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Stavros Niarchos Lecture

Hellenic Studies in New York City Series

November 14th, 2009

Cappella Romana Vocal Ensemble: Renaissance Encounters: Greek East and Latin West

The Renaissance was fed by encounters, both real and imagined, between Western Europeans and Greeks. Hear how Byzantine and Latin musicians of the 15th and 16th centuries captured these cultural meetings in music. Cappella Romana is a vocal chamber ensemble dedicated to combining passion with scholarship in its exploration of the musical traditions of the Christian East and West, with emphasis on early and contemporary music. For additional information see http://www.cappellaromana.org/ Download program.

Speaker: Cappella Romana Vocal Ensemble

January 30th, 2009

Cafe Aman ~ Authentic Sounds of the Aegean

With the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey which occurred after the catastrophic burning of Smyrna in 1922, many Greeks and Armenians from urban and rural areas of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) poured into the cities and towns of mainland Greece. They brought with them a shared and, in many ways, advanced culture, which proved to be a major influence on their new neighbors. One of the most obvious examples of this culture are the urban and folk songs which eventually gave birth to Rebetiko music and evolved into what we now recognize as modern Greek music. In this special concert, the Maeandros ensemble will perform a range of rare songs which reflect the influences and turbulence of the early 1900's in Greece, with traditional songs and instrumentation from the period.

Speaker: Mavrothi Kontanis & Maeandros Ensemble

October 3rd, 2008

FROM EROTOKRITOS TO AXION ESTI

The works of the greatest Greek poets set to music by the gretest Greek composers performed by Grigoris Maninakis and the Mikrokosmos Ensemble. has been involved with Greek music and song for nearly 30 years, first as a founding member and soloist of The Greek Popular Chorus of NY established in New York by the world famous composer Mikis Theodorakis. Since then Mr. Maninakis has established himself as one of the major performers of quality traditional and contemporary Greek Music and Song with appearances at Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully and Merken Halls of Lincoln Center, The Peter Norton Symphony Space in NYC, and numerous other Theatres , Music Halls Cultural organizations and Universities throughout the United States, including The International Poetry Forum , Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Yale, Carnegie Mellon , Rutgers, & others.. He is the featured vocalist in the “KAFE AMAN AMERIKA” CD and The Kafé Aman Amerika orchestra that toured Greece and Europe with acclaimed performances in Salonika, the Lykavitos and Herodion theatres in Athens and the concert halls of Uttrecht, Holland and Brussels, Belgium in the summer of 1997. View poster.

Speaker: Grigoris Maninakis and the Mikrokosmos Ensemble

October 20th, 2007

Elly Paspala in Concert

View poster. A true child of the Greek-American diaspora, Ms. Paspala was born in New York where she studied at the Manhattan School of Music. She began her career singing in Astoria until she moved to Greece where she was discovered by Manos Hadjidakis. In 1982 she collaborated with the great composer on the album Pornography and subsequently on the masterpiece Ballads of Athena Street, and the very successful Laiki Agora and Romaiki Agora where she mostly reinterprets songs initially sung by Nana Mouskouri. Robust and lyrical at once, technically impeccable and emotionally elastic, her voice is without a doubt one of the most remarkable to have come out of Greece in the last twenty-five years. Though sparse in her album releases, she has carved a spot for herself in the Greek musical scene with the ground-breaking “Elly Paspala at the Music Hall” (1993) where she reinterprets Greek and foreign classics with the bravery and audacity that would make the most avant-garde of artists green with envy. She remains to this day the authoritative interpreter of Hadjidakis music and a tour de force on stage.

Speaker: Elly Paspala

October 11th, 2007

George Seferis’ “Thrush” in Painting: An Exhibit by Artist George Kordis

Mr. Kordis grew up in Athens and studied Theology at the Department of Theology of the University of Athens and Byzantine iconography. He continued his studies at the Theological School of "The Timios Stavros" in Boston (Master of Theology) and followed lessons in painting technique at "The School of Arts of The Museum of Boston" (1987-89). He specialized in both the theology and the aesthetics of Byzantine painting. He has painted many portable icons, frescos in churches and holy places, both in Greece and abroad. In addition to his more traditional work, he has replicated in art what the great composers have done in music by deriving inspiration from the literary tradition of Greece. He has interpreted in art the works of Elytis, Papadiamantis, Kornaros, Seferis, Sarantaris, and Kavvadias to name a few. A preview of his Yale exhibit can be seen at the Program’s website at www.yale.edu/macmillan/hsp by clicking on the link “George Kordis Upcoming exhibit.” View poster.

Speaker: George Kordis

October 3rd, 2007

Opening Reception for exhibit "Reflections on America's Intervention in post-World War II Greece"

To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, which are the subjects of several panels of the MGSA Symposium, the Local Arrangements Committee has prepared an exhibit at Yale University's Sterling Memorial Library under the theme: "Reflections on America's Intervention in post-World War II Greece." The exhibit focuses on the country's wartime devastation, the civil war, the Truman Doctrine, and the Marshall Plan and consists of photographs, documents, maps of military operations, books, pamphlets and other items relating to Greece in the late 1940s. Some of the materials on display are from the Harry S. Truman Library, the George C. Marshall Foundation, the Library of Congress and the Yale University Collection of Manuscripts and Archives. The exhibit is curate by Professor John Iatrides. View poster.

Speaker: Dr. John Iatrides, Curator

April 18th, 2007

çifte telli (double string)--Classical and Urban music from Istanbul and Izmir

Featuring Dr. Münir Beken –- ud A founding member of the State Turkish Music Ensemble, Beken’s technique, musicality, and mastery of a variety of both old and modern styles have made him the leading ud player of his generation. & the Aman Saki Trio: Aman Saki promotes a fun yet respectable approach to a vast repertoire which ranges from tavern songs to court music. with Phaedon Sinis – kanun, kemence (politiki lyra) Lefteris Bournias–clarinet: Mavrothi T. Kontanis – ud
View poster

Speaker:

April 14th, 2007

Cappella Romana in Concert: Hellenes and Music in the Renaissance

view web link

Speaker:

March 30th, 2007

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino in Concert

View poster

Speaker: Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino

November 4th, 2006

Alkistis Protopsalti Concert

Accompanied by Christina Argyri and George Karadimos. View photos.

Speaker:

September 17th, 2006

Aeschylus’ The Persians

View photos. By popular demand, the world-renowned National Theatre of Greece returns to New York City Center (September 16-20)! The Persians (Persae) is the oldest surviving play in history, and the only surviving Greek tragedy dealing with a non-mythical theme. The play celebrates the final defeat of the armies of Xerxes in the sea-battle of Salamis (480 B.C.). After it was performed in 472 B.C. in Dionysia, Aeschylus (who himself fought in that battle) was awarded the first prize. The play is not only a boastful picture of the Greek triumph over the Persians, it is solemn warning addressed to both victors and vanquished. It is a vision of divine justice humbling the pride of nations, a moral lesson on tyranny that touches the heart and conscience of each oppressor, whether Greek or barbarian. For more information you can also visit http://www.nycitycenter.org/

Speaker:

May 2nd, 2006

Confessions: Byzantine Music & Greek Medieval Songs

Speaker: Scola Cantorum

December 2nd, 2005

Nikos Xydakis in concert

Nikos Xydakis is one of Greece's most important composers of the last twenty five years. His first album, "The Revenge of the Gypsies" in 1978 was a ground-breaking experiment with Rebetika forms that heralded the arrival of a new musical idiom in Greece. Working with lyricist Manolis Rasoulis and later Thodoris Gkonis, Xydakis reintroduced neglected instruments to Greek music and opened new melodic roads that often evoke a medieval aura, laced with romantic references to religion, history, legends, and fairy tales. He has published more than 15 albums and has worked with singers Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Melina Kana, Dora Masklavanou, and Nikos Papazoglou among others. Free and open to the public. View photos and poster.

Speaker:

February 25th, 2005