Interview with Stathis Anagiannis

Description:

In this interview with Stathis Anagiannis, published in the newspaper Έθνος on 9 December 1970, Yorgos Sicilianos reflects on the past decade (1960-70) and the prospects for the future within the realm of Greek music. He suggests that the 1960s brought Greek artists face-to-face with global artistic and existential challenges, integrating these with their own cultural traits. This period witnessed a remarkable international recognition of contemporary Greek music, highlighting its originality and advancement. Domestically, he notes two key developments: the significant role of private initiatives and foreign educational influences, which enriched the nation’s musical landscape, and the growing interest of the Greek public in contemporary music.

Looking ahead, Sicilianos expresses uncertainty about the future, emphasizing that it will be shaped by global circumstances and the solutions humans find to ethical and survival issues within a technocratic environment. He believes that music has reached a critical juncture, where artists must reconcile with their inner selves and transition from merely pursuing novel expressive means to achieving a creative synthesis of these means. Practically, he stresses the importance of swiftly and intensively leveraging Greece’s artistic potential to establish a lasting musical tradition. This includes improving music education, revitalizing the musical life in provincial areas, and renewing the organisational and artistic activities of official music institutions in Athens and Thessaloniki, particularly through better programme preparation and selection.

The text of the interview was planned to be printed in the Benaki Museum’s publication Για τη Μουσική (On Music). However, the book’s editor Elly Yotopoulou-Sicilianou decided to exclude it. A copy of the original manuscript for the whole book was given to Anastasios R. A. Mavroudis.