Regarding the composition of the work "At the Composer's Workshop"

Throughout my musical career I have considered concerts with educational content as one of the most important goals.

As a conductor, I’ve conducted a very large number of concerts in Greece and Cyprus for students at all educational levels, from very young children in kindergarten to university students, and I have also given many performances in various non-concert venues such as factories and military bases, as well as in remote places, far from the big cities. The purpose has always been the same - to pass on the beautiful music of the great composers to the widest possible layers of society with simple oral presentations before each piece, so that listeners that are unfamiliar with classical music and are usually listening to the works for the first time can appreciate them more easily and more pleasantly. 

I have always had the same goal as a composer and some of the works I have written, as well as several music productions that I have designed, have an educational character.

In 2004, the Athens Concert Hall Organization commissioned me to write a work with educational content to be presented by the Athens State Orchestra.

The work was presented on January 16, 2005 by the orchestra under my direction and narrated by the well-known actor Nikitas Tsakiroglou. The concert was warmly received by the audience that filled the big auditorium of the Concert Hall, and it was also a great surprise, joy and honor for me when I found out that among the mainly young audience was the great conductor Kurt Mazur (1927 -2015) who applauded with enthusiasm.  

Alkis Baltas

Regarding the content of the work "In the Composer's Workshop"

I felt that it did not make sense to present the instruments of the orchestra, since Benjamin Britten has done this in a wonderful fashion in his work “The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra”. 

Eventually, I decided to try to give some information about the basics of music; the fundamental tools a composer has at his disposal in order to create a piece and, more generally, to enable the uninitiated young listener to be more closely aware of various parameters related to composition and orchestral sound. 

The presentation of the work unfolds through a story I wrote in which little Johnny visits a composer who tries to introduce him to the beautiful world of composition and the sound of the orchestra. As I was writing the text, I imagined that it was me who was visited by little Johnny and that the person talking in this story is me.

At the end of the work, the composer's little friend promises to visit him again. This ending leaves open the possibility for a follow-up work with always the same goal - to educate young listeners about music in a simple way. Surely, there are still many things that the composer could say to his young friend.

Alkis Baltas

Product details 

CD1 (in Greek)

01. Tuning – Rhythm (percussion) – Motif – Brass– Strings – Woodwinds – Chords [14:19]  

02. March [01:39]  

03. Waltz [01:44]  

04. Kalamatianos [02:10]  

05. Tango [02:14]  

06. Rock music (on “Satisfaction” by Rolling Stones) [02:35]  

07. Loud – Quietly [03:39]  

08. Quick – Slow [01:52]  

09. Intermezzo [04:05]  

10. Rests [03:29]  

11. Low,  Middle and High register of the instruments [01:17]  

12. Tone colours (canon) [02:28]  

13. Pizzicati [01:55]  

14. Tremoli and Glissandi [02:22]  

15. Harmonics and Trills [03:12]  

16. Sordines [02:52]  

17. Finale [07:15]  

Total time: [59:13]  

CD2 (in English)

01. Tuning – Rhythm (percussion) – Motif – Brass– Strings – Woodwinds – Chords [14:04]  

02. March [01:40]  

03. Waltz [01:45]  

04. Kalamatianos [02:12]  

05. Tango [02:15]  

06. Rock music (on “Satisfaction” by Rolling Stones) [02:42]  

07. Loud – Quietly [03:45]  

08. Quick – Slow [01:54]  

09. Intermezzo [04:02]  

10. Rests [03:33]  

11. Low,  Middle and High register of the instruments [01:20]  

12. Tone colours (canon) [02:35]  

13. Pizzicati [01:57]  

14. Tremoli and Glissandi [02:27]  

15. Harmonics and Trills [03:15]  

16. Sordines [02:55]  

17. Finale [07:15]  

Total time: [59:44]