Suite for Two Pianos and Strings

Suite for Two Pianos is extracted from the incidental music written for the Greek play “Diakos,” performed in New York City by the Lemos Theater in 1961. This 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.

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. Diakos Suite for orchestra was premiered by the Baton Rouge Symphony under the direction of James Yestadt in 1980.