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2007-”Kazantzakis and Martinů – Encounter of two Worlds“

(This article expired 31.12.2020.)

The event entitled ”Kazantzakis and Martinů – Encounter of two Worlds“, took place on Monday 17 September 2007 in the Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Kifissia in Athens.

At the beginning of a new diplomatic season the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Athens in co-operation with the Municipality of Kifissia organised a cultural evening dedicated to the friendship and the co-operation of the Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis and the Czech music composer Bohuslav Martinů. In Greece as well as in the Czech Republic this is a less known part of the long-time and rich history of the mutual relationships between both countries. The event entitled "Kazantzakis and Martinů - Encounter of two Worlds", took place on Monday 17 September 2007 in the Cultural Centre of the Municipality of Kifissia in Athens.

In the first part of the evening the premiere of the Greek version of the documentary " Zorba, the Greek in Boží Dar", directed by G. Agathonikiadis, took place. The Greek version of this documentary came about as a result of the initiative of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Athens and was generously financed by the Municipality of Kifissia. The hour-long documentary is dedicated to the stay of the Cretan writer Nikos Kazantzakise in pre-war Czechoslovakia in Boží Dar and to his artistic and personal relation and co-operation with Bohuslav Martinů whose opera "The Greek Passion" was composed based on Kazantzakis´ novel "The Greek Passion" (or "Christ Recrucified").

At the beginning of the evening a representative of the cultural centre of the Municipality of Kifissia and the translator of the document, Mrs Katerina Porphyrogenis, spoke about the co-operation of both artists. The guests present were further greeted by the Mayor of Kifissia, Mr. Nikolaos G. Chiotakis, and by the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Greece, Ms. Hana Mottlová. They both expressed joy at the commonly organised event and conviction that the initiated co-operation between the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Athens and the Municipality of Kifissia would continue successfully in the cultural and other fields.

Next, the honorary guest of the evening, the adopted son of Kazatzakis´ wife Eleni Kazantzaki, publisher of the collected work of Kazantzakis in Greece and the President of Kazantzakis Institute, Mr Patroklos Stavrou, greeted the present guests and spoke about a few important moments of Kazantzakis´ life in Czechoslovakia. Also present at the event was the director of the documentary, Mr. G. Agathonikiadis.

In the second half of the evening a concert by the Czech chamber music quartet "E nsemble Martinů" (Miroslav Matějka - flute, Eva Brummelová - violin, Bledar Zajmi - violoncello and Štěpán Kos - piano) took place. "Ensemble Martinů" presented compositions by B. Martinů, A. Dvořák and E. Zámečník. Selected pieces from the Czech music, specifically compositions by B. Martinů, in a harmonic way completed the thematically tuned evening and the present guests highly appreciated an excellent performance of the musicians. The concert was realised with the support of the Artistic Director of the International Music Festival of Santorini, Mrs. Athena Capodistria.