The recent death of Mikis Theodorakis represents the end of a whole era of cultural creativity in Greece and world-wide. In his long life, Theodorakis composed all kinds of music and expressed some time contradictory political ideologies. He tried to fuse high and popular culture, political and tragedy, activism and meditation. His songs have shaped modern Greek consciousness, and created some of the most powerful emotional symbolism through which Greek define themselves to this day.
The talk will about the less know works of his career, symphonic works, tragedies and operas, as well as the exploration of what he called the cosmic harmonies in music. What makes humans musicians? This is what gives Theodorakis music universal and enduring despite the changes in performance style and ideological perspective.
Professor Vrasidas Karalis holds the Chair of Sir Nicholas Laurantos in Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies at the University of Sydney. His area of expertise is Greek Cultural Studies since the Byzantine and Modern periods. He has published extensively with special emphasis on Byzantine historiography, Modern Greek political life, Greek Cinema, Balkan culture, European Union and Greece, while also translating Patrick White’s Voss and The Vivisector, as well as well Michael Dransfield’s poems into Greek. Modern Greek poetry translated into English, include works by Nikos Karouzos, Kiki Dimoula, Andreas Angelakis etc. His most recently published monograph is ‘The Cinematic Language of Theo Angelopoulos (Berghahn Books, 2021). He has also edited the collections Cornelios Castoriadis and the Project of Radical Democracy (2013), Martin Heidegger and the Aesthetics of Being (2008), Power, Justice and Judgement in Hannah Arendt (2012), while also being the editor of Modern Greek Studies (Australian and New Zealand.). He has been the recipient of awards in translation and nominations for his critical work. In 2003 he was awarded the Federation Medal of Australia. Currently he is working on the work of the cinematographers George Miller and Theo Angelopoulos.
When: Thursday 10 March, 7.00pm
Venue: Mezzanine level, The Greek Centre, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne
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