Diakos Suite for Orchestra

Diakos Suite for Orchestra is extracted from the incidental music, written in 1961, for the Greek play “Diakos.” The play deals with the life of the Greek hero Athanassios Diakos, whose courageous actions inspired his compatriots in the early stages of the Greek revolution for freedom against Turkey in 1921. The music, which employs Greek rhythms and modal tunes, was meant to portray the character of rural Greece.

The play “Diakos” was performed in New York City by the Lemos Theater in 1961. There are several other versions of this piece, including Suite for Two Pianos: Diakos Suite and Four Greek Songs for soprano and piano, which employs the same musical ideas set to poetry by four different Greek poets.