Even though a cellist, he has always traversed a wide spectrum, ranging from jazz all the way to free improvisation and Brazilian music.
Dimos Goudaroulis
Ambassador of baroque music
Text: Dimitra Kehagia
Cellist Dimos Goudaroulis was born in 1970, in Larissa, he grew up in Thessaloniki, and took on music at the age of nine years old at the New Conservatory of Music of Thessaloniki, freshly founded at that time by the late lamented Karolos Trikolidis. That’s where he learnt to play the cello under the tutelage of Giorgos Manolas, Ivan Bianchi and Russi Dragnev, graduating with the highest distinction. “I was never a wonderkid,” he stresses, adding that his work ethic has remained unaltered ever since his apprenticeship years. “I still study like a student,” he confesses.
He has spent 27 years abroad, initially in France before moving for a whole 20 years in Brazil, during half of which he worked as a cello professor at the University of São Paulo. It was in Brazil that he fell under the spell of baroque music. Today he is a teacher at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, but also one of the most acclaimed Greek ambassadors of baroque music on an international scale. He continues to often travel all over the world, giving concerts in Europe, Latin America, the US and Canada, while his discography, both solo and as a member of various ensembles and bands, includes almost 40 albums.
Once he returned to Greece on a permanent basis, he realized that the few yet exceptional local musicians who were into baroque music had no room for expression. That’s why he paved the way for the founding of the Baroque Music Festival, in 2017, at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall. The Festival is now held annually, whereas it’s also hosted in Athens, at the Alternative Stage of the Greek National Opera.
“This success came as a surprise for many people, but not for me, as I did not have the slightest doubt that something so interesting, with the depth of this particular kind of music, and missing from the local music scene, would be met positively by the audience.” Facts would prove him dead right from the kickoff year, as he himself cannot hide his surprise over the Festival’s year-by-year growing appeal in both cities. A loyal audience has been formed, whereas for the first time, even before calling it a wrap for the 2024 Festival, Dimos Goudaroulis has the upcoming festival editions already under way. The initiative taken by the Region of Central Macedonia to have the Festival included in a European funding program contributed greatly to this direction, as it offered a valuable financial boost that allowed for a three-year planning to be devised.
The 2024 7th Baroque Musique Festival, titled “The Age of Experimentation” was dedicated to 17th century music, at the time when baroque was born. The 2025 Festival, featuring the title “The Age of Transition”, will focus on the 18th century, whereas in 2026, in the run-up to the completion of 200 years since the death of Beethoven (1770-1827), the Festival will bear the title “A New Age”. As pointed out by the Festival’s founder and artistic director: “It will be highly innovative for Greek standards to showcase Beethoven’s chamber music with period instruments.”
The historical interpretation of music movement, shaped in the 1960s and 1970s, played a key role in his professional course, as it “brought a fresh air into the moldy world of classical music. A different way to perform and look upon the music of the past, against formalism, conservatism and the contrived distance of classical Western music from the audience. This particular movement put forward distinctiveness as its ideal. Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi cannot be approached in the same way. You simply cannot perform Vivaldi with the same aesthetic as Tchaikovksy,” he underlines.
The nature of our work, to step on stage and expose yourself, unconsciously pushes you to that direction. At the end of the day, however, self-admiration builds nothing but obstacles to your work. On the contrary, uncertainty is what keeps you going and fuels you to get better. And as we grow older, a new challenge arises: to maintain our endurance, and most of all our hunger and our excitement.
Formalities and labels in music don’t matter to him. Even though a cellist, he has always traversed a wide spectrum, ranging from jazz all the way to free improvisation and Brazilian music. He takes a keen interest in the versatility of cultures and music genres, having teamed up with musicians from all over the world. Regardless of his admiration for the musicians who serve a particular kind of music, he went down a different path, whereas the only boundaries he sets in music are of moral nature. “Anything that lacks depth, truth and consistency does not concern me. It’s impossible for me to relate with anything that aims solely at financial profit,” he adds.
Even today, after a decades-long career that has earned him a number of national and international distinctions, he still cannot bring himself to handpick and devote himself entirely to one and only genre of music. “Total and unreserved dedication is an intriguing approach that most artists tend to embrace. It is a highly rewarding tactic as it offers you the chance to center in and delve into your subject. Unfortunately, it did not play out for me that way; I guess it depends on one’s personality,” he notes, while also pointing out another key difference between him and the majority of his colleagues. As fundamental as cello and music may be in his life, he opted to set his kids, family and friends as his top priority.”
“There are numerous artists who wholeheartedly give every inch of their soul to the art they serve, dedicating themselves in full. I do admire them, but their stance cannot be seen as a one-way street in an artist’s life.” The point of view he adopts on his personal and professional life is mirrored to a great extent in the work Minima Moralia written by the philosopher, sociologist, musicologist and composer Teodor Adorno, and most of all in his motto “to live a right life”.
Moreover, he reckons that self-absorption is an artist’s, as well as every human being’s, worst enemy. “The nature of our work, to step on stage and expose yourself, unconsciously pushes you to that direction. At the end of the day, however, self-admiration builds nothing but obstacles to your work. On the contrary, uncertainty is what keeps you going and fuels you to get better. And as we grow older, a new challenge arises: to maintain our endurance, and most of all our hunger and our excitement.”
Throughout his journey in music, many artists and many collaborations have left a mark on him, and among them he singles out – with the fear of not doing justice to someone – joining forces with Dutch cellist Anner Bylsma (with whom he shared time both on and off stage), the “Pope of the baroque cello” as he calls him. In addition, the jazz quartet he took part in the late 1990s, alongside legendary double bassist Wayne Dockery, drummer Bob Demeo and pianist Horace Parlan, almost seems unreal to him nowadays. Back in the day, he was asked to pull a tough one off. In his own words: “The cello is no traditional jazz instrument, therefore I had to invent my own music language so as not to drown in this sea of saxophones, drums and pianos. In spite of myself, and without even being sure that I merit such credit, I became a link in the chain of the grand oral tradition of jazz music.”
He places particular emphasis on the importance of oral tradition, signposting that, with the exception of Western European music, the roots of all music traditions can be traced there. “There’s a colossal written tradition behind Western classical music, and that’s why, in contrast to other genres of music, its performance and rendition are immensely stressful for musicians.”
He hails the 1960s as the most stimulating period in modern history in terms of music and art, as rock triggered a political, cultural and social micro-revolution. Unfortunately, he feels this openness of spirit has worn out, without being replaced by a new force. “Who are the Jimi Hendrix, Janice Joplin and Frank Zappa of our times? Maybe they are somewhere out there, waiting to be discovered, but who and how will track them down in this muddle of Internet info? As the rest of the world, artists have also been immersed in this whirlpool. It’s nothing more than a huge-size super market with countless products and discount offers. Consumerist society seems to have won this battle, at least for the time being,” he comments, however without giving up hope.
“Music is endowed with the amazing ability to aim directly for the heart, inducing vibrations and pulsations. Hope is nurtured within the artist’s mind, who tries to channel this emotion to the audience. I have no idea whether music or art have the power to change the gloomy reality of our world, but they certainly can touch people’s souls and open up small windows to beauty.”
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