One thing is never missing from any week: music. This week we have a charity concert, a concert outside in the summer air, and a female DJ who will venture deep into your musical consciousness.
Tomorrow, Michalis Hatzigiannis – the Cypriot singer who’s made it big in Greece – will be joined by French-Cypriot virtuoso pianist, teacher and composer Cyprien Katsaris at Curium Ancient Theatre. These two local musical stars will also share the stage with the American Archdiosesan Youth Choir, the Youth Philharmonic of the Cyprus Police and Zeta Makripoulia, who will be presenting the show.
Proceeds from the show – which is under the auspices of First Lady Andri Anastasiades and Archbishop of America Demetrius – will be donated to help children in need.
Hatzigiannis was discovered at the age of 18 when he took part in a local talent show called Afetiries where he won first prize. After his army service and after taking part in the European Song Contest representing Cyprus in 1998, he left for Greece. And fame didn’t take long to come along, as his very first album Paraxeni Giorti (A Strange Celebration) contained some of the biggest hits of the year – and the rest, as they say, is history.
While Hatzigiannis has made it big in the Greek pop world, Katsaris has made a name for himself in the classical music arena. He first began playing the piano when he was four and started studying the instrument at the Paris Conservatoire in 1969. His list of achievements is long, the orchestras he has played with are many, but the one thing that really stands out when it comes to this classical-music man is that he has recorded the complete Liszt transcriptions of Beethoven’s nine symphonies.
Moving onto Thursday, we have another Cypriot special treat for you, but this time in the form of the band Monsieur Doumani, who will be performing as part of the eleventh Cyprus Rialto World Music Festival.
Antonis Antoniou (tzouras), Angelos Ionas (guitar) and Demetris Yiasemides (wind instruments) will entertain the crowd with songs from their latest album entitled Sikoses and their first album Grippy Grappa. Both albums show how the boys stay true to their Cypriot roots, as they use the Cypriot dialect to get their messages across.
The whole island has been jumping to the sounds of the band for some time now, so if you haven’t had the unique Monsieur Doumani experience yet, now just might be the right time.
Ending our list in a spinning kind of mood is Greek DJ Maria Petrou (aka Mar.P), who will be getting us into a deep/tech house and techno musical vibe on Saturday at the Salut Bar and Grill.
Mar. P took her first baby-steps into the field of DJing at the age of 19. With a great collection of music by her side and a love of beats, the young DJ began taking part in local parties and events in Athens. In no time at all, she went from an amateur to a professional, and for the past 10 years she has been mixing things up and letting dancing feet do what they must.
Charity Concert
Charity concert with Michalis Hatzigiannis and Cyprien Katsaris. July 13. Curium Ancient Theatre, Episkopi, Limassol. 8.3pm. €10. Tel: 25-354389
Monsieur Doumani
Live performance by the local band. July 14. Heroes Square, Limassol. 8.30pm. Free. Tel: 77-77745
Maria Petrou
Live performance by the Greek DJ. July 16. Salut Bar and Grill, 71-73 Saripolou Street, Limassol. 9pm. Tel: 97-692091
