By Maria Gregoriou
After more than 40 years in the music business, Cypriot musician and composer Faidros Kavallaris has collected his essays, interviews and letters and arranged them in a 256 page book.
The composer, whose work has widely contributed to music development on the island while keeping traditional Cypriot music within the modern world, will present his book on Wednesday at the Kastelliotissa Hall in Nicosia.
Echos and Ethos, Publications – Interviews – Letters covers 1975 until 2014 and is divided into three parts.
The first part, Publications, includes texts on the music of Greek French composer Iannis Xenakis, Greek composer Jani Christou, and on Japanese music. It also covers the musician’s personal journey through India, China and Japan.
The second part, Interviews, includes interviews which were published in newspapers published in Cyprus and abroad from 1975 until 2008. This part also deals with the creative process of composing, Kavallaris’ experience with music and Eastern cultures, and cultural life in Cyprus.
The third part, Letters, presents different letters which Kavallaris sent to various authorities, such as, the Ministry of Education and the Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.
The book launch will be introduced by associate professor at the University of Cyprus, Stavros Tombazos, followed by the presentation of the book by musicologist Dr Francis-Nectarios Guy.
After the presentation all those present can also get a taste of the composer’s music with a piano recital of Kavallaris work by Annini Tsiouti. Dimis Michaelides will be singing songs and poetry very tightly bound to Cyprus and its history.
Kavallaris showed an interest in composing at an early age and also had a feel for painting, poetry and ancient Greek drama.
When studying music and architecture in London, he wrote music for a production of Aristofanis’ comedy The Birds in 1971. In 1973 he organised his first concert showcasing all the songs he had written up to that point. His work since then has grown to entail a lifetime of songs. Some of these can be found on his CD Kypriaka Erotika, comprising 15 traditional Cypriot songs.
His works have now been performed in Cyprus, China, Japan, England, Germany, Hungary, France, Greece, Mexico, the USA, the Philippines and Italy.
Echos and Ethos
Book presentation by Faidros Kavallaris. February 10. Kastelliotissa Hall, Nicosia. 7.30pm. In Greek. Tel: 22-809818
