How Great Spiritual Figures of Greece Helped Form the Renowned Conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos

Dimitri Mitropoulos (center) with St. Nektarios (left) and Alexandros Papadiamantis (right) and the Metochion of the Ascension in Vyronas of Athens in the background.

Perhaps the best known relationship of the renowned composer and pianist Dimitri Mitropoulos was his constant betrayer and eventual successor: Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein first heard and saw Mitropoulos as a recent émigré from Greece when he had given a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert in 1938 which electrified the Harvard graduate student. Mitropoulos took Bernstein under his wing, though the ambitious Bernstein later repaid his kindness by angling to replace him as the head of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. It was Mitropoulos, after all, who is primarily responsible for inspiring Bernstein to become a conductor. Another friend of Mitropoulos, Herbert von Karajan, also was entranced by the way in which music seemed to flow through the Greek conductor and communicate itself to both players and audiences. At Karajan's behest, Mitropoulos became a welcome return guest at the Salzburg Festival in the last years of his life. Mitropoulos exercised a formative influence on the two most dominant conducting egos in the second half of the 20th century.

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Abbess Theonymphi, Who Was Once a Famous Greek Singer, Has Reposed

Back in 2011, I wrote about a famous Greek singer from the 1960's named Mary Alexopoulou, who at the age of 43, after the tragic death of her daughter, decided to dedicate her life to God and upon tonsure as a nun took the name Theonymphi. You can read that article here.

Abbess Theonymphi Alexopoulou, Founder and Abbess of the Sacred Hesychasterion of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Koropi of Attica, reposed in the Lord today, plunging her hundreds of spiritual children and the small sisterhood that was recently created near her into sorrow.

The Eldress was a bright example of repentance and conversion in Christ, imitating the great holy figures by giving up a worldly successful life that most people would describe as a fairy tale, since in the 1960s-70s she was involved in the Greek pentagram, in the cinema (she appeared in two Greek films: Νυχτοπερπατήματα and Φίφης ο ακτύπητος), and in the theater, while she brought many awards to Greece from beauty pageants (in 1961) and music festivals around the world. Her big hit was "The Bambola" in 1968, an international hit for singer Patty Pravo. This was followed by the Thessaloniki Light Song Festival in 1966, with the song "Panigyri", which won the first prize.

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A Poem by Patti Smith for Orthodox Christmas

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Instagram post by Patti Smith on the evening of January 7, 2023.

 

Greek Singer Stamatis Kokotas Testifies to a Miracle of Saint Eumenios He Witnessed

On December 12, 1996, on the Greek television show Zougla, hosted by journalist Makis Triantafyllopoulos, one of the most famous Greek singers of the 1960's and 1970's was a guest, Stamatis Kokotas. The program had to do with miracles, and the singer, who considered himself a skeptic unless he saw something with his own eyes, testified regarding a miracle he witnessed when he met Saint Eumenios Saridakis.
 

The singer was at the Hospital for Infectious Diseases in North Attica, where Saint Eumenios lived and served as a priest at the time, in order to visit someone he knew in the hospital. As he was walking by the rooms, he recalls seeing a priest with another patient. As he was walking and talking with someone, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from another room, where he went to find that people were crying. When he asked what had happened, he was informed that a girl who was a patient was near death and would not survive the night.

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Mikis Theodorakis on Hellenism, Orthodoxy and Modern Progressivism

On 30 March 2007 Mikis Theodorakis, who passed away today at the age of 96, presented in the Cathedral of Athens the musical composition of the Funeral Service of Saint John of Damascus.

In the press conference held the day before, Mikis Theodorakis had referred to Orthodoxy and his own faith, while he had also sharply criticized those who nowadays identify themselves as progressive by devaluing our history and our origins.

"I was a resistance fighter, a communist and at the same time a Christian, a man who believed in Orthodoxy," he had said characteristically.

Mikis Theodorakis, however, had also referred to current issues:

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Legendary Lebanese Singer Fairuz Seen as a Symbol of Unity in the Aftermath of the Beirut Disaster

On September 1st French President Emmanuel Macron met the legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz on his second visit to Lebanon after the devastating explosion at the Beirut port last month.

Fairuz, born Nouhad Haddad, is one of the most celebrated singers in the Middle East, and a devout Greek Orthodox Christian.

Many see the 85-year-old artist as a symbol of unity, amidst the disastrous aftermath of the 4 August port blast which claimed the lives of at least 190 people and left over 300,000 displaced.

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The Confession of Faith of Popular Greek Singer Nikos Vertis

Nikos Vertis is a popular Greek singer with five released albums to date. In an interview a few days ago on ΑΝΤ1 he was asked about and spoke about his Christian faith, among other things, which is a rare topic for him to address, and even spoke about the lack of faith among today's youth. He said:

"I love Christ very much, I have Him in my life. We are going through a time when many people, especially young people, are afraid to say, 'I believe in Christ.' I don't like this. I want everyone to have the freedom to express what they believe, whether its Christ or Muhammad or nothing. I don't think it's nice to hear, 'I believe in a higher power.' It bothers me, because yes, everyone thinks there is something higher, but they are afraid to express it. Why do I believe in Christ? Not for the miracles He has done or have been written about. I believe in Christ because He has this thing that represents me in my life. The beginning and the end. What is this? Love. With love you solve everything in your life, you fight everything, even your problems, if you have love, they are solved right away, automatically, the knot leaves your stomach. What does love mean? Go home, there is your wife, your family, your friends. If you have problems and they come to pat you on the back, what is it, but love. So this is Christ to me and that's what He taught me.

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Saint Cecilia, Patron of Musicians

St. Cecilia by Spyridoula Degaiti

Saint Cecilia was an early Christian martyr of the third century born to a wealthy family of Rome. She vowed her virginity to Christ, but her parents arranged for her to be married. Her betrothed was a pagan named Valerian, and she worried over how to convince him to be baptized so she can preserve her virginity. On the day of her wedding, therefore, we are informed of the following from her sixth century Acts:

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Greek Pop Singer and Eurovision Contestant Baptized Orthodox

Josephine Wendel, better known as simply Josephine, is a Greek pop singer. She is mostly known for her participation in the Greek national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Dancing Night" where she got the 4th place.

Wendel was born on 22 August 1990 in Athens. Her mother is the Greek singer Margarita Venti, who is of Lebanese origin, and her father is German. She spent the first years of her life in the United States. Later, she moved for a while to Germany and then returned to Greece with her family. When she settled in Greece, she went to American-Greek School. While studying Marketing-Management at Deree College, she would upload on Facebook cover songs of famous artists, which helped her be discovered in 2013.

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The Orthodoxy of Maria Callas: 12 Facts

By John Sanidopoulos

While vacationing in Paris back in 2016, on my last full day before returning home, I decided to visit the famous Père Lachaise Cemetery, where you can visit many of the elaborate graves of well-known personalities from the past who died in Paris. Among the dozen or so that I eagerly wanted to see was that of Maria Callas, the renowned Greek-American opera singer. With map in hand, I visited each grave that I could locate, and the last on my list was that of Maria Callas. Hers was the most difficult to find, taking me about a good 45-minutes of searching. I finally found someone to ask, who pointed me to the location. I was told however that her body is not here, though it was originally, and what is merely left is a memorial. When I inquired as to what happened to her body, I was informed that she was cremated and her ashes were scattered in the Aegean Sea. Since cremation is typically frowned upon in the Greek Orthodox Church, it got me thinking as to whether or not she died an Orthodox Christian. That night in my hotel room I did a brief search on the internet about this, and found some interesting things scattered in various sources. I found it interesting enough to write something about it when I returned home.

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Cretan Artist Attributes Rescue in Car Accident to Miracle of St. Spyridon

Secular weekly newspapers, such as Loipon (22 December), reported on a Cretan artist, who attributes his rescue in a car accident a year ago and his new ability to walk to a miracle of St. Spyridon. Regarding Mr. Emmanuel Kontaros, an artist and family man, Loipon said the following:

"This Christmas will be different for Manuel Kontaros. His name day will find him upright playing with his children, just as before. The nightmare of the terrible car accident, which happened to him as it dawned on the feast of St. Spyridon, is in the past. In 3 to 4 months he will even completely toss away the crutches, say his German doctors, who attribute his walking only to a miracle and the strength of his soul.

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Monastic-Inspired Heavy Metal in Mount Athos

Million Ways To Live is an international documentary travel series, that focuses on what all these people have in common. They call them Healthy Lifestyle Principles: Real Food, Movement, Rest & Relaxation, Lifelong Learning, Community, and Love.

In this episode they focus on Thomas Aslanidis, a heavy metal musician who lives by the monastic principles of Mount Athos, and channels the region's spiritual energy into his music.

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The Music of Arvo Pärt

Tom Huizenga

September 11, 2015

NPR Music

Mystical, monk-like, reclusive — those are a few words often used to describe Arvo Pärt. His music gets labeled as timeless, spiritual and meditative. The Estonian composer, born 80 years ago today, is perhaps all of these things ... and maybe none of them.

Recently, Pärt allowed a film crew follow him for a year. The result is a new documentary by Günter Atteln called The Lost Paradise, an excerpt of which the producers at Accentus Music are sharing prior to its fall release. The excerpt here finds the composer at his piano, at a rehearsal of his music with his wife and musing about a healthy kind of pain in art.

Whether you are an Arvo Pärt first-timer or a fanatic, here's a short list of things to know about this singularly fascinating artist.

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The Miraculous Naming of an Atheist Greek Singer

Notis Sfakianakis, whose full first name is Panagiotis, is one of the most commercially successful Greek singers of all time in Greece and Cyprus, but is also known for his controversial image and outspoken manner and opinions. He openly speaks about his atheism and criticizes the Greek Orthodox Church. An example of this can be read in the following interview with Gazetta.gr from January 27, 2013: Νότης: Η συνέντευξη που σοκάρει!

In this interview, he makes the following confession of a miracle of the Panagia which resulted in his naming:

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Eirini Merkouri Testifies To Her Orthodox Faith

Eirini Merkouri is a famous Greek singer who in an interview a few years ago on Greek television gave her testimony of her deep faith in Jesus Christ and the Saints who have helped her in her life. She speaks in the video above of her deeply pious mother who raised her and her four siblings in the Orthodox Faith and named her after St. Irene Chrysovalantou; her birth name was Chrysovalantou but she calls herself by her middle name Eirini. Living near the Monastery of St. Irene Chrysovalantou in Athens, her mother would take her there weekly for the Divine Liturgy. When she was 16 her mother died of cancer at the age of 49. Now, inspired by fellow Greek singer Nikos Kourkoulis, who also recently gave his testimony of his deep Christian Faith and the miracles in his life (see here), she also decided to go public with her testimony.

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Nikos Kourkoulis: Cancer and the Holy Mountain

Nikos Kourkoulis is among the most well-known and beloved musicians in Greece. On 6 December 2006 he spoke on Greek television station ANT1 of the following incident which occurred to him in 2002.

In 2002 Nikos was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. After several tests, this diagnosis was confirmed. His mother told him not to worry, that all would turn out well for him.

During the period of Great Lent he finished the program at the center where he was appearing, and he presented all his friends and colleagues with gifts and gave his final wishes, as his cancer was rapidly progressing.

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Saint Ardalion the Mime, a Prototype of a Genuine Artist

Holy Martyr Ardalion the Mime (Feast Day - April 14)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Saint Ardalion lived at the end of the third century and practiced the profession of mime, or actor. He was truly a great "talent", which is why his presence in the theater caused crowding. On an official day, when the theater was packed and the Provincial Ruler was present, as well as other State officials, Ardalion "staged" his own show, making reference to Christians by highlighting their explicit courage with which they expressed their faith before the powers of the State, the patience they had during horrific torture, as well as the love they showed even to their executioners. He himself played a Christian, who was tortured hard, and even though he suffered, he remained calm and peaceful. Therefore, he was hung high and showed that he was being tormented and suffering, after allegedly they had torn his flesh and he bled like a river. His depiction was so vivid and amazing, that viewers below began to fervently clap for the skill of the artist, who managed to inspire viewers sympathy and admiration for Christians.

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