BIO

Mikrokosmos is a duo formed by guitarist-composer Salvatore Schiano and poly-instrumentalist Owen Cox.

The core of Mikrokosmos is Salvatore's classical guitar and Owen's steel string acoustic guitar, supported  by padded synths, electric violin,  traditional Italian chitarra battente, and ethnic flute, with additional percussions added by Dario Mennella.

The name "Mikrokosmos" refers to a set of compositions by Hungarian composer Bela Bartok.

Bartok's original Mikrokosmos attempted to communicate an entire world and history of music in a series of minimalist pieces for piano. Our project was inspired by this vision, an experimental chamber duo combining sounds and styles from traditional, classical, contemporary and electronic music.

 

Salvatore Schiano

Salvatore Schiano is an Italian composer and performer. A student of classical guitar for over 20 years, he is a graduate of the Conservatorio G. Martucci in Salerno, Italy and the Royal College of Music in London, England. He has written music for theatre, film and exhibition, and has worked with London's National Gallery and the London Film School. He has also produced numerous original solo and collaboration albums.

 

 

Owen Cox

Owen Cox is an English musician and podcast host. Growing up he was surrounded by high volume guitar driven music, and spent many hours in cramped rehearsal rooms and smoky pubs watching his dad and uncle perform. He has studied classical violin, recorder and bassoon, and played guitar in blues, metalcore and black metal bands. In recent years he has become increasingly interested in playing heavy sounding music with acoustic and traditional instruments.

MUSIC

In Greek myth, Orpheus was the greatest poet and musician to ever live. He sailed with Jason and his Argonauts, performed for the king of the dead to save the soul of his wife Eurydice, and met his end at the hands of a mob of crazed Dionysian maenads, who tore his body to shreds after he rejected their erotic advances. Legend tells how his severed head and lyre continued to sing even in death, floating down the river Hebrus and whispering mournful songs to the winds.  

Orpheus is a work that explores our relationships with life and death, natural forces beyond our control, and acts of resistance expressed through the work of art.

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