Atanas Ourkouzounov - Thracian Tales
Review by Ange Turell
Gitarr och Luta, issue 3, 2026, pp. 35-36
English translation
Atanas Ourkouzounov, who has Bulgarian roots but has long been based in France, continues to create music at a furious pace. His creative drive and musical curiosity seem inexhaustible. He performs as a soloist and in a number of chamber ensembles, including a duo with flautist and partner Mie Ogura and the quintet Balkan Moods. A substantial and ever-growing body of his music, which almost always centres on the guitar, has been published in score form. He also works at the Maurice Ravel Conservatoire in Paris and makes guest appearances in a wide variety of settings...
Several artists have recorded his music, among them Duo Palissandre, whose latest CD features works for two guitars and was recently reviewed in this magazine. Ourkouzounov's music calls for attentive listening; otherwise, it is easy to miss the elements that hold it together and the sophisticated structure underpinning these creations.
The compositions are intricate, with layer upon layer of simultaneous activity and themes unfolding through continual, subtle change. The music seems to reason with itself, to ponder and weigh up possibilities, as though contemplating philosophical riddles. Melodic fragments intertwine in a labyrinthine dance, finding openings and affinities in a tumbling polyphonic interplay, only to lose themselves again in new tunnels, pass through open spaces flooded with light, and then delight in losing their way once more. The music is constantly on the move, bringing to mind the often-quoted lines from Karin Boye's poem I rörelse (In Motion):
"Indeed, our journey has a goal and a meaning,
but it is the road that makes the effort worthwhile."
The album contains three suites, each comprising several movements, and a few independent pieces. The musical heritage of the Balkans makes itself felt in several of the titles, including the opening Balkan Diptych and the magnificent Balkan Variations, whose six sections guide the listener through beautiful, folk-inflected melodies wrapped in swaying chromaticism. Chromatic writing is one of Ourkouzounov's hallmarks: all twelve notes, with occasional microtones in between, are available and woven into the musical narrative without disturbing the sense of clear tonal centres. Rhythmically, the music is often jolting and jerky in a captivating way, with odd time signatures and accents that do not always fall where one expects them. It swings and lurches from side to side, and as a listener I find my head bobbing along as best I can.
Two tracks pay tribute to other composers, Debussy and Couperin, and it is fascinating to hear how Atanas has incorporated echoes of their music into his own unmistakable sound world.
If you are looking for a distillation of the essence of this distinctive music, the title track Thracian Tale could be a good candidate. Several of its essential elements are represented here: yearning melodies, rhythmic vitality, polyphony with a fine sense of depth, and masterly handling of theme and form .As always, the guitar playing on this album is absolutely first-class, with fine tone and dynamics, precision and clarity. Taken as a whole, this is an album that grows with every listen.
