece. ‘Mythos’ comes in the guise of Pictures from Greece by Harry Farjeon, chiefly remembered as a pedagogue but whose artful miniatures are worth reviving, while ‘Paradox’ is illumined by the cycle Satyre und Nymphen from Paul Juon – once referred to as the ‘Russian Brahms’ but whose engaging and often imaginative studies ally more closely with comparable pieces by Schumann or Tchaikovsky. Finally to ‘Transition’ – embodied in the elemental rhetoric of an item from Row Rocks by Aspasia Nasopoulou, which brings about the unequivocal close.

Throughout her epic recital, Samsarelou is the capable and informed exponent of music that often gains from being heard in this narrative context. This is especially true of those pieces taken from collections by Baroque masters (eminently suited to the piano in any case), while those by contemporary Greek composers should help in the disseminating of their music to a wider listenership. As recorded, her Fazioli has clarity and definition but is lacking in dynamic light and shade, and some may find the occasional sound of the sustaining pedal being depressed distracting. Of course, it is entirely feasible to look beyond the unifying concept of this collection, further detailed by the pianist in her booklet note, and enjoy each of the pieces on its own terms – yet however one chooses to approach it, an enlightening experience is there for the taking.