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THE HELLENIC MUSIC FOUNDATION CELEBRATES ITS 4TH ANNUAL GALA BENEFIT CONCERT. THE HELLENIC MUSIC FOUNDATION CELEBRATES ITS 4TH ANNUAL GALA BENEFIT CONCERT. The 4th Hellenic Music Foundation Annual Gala took place on Saturday November 15th , 2003 at the West Park Presbyterian Church in Manhattan with the participation of Greek and American singers and instrumentalists. The program was titled "Greek Classical Gems" and indeed it presented many unknown jewels from the Greek Classical vocal repertoire, many of them receiving their American premiere. The program started with excerpts from two operas by Gluck inspired by Greek Mythology: Orfeo ed Euridice and Paride ed Elena. They were sung in very much the classical style required for baroque music by Dionysia Klavdianou as Euridice and Rodnie Nelson as Paride. Next came soprano Elena Apostolis who sung majestically the two selections from the song cycle for voice and orchestra Mayiovotana (The Magic Herbs) by Manolis Kalomoiris who established the Greek National Music School. For a change in pace, duo pianists Daniel Kirk-Foster and Yannis Xylas offered a powerful rendition of the first movement from the Suite on Greek themes by Karel Salmon. Tenor Eric Blomquist continued with the song Thrylos (The Legend) sung in impeccable Greek and in a more serious vein, going back to non-Greek composers, tenor Rodnie Nelson offered a well rounded introspective interpretation of Anakreons Grab (the tomb of Anakreon) by Hugo Wolf. The same mood was carried even further with Angeliki Theoharis singing an aria from Saint Saens’ Christmas Oratorio. Changing the mood completely with a sensual interpretation, soprano Dionysia Klavdianou offered the poem by Sapho Kelomai se, Goggyla put to music by the famous Greek composer of popular music Manos Hadjidakis. And the first half of the program came to a rousing conclusion with the electrifying performance of soprano Christina Arethas in the showstopper aria of Elektra from the opera Idomeneo by Mozart. After a brief intermission the second part of the program started with three excerpts from the song cycle The Night Legends by Manolis Kalomoiris, presented in a very atmospheric performance by tenor Eric Blomquist. This is a very rarely performed and very elusive and mystical work, written by Kalomoiris during the second world war in Athens, something that is apparent in the works colors and mood. Then followed the equally mystical -but in a more straightforward and accessible way – song o Naos (The Temple) sung with dignity and in very good Greek diction by tenor Rodnie Nelson. The following two songs offered a complete contrast with the previous offerings: Songs by Manos Hadjidakis from his two popular song cycles The Blood Wedding and The Big Erotic sung with very warm tones by soprano Dionysia Klavdianou. Then the duo pianists Daniel Kirk-Foster and Yannis Xylas transported us from the cold night in New York to the warm breezy islands of the Aegean with their ethereal performance of the Dances from the Greek Islands by Yiannis Konstandinidis, four wonderful transparent miniatures evoking the sea and the stark Greek nature of the islands and the rhythms of their dance music. These works were written for piano solo and later transcribed for 2 pianos by the composer. Another –short this time – song by Kalomoiris was sung with simplicity and sensitivity by soprano Christina Arethas. As for the President of the Foundation, soprano Katia Zallas – Rosati, she offered us Medea’s aria from the opera Medea by Luigi Cherubini as well as the Archaic Miniature by Kazasoglou, a wonderful and very original piece that uses ancient modes and suits Mrs Zallas’ voice perfectly. Her selections also included two very melodic but practically unknown songs by Botetzayias, the Shepherd and the Sun-drenched Maiden, songs that evoke the Greek nature , fables and the people of the country, especially in their sun-filled endings, allowing Mrs. Zallas’ voice to shine above the staff. The program came to a rousing close with the Dance Antillaise by Nikos Astrinidis, a popular encore piece for piano four-hands, presented this time on 2 pianos with an additional saxophone played with dexterity by the virtuoso saxophonist Styliani Tartsinis in an arrangement by Yannis Xylas. The warm applause of the audience rewarded all of the soloists for the hard work they put into presenting a well rounded program that truly deserved the title “Gems from the Greek Classical Repertoire” since it revealed to everybody present some unknown works that deserve to be heard more often and maybe with the contributions of sponsors to be published in the future. Special thanks to Yannis Xylas for accompanying every singer in the concert as well as to the non-Greek singers who mastered the Greek Diction and of course Mrs. Zallas, President of the foundation, for all her hard work and dedication. May we have a chance to enjoy more concerts like that in the future. Print Article��Email to a friend   TURKEY'S FRONTLINE FOREIGN POLICY 1 Light at the End of Greece¢s Difficult Tunnel Condemnation of the death of our compatriot Aristotelis Goumas From Albanian terrorists. 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