Performed by Jihye Chang on December 10, 2024 at Lilypad, Cambridge, MA.
Interviews with tTt Music Talk
In this two-part interview, I sit down with the thoughtful musician Tanni Wang.
Description: tTt sits down with Stratis Minakakis, acclaimed composer, conductor, and professor at the New England Conservatory, for an in-depth conversation on music and artistic inquiry. Known for his intellectually rigorous and emotionally charged work, Minakakis explores the intersection of structure, expression, and philosophy in contemporary composition. Drawing from a wide range of influences—from language and literature to silence and sound—he offers a compelling look into how music can question, challenge, and transform the way we understand the world.
VIDEO: Phoni Avras Leptis at Lilypad
A great performance from my Portrait Concert at Lilypad Cambridge, presented by Point01Percent, featuring cellist TJ Borden and pianist Jihye Chang.
VIDEO: Thalassografia for Saxophone Quartet
Enjoy this superb performance of Thalassografia-Small Nepenthean for saxophone quartet with Ensemble du Bout du Monde.
Ensemble du Bout du Monde
Noa Mick, soprano saxophone
Simona Castria, alto saxophone
Salvatore Castellano, tenor saxophone
Don-Paul Kahl, baritone saxophone - @donpaulkahl
Performed Live at New England Conservatory
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
19 October 2025
Programme Note (written by Don-Paul Kahl, based on texts by Stratis Minakakis):
The title of Stratis Minakakis’s Thalassografia–Small Nepenthean intertwines etymology, myth, and personal remembrance. Thalassografia translates as “sea-etching,” evoking the constant motion of the waves, while nepenthean refers to the mythical flowers in Homeric poetry believed to banish grief (ne = away, penthos = sorrow). The work was composed in memory of Minakakis’s aunt, who passed away from cancer in 2018, and draws upon Greek literary images of the sea as an agent of lethe, erasing sorrow and easing the burden of memory.
Throughout the piece, the music oscillates like the sea itself: calm and meditative in some passages, overwhelming and threatening in others, yet always charged with awe. Within nano-microtonal textures, listeners can trace hidden lamentation lines, inspired by Mediterranean singing practices ranging from northern Greece to Sicily, Corsica, and North Africa. These lines breathe an expressive, human voice into the soundscape, recalling traditions of vocal lament that blur the boundary between grief and consolation.
Alongside this imagery of waves and song runs another structural principle: genetic sequencing. Much of the musical material derives from intervallic “codes” that generate families of scales. While each sequence is unique, their similarity suggests shared DNA. In the fourth movement, this code deliberately degenerates: scales crystallize into chords, which then fracture into distorted remnants of the original material. This musical erosion—marked by heavy yet sustained accents—functions like a primitive script of mutation and eventual destruction, offering a final gesture of fragility and transformation.
With its fusion of myth, memory, and sound design, Thalassografia–Small Nepenthean invites us to hear the sea not only as a force of nature but also as a metaphor for remembrance, loss, and renewal.
John Aylward’s opera film “Oblivion” wins Best Musical Film at Cannes World Film Festival
Stratis Minakakis, music director and conductor
EarRelevant: “Boston-based composer and librettist John Aylward’s chamber opera film Oblivion has won Best Musical Film at this year’s Cannes World Film Festival, marking its first major international recognition.
The 70-minute one-act work, inspired by Dante’s Purgatorio, was produced by Ravenser Odd Productions with independent filmmaker Graham Swon as co-producer. Directed by Laine Rettmer with cinematography by Alice Millar, the film stars Ty Boque, Nina Guo, Lukas Pappenfuscline, and Cailin Marcel Manson.”
Credits:
The Bound Man / The King: Lukas Papenfusscline, tenor
The Hunter: Cailin Marcel Manson, baritone
First Wanderer: Tyler Boque, baritone
Second Wanderer: Nina Guo, soprano
Laura Williamson, viola
Issei Herr, cello
Greg Chudzik, contrabass
Daniel Lippel, electric guitar
John Aylward, electronics
Tianyi Wang, electronic sound design assistant
Stratis Minakakis, music director & conductor
Escuchando Video Premiere
Premiered September 15, 2023
Artists' Conversation on "Escuchando"
I talk with the collaborators of Escuchando, a video installation premiering Friday, September 15, 2023, discussing the background of this multifaceted work with visual artist Marsia Alexander-Clarke and Carduus director Holly Druckman, who provide their insight into the project, the creative process, and the detailed and collaborative spirit of the video, Thank you for listening!
For the video premiere, visit here: https://www.stratisminakakis.info/escuchando-premiere
About Marsia Alexander-Clarke, visual artist (https://videoasmark.com/)
About Stratis Minakakis, composer (https://stratisminakakis.info/)
About Holly Druckman & Carduus (https://www.druckmanholly.com/about)
About David Stevens & Abstraction Music Group, moderator (https://www.abstractionmusicgroup.com/)
Escuchando Virtual Premiere September 15th!
Excited to share the culmination of this collaboration with visual artist Marsia Alexander-Clarke and Carduus. The Escuchando video premiere, along with the background of the work and bios of all artists will be hosted here:
For more updates, join the Facebook event: https://fb.me/e/3TqN4JfKd
Don-Paul Kahl performs For Felipe M.
Please join Don-Paul Kahl and I for the YouTube premiere of “For Felipe M.” for baritone saxophone. Don-Paul’s performance is a tour de force of concentration, stamina, and above all, musicality. He embodies the fragility and sonic virtuosity of the material, while always maintaining its singing quality like a distant memory.