Youth at the heart of centenary tribute to Hatzidakis and Theodorakis in Melbourne

4 days ago 25

The Hellenic Writers’ League of Australia convened a profound and stirring tribute to two of the astir emblematic composers of the twentieth century, Manos Hatzidakis and Mikis Theodorakis, connected the centenary of their commencement connected Saturday.

The hallway of the Cretan Brotherhood of Melbourne overflowed with members of the Greek assemblage anxious to honour the representation of two men whose creation has travel to specify the very soundscape of modern Hellenism.

The assemblage reflected the afloat breadth of the community. Those who had lived with the euphony of Hatzidakis and Theodorakis for decades sat beside children and adolescents who encountered it for the archetypal time.

The intermingling of generations created an ambiance some moving and proud, a surviving objection that the melodies of these two masters proceed to animate and to span the disagreement of age.

The evening commenced with a resonant rizitiko, performed with haunting solemnity by Anna Tsourdalaki, accompanied connected the laouto by Giorgos Sevastakis.

The rhythmic pulse of the pentozali by the creation ensemble of the Cretan Brotherhood then filled the hallway with vigor and verve.

Particularly memorable were the mantinades of Antonis Tsourdalakis, composed for the occasion. In them, the traditional Cretan idiom was woven seamlessly into the creator spirit of Hatzidakis and Theodorakis, showing that their euphony converses not lone with cultivated sensibilities but with the deepest strata of the people’s soul.

The creator absorption of Odysseas Krypotos and Evangelia Baxa endowed the programme with elegance and cohesion, while Anthi Tzani and Chara Koyioni guided the proceedings with a uncommon blend of dignity and warmth.

Of singular value was the information of students from the schools of the Greek Community of Melbourne, St John’s College, Nestoras College, and Oakleigh Grammar. Their renderings of Odos Oneiron, Kemal, Ta Paidia tou Peiraia and Chartaetoi gave voice to a younger generation, proving that the bequest of Hatzidakis and Theodorakis is not confined to representation but remains vital when passed into youthful hands and voices.

Greetings were extended by Ioannis Sahinis, President of the Hellenic Writers’ League, Miltos Stamatakos, President of the Cretan Brotherhood, and Dimitra Georgantzoglou Consul-General of Greece successful Melbourne. Their words underscored the abiding value of the two composers’ bequest and the work of the assemblage to sphere its taste inheritance done the progressive engagement of its members.

The publication of Sotiris Hatzimanolis proved 1 of the astir luminous moments of the evening. With measured eloquence, helium located the oeuvre of Hatzidakis within a vast taste and philosophical horizon, revealing the composer’s determination to determination beyond the limits of specified song.

In his analysis, Hatzidakis emerged arsenic the designer of a caller aesthetic of Hellenism, 1 that held successful originative tension the refinement of the intellect with the immediacy of fashionable expression, and the speculative with the quotidian. In this synthesis, the euphony of Hatzidakis was shown not simply to delight oregon console, but to relation arsenic a vehicle of taste renewal. He stood distant not lone arsenic a composer of genius but arsenic a nationalist intelligence who sought, done the mean of beauty, to reimagine society and to elevate the consciousness of an full people.

Equally compelling was the oration of Elias Diacolambrianos, who illuminated the work of Theodorakis successful its governmental and humanities dimensions. He revealed however Theodorakis’ euphony became a connection of absorption and defiance, a repository of representation and a beacon of corporate aspiration, however his melodies gave voice to full peoples yearning for state and justice. Theodorakis frankincense appeared not simply arsenic a philharmonic innovator but arsenic a beingness woven into the very cloth of modern Greek history.

What conferred the evening with its deepest resonance was the centrality accorded to the youth, who dominated the event. Rather than being positioned arsenic passive observers oregon ornamental presences, alternatively they were fixed the relation of protagonists, arsenic singers, dancers, and interpreters of meaning. In this way they were invited to participate into dialog with the euphony and to assertion it arsenic their ain inheritance.

The Writers’ League, by offering such a model, demonstrates some foresight and conviction: the aboriginal of the assemblage depends upon the originative integration of its youth, so that tradition whitethorn not wither but proceed arsenic a surviving force.

The tribute was exemplary successful each aspect: meticulously conceived, executed with artistry, and suffused with reverence for the legacies of Hatzidakis and Theodorakis. More than a commemoration, it revealed erstwhile again the quality of Melbourne’s Greek assemblage to gully upon its surviving energies and to nutrient civilization that inspires, that moves, and that unites.

It was an evening that honoured not lone two large composers but the assemblage itself, which knows however to safeguard its memories and transmit them, live and resonant, to generations yet unborn.

Read Entire Article