LETHO KOSTOGLOU
PIANIST/COMPOSER/MUSICOLOGIST
Pencil drawing of Mozart by Eleni Kostoglou C1980s copied from a wax medallion after Leonard Posch
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Neos Kosmos
A rare reconstruction of Mozart
Letho Kostoglou is the first Greek Australian to attempt a complete reconstruction of Mozart's Requiem Mass
31 Aug 2010
John-Paul Hussey
Mozart directing his requiem by Mihaly Munckacsy.
If you are a classical music lover, it won't take much convincing how important this event is. Mozart's Requiem Mass is considered his finest work and was composed at the end of his life in 1791. There's a saying that a tree bears its finest fruit just before its death and Mozart's Requiem Mass is a magnificent example of this. Not only did this masterpiece draw out of Mozart his final and greatest act it may also have been responsible for taking the young composer's life. He was only 35 when he passed away. The problem was this masterpiece was never finished; only the first movement was completed, leaving professional antecedents to speculate on the missing three movements to see what the whole work could have possibly been.
The composer Franz Xavier Sussmayr (1766-1803) was the first to attempt a traditional completion, not long after Mozart's death. This is considered by many as the definitive interpretation, which should not be tampered with. Then there's the other, more radical, school of composers who have reinterpreted the Mozart Requiem Mass in their own style.
Nothing's wrong with that you would suppose. But it still leaves that ultimate curiosity unresolved, exactly how would the original master Mozart have wanted it had he completed it himself?
On September 4 at the Adelaide Town Hall you can experience the first attempt by an Australian-Greek composer Letho Kostoglou with the help of music editor Niki Levendis, to achieve a traditional completion of this mighty work.
Kostoglou immersed himself for six months in all of Mozart's work, looking in particular at his other religious masses. With the precision of a surgeon Kostoglou has extracted the essence of some of these works and even borrowed complete sections and grafted their 'cellular structures' onto the skin of Mozart's original work.
This is an extraordinary achievement by anyone's standards, and it should be added that this project has been strongly endorsed by Maestro Richard Bonynge, the conductor husband of Dame Joan Sutherland, and Patrick Thomas.
If you are a classical music lover, it won't take much convincing how important this event is. And to be able to experience it live with a full orchestra and choir makes it an even greater privilege. Unfortunately this privilege is going to pass in a blink of an eye; it is being performed for one night only. That's enough to make me jump on a plane so as not to miss it. I would also dare to speculate that the chances of it coming to any other Australian cultural centres, or the rest of the world for that matter, may depend entirely on how much it is supported at this premiere in Adelaide.
One can only hope that this will be the case
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Letho and Richard 1994
BIOGRAPHY
Born in Adelaide. South Australia in 1966, Letho Kostoglou, Conductor, pianist, accompanist, composer, arranger, began his musical studies learning the piano at age 5. His passion for music continued to grow and later he attended the Elder Conservatorium of Music continuing his piano tuition also studying conducting and accompanying. In 1986 and 1991, he worked as the assistant to the director for State Opera of SA working on productions of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Beethoven’s Fidelio, Wagner’s Die Fliegende Höllander and Richard Strauss’s Salome and Capriccio. Kostoglou has worked alongside international renowned directors such as Bernd Benthaak and Elke Neidhardt, conductors Richard Bonynge, Georg Tintner and John Matheson.
In 1990, he was assistant conductor for the Bathurst Summer School for Singers, again working alongside Bernd Benthaak, director, with special guest star Rita Hunter, dramatic soprano (CBE).
From 1991-1998. Kostoglou was vocal coach and accompanist for Carol Norris soprano, a former pupil of Dame Sister Mary Leo in New Zealand. As part of the Glendi Greek Festival 1994 Cultural Program, Kostoglou organised and performed as both accompanist and piano soloist with New Zealand soprano in a recital of Greek art songs and classical music inspired by ancient Greek culture. For the Glendi Festival in 1995, Kostoglou composed a ballet for the Glendi Dance Group choreographed by Athena Aktipis.
In 1996 he coached and accompanied Anna Maria Bene, winner of the MacDonald Operatic Aria Award appearing as accompanist playing on the stage of the Sydney Opera House in the finals of the competition.
1997 marked the 20th anniversary of the Glendi Greek Festival in Adelaide, South Australia . For the official opening , Kostoglou arranged both the national anthems for Australia and Greece for orchestra and soprano, which were performed by the Norwood Symphony Orchestra, featuring Pamela Vogiatzis, soprano and Kostoglou as conductor. An original vocal/orchestral composition by Kostoglou "Partheniko Ksimeroma" (Helenic Dawn) to a poem by Paul Nirvanas was also premiered.
Following this in 1998 he was musical director for Matt Byrne Media & Production Company, conducting the Australian Premiere of George Kaufman & Irving Berlin's musical "The Cocoanuts" written by the Marx Brothers. This same year he again organised a recital entitle Musica Erotica as part of the Adelaide Festival Theatre's Sunday Salon concert series held in the foyer of the Adelaide Festival Theatre. Kostoglou again perfomed as both a piano soloist and accompanist, once again working with soprono Pamela Karandonis and Christopher Naylor, programming executive at the Adelaide Festival Centre and organiser of the concert series who actively participated in the recital as both narrator and poetry interpreter.
Later that year, he accompanied Carol Norris in a program of Victorian songs for one night Twilight Concert series at Urrbrae House.
In 2000 he continued his musical training in Sydney graduating from the Australian International Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, majoring in conducting under the tutelage of Maestro Patrick Thomas, AM, MBE. As part of his Bachelor of Music he completed a thesis at the under graduate level, examining conducting two different styles of Russian opera namely; Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov and Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades., for which he received a distinction.
During this time, he also carried out work on instrumental orchestral parts for two operatic concerts in Canberra conducted for Maestro Richard Bonynge, AC, CBE, Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
Bonning conducted both these concerts which featured Australian operatic sopranos, Joan Carden, OA, OBE and Deborah Riedel. Upon graduation he co formed and was principal conductor of the Garrison Ensemble Chamber Orchestra and, conducted a performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria and several performances of Purcell’s opera Dido & Aeneas for Opera Parramatta. During this period, he began his completion of Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D minor K 626. Kostoglou is the first Australian to complete Mozart’s Requiem adopting Mozart’s orchestral style.
His completion has been endorsed by both Maestro’s Bonynge and Thomas. In 2006, Kostoglou participated in two orchestral conducting master classes with the Thuringen Philharmonic Orchestra in Gotha, Germany. The second of these was run by Gennady Rozhdestvensky, internationally acclaimed Russian conductor. At the conclusion of the Master class, he stated that Kostoglou was one of the best of three participants in line for the conducting award. He also discussed with Rozhdestvensky how to conduct various portions of Tchaikovsky’s opera The Queen of Spades. Kostoglou continued his work on Mozart and in 2020 wrote his completion of Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor K 427, which is dedicated to the memory of Dame Joan Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE.
COMPOSER & aRRANGER
As arranger and composer Kostoglou has written numerous compositions. Hailing from Greek ancestry, Kostoglou has forged his compositional style blending melodic and harmonic elements of ancient Greek, Byzantine chants and Greek folk music in particular, the music of Epirus. He has also written a String Quintet in G minor in Mozart’s late style, Mozartiana and is currently completing a String quartet and an orchestral suite titled Olympic Suite, depicting several of the ancient Greek Gods, demigods and scenes of ancient Greece.
PIANIST & ACCOMPANIST
Since 1990, Kostoglou has worked as both professional solo pianist and accompanist. As solo pianist, he has performed solo piano works by Handel, Domenico Scarlatti, Mozart, Rachmaninov, Khachataturian, Bartok and Satie. As accompanist, he has co worked in recitals with S.A. soprano Samantha Mack and most recently the acclaimed soprano Ana Marina, who sang the role of Christine in the National Australian tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera in 2007, opposite Anthony Warlow. Ana Marina and Kostoglou appeared for the first time in a recital in 2019 at the Signal Point Gallery, Goolwa. In November 2022, both Ana Marina and Kostoglou will again appear in a Mozart Magic recital to be held at the Clayton Bay Community Hall. Kostaglou will appear in a piano recital to be held at Centenary Hall Goolwa S A. He will perform works by D, Scarlatti, Handel, Mozart, Chopin, Rachmaninov and Paderewski.
ARRANGEMENTS
Advance Australia Fair for voice & Orchestra Op. 3
Greek National Anthem for orchestra Op. 2
Four Greek Folk songs for mixed Choir & Orchestra Op. 4
1, Omorfi Epirotisa. (Beautiful Epirus)
2. Vassilikos tha Yino (I will become Basil)
3. Sinefias ke O’ Ouranos (The sky is clouded)
4. Karagouna.
COMPOSITIONS
Piano Cadenzas & entries to Mozart’s Piano Concerti
Nos: 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26.
ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS
Partheniko Ksimeroma. Song for soprano & Orchestra Op. 1. Words by Paul Nirvanas. (1866 – 1937)
Streichquintett in G moll Mozartiana Op. 5
Piano Transcriptions
Gluck: Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Orfeo ed Euridice.
Handel: Overture to Rinaldo.
w.A. MOZART
(1756 – 1791)
Requiem Mass in D minor K 626.
Completion by Letho Kostoglou
On 5th December 1791, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died leaving incomplete the score to his Requiem Mass in D minor K 626. He left behind a partially finished score. The only movement he completed in the strictest sense was the first movement Requiem aeternum. For the remaining movements Mozart completed the vocal parts, be it solo or choral, instrumental bass, and occasional instrumental string accompaniment. For the Lacrimosa, Mozart wrote only the first eight bars, comprising orchestral introduction and opening vocal statement.
After Mozart’s death his widow Constanze, asked Joseph Eybler, legitimate pupil of Mozart and trusted friend to complete the missing orchestration to movements requiring additional instrumentation. In the last month of Mozart’s final illness, Eybler was a frequent visitor. Eybler helped nurse the ailing composer, carried him down to the water closet and together they studied the works of the great composers in particular Handel. Eybler was the only composer and pupil that Mozart wrote a reference for. Given these circumstances, it was logical that Eybler be given the opportunity to complete the score of the Requiem. Eybler wrote his instrumentation directly into Mozart;’s hand written score, providing instrumentation for movements in the Sequenz from the Dies irae to the opening of the Lacrimosa. Eybler’s work stops at this juncture and he returned the score to Constanze Mozart, possibly because he had recently been appointed as Director of the choir at the Carmelite convent in Vienna, based on Mozart’s written recommendation and because his duties as director prevented him from giving the completion of the Requiem its due.
Constanze Mozart next approached Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who had been Mozart’s musical assistant. Although Süssmayr's claim to be a pupil of Mozart is yet to be determined, He was well acquainted with Mozart’s musical style. Süssmayr completed the necessary missing instrumentation to the remaining movements, Domine jesu, Hostias and, composed the Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei, either based on sketches left by Mozart now lost or, independently of Mozart. Süssmayr also revised instrumental passages composed by Eybler.
1961 BERLIN SKETCH
In 1961, eminent musicologist Wolfgang Plath discovered a 16-bar musical sketch written in Mozart’s handwriting. The music was the beginning of a movement set to the word Amen. As this sketch was penned on the reverse of a sketch to the Rex tremendae, Plath came to the obvious conclusion that the Amen sketch was intended to be expanded into a fully-fledged movement intended to follow after the Lacrimosa bringing the Sequenz to a conclusion in the key of D minor. The discovery of this sketch led other musicologists to believe that other sketches to the Requiem probably existed, but were either destroyed or mislaid.
THE CURRENT COMPLETION
The current completion is an attempt to give the Requiem score more uniformity and balance. Instrumental contributions by Joseph Eybler have been retained. All the melodic material composed by Süssmayr has also been retained but reorchestrated in accordance with similar orchestral passages found in other works by Mozart in order to give the movements composed by Süssmayr more unity and textual balance.
The Amen sketch has been fleshed out into a full movement and the orchestral bridge passage linking the end of the Benedictus to the second Osanna has been effectively accomplished modulating to D major, the key of the first Osanna. Consequently, both Osanna choruses now remain in the same key adding another dimension of unity and balance to the score.
The Benedictus has been re worked. The Agnus Dei has be re-orchestrated and re-voiced using modulatory, harmonic, sequences specifically related to the key of A Minor. The current completion of the Requiem was performed at a world premier performance in the Adelaide Town Hall, South Australia, September 2010
Great Mass in C minor K 427
Before his marriage to Constanze Weber, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart made a vow to God that if he was allowed to marry her, in appreciation he would write a large-scale mass. On the 4th August 1782 Mozart and Constanze were married. Five or so months later, Mozart in a letter to his father stated that almost half the composition of the mass was completed. Mozart was planning a visit to Salzburg so Constanze his new wife, could meet Mozart’s father and sister for the first time. By this time both Mozart and his father had become estranged. The first performance of Mozart’s C Minor mass K 427 took place on 26 October 1783 in St David’s cathedral Salzburg with Constanze singing one of the principal soprano parts, but in all probability, she sang the principal soprano part that begins with the soprano solo in the Kyrie.
At the time of the first performance, Mozart had only completed the following movements that make up the Gloria, Kyrie, Gloria in excelsis Deo, Laudamus te, Gratias, Domine, Qui tollis, Quonium, Jesu Christe and Cum Sancto Spiritu.
For the Credo, Mozart composed partial instrumental parts for oboes, French horns, violin II, viola, orchestral bass and organ. He completed the instrumental part for violin I and choir for the entire movement. He had also drafted two additional movements, Credo and Et incarnatus est for solo soprano and orchestra.
For the Et incarnatus est, Mozart composed the instrumental solos for flute, oboe and bassoon together with the part for soprano solo. For the majority of the movement parts for violin I, violin II, and viola are completely lacking. There are two additional blank staves below the solo bassoon part. In the current completion, it is assumed they were intended for an additional bassoon and French horn, given that the movement contains a dynamic level of piano.
For the Osanna, parts for choir I and orchestral parts were completed by Mozart. No vocal parts for Choir II exist. However, as the vocal parts were essentially doubled by the wind instruments namely; oboes and bassoons, a combination of vocal parts for both choirs are apparent in these instrumental parts. Therefore, it is these instrumental parts that have provided the template for the missing vocal parts for choir II.
In addition, Mozart also left an eleven-bar vocal sketch intended for the Dona nobis pacem, the final movement of the Mass. This would have involved all four soloists, soprano I, soprano II, tenor, bass, choirs 1 and 2 and orchestra. The sketch in the current completion has been fleshed out into a completed movement. The sketch left by Mozart suggests a rapid movement, an Allegro, fast and lively tempo setting, in accordance with earlier settings of the final movement of the mass composed by Mozart. The choral and solo vocal parts enter one after the other suggesting a movement that generates continuous movement and ever-increasing intensity until its ultimate tumultuous conclusion.
