Menelaos Peistikos - For Sun's Light for String Quartet, Op. 8 (2015)
Molinari String Quartet
Program Note: "For Sun's light" is a three-movement string quartet piece written in summer 2015. Inspired from Plato's philosophical work "Allegory of the Cave'', the piece describes the fight of the human being to disengage from the shackles of the illusive reality, which forces him into ignorance and delusion. His aim is to see the light of the truth which belongs to the sun, outside of the cave. This disengagement is a constant, extremely difficult rising journey with many obstacles and compulsions. The person who escapes from his only known world of cavern, dazzles from the sun's harsh light. However, if he manages to face that light, he will be able to see its value and understand the idea of "Agathon"; the idea of the ultimate stage of knowledge and spirituality, of mental and moral superiority.
Each movement describes a single situation of the allegory. The first movement ("The illusive reality"), refers to the perceptible world of "prisoners", who believe incorrectly in the idols and shadows shaped across the cave's wall which is lightened by fire. The second movement ("Looking for the exit of the cavern''), brings out the stress and the agony of some released "prisoners" who try to find the exit of the cave, driven by a distant and unknown light. The last movement ("The light of Sun'': Agathon"), gives at first the impression that some of them finally managed to understand the real ideal of ''Agathon'', feeling relieved by their attempt. Nevertheless, as time passes, they realize that they are unable to reach this absoluteness of knowledge and truth. This futile ending supports my belief that absolute Knowledge, Truth, and Objectivity are values that existed, exist and will exist in nature regardless of human understanding. In my opinion, humans can only approach and hardly see that "light", but I think even this little viewing of Agathon's Ideal, is worth fighting for.
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