There’s plenty going on in Greece this summer to appeal to the music lover. And yes, there’s much more to Greek music than getting up and doing a few steps to ‘Zorba the Greek’ or ‘Never on a Sunday’!
Benaki Exhibition
At the Benaki Museum in Athens there’s an exhibition going on called “I Think It’s Time We Listened”, where you’ll learn all about artistic creativity in Greece during the 20th century. Over 200 artists are included, but prominent among these are displays on eleven of the country’s leading composers. These range from classical to avant-garde, and include popular composers like Manos Hadjidakis, who wrote ‘Never on a Sunday’, and Mikis Theodorakis, who wrote music scores for films including Zorba the Greek, Z and Serpico.
The exhibition is on in The Ghika Gallery, which is a few blocks from the main Benaki Museum building, and will run till 21st July.
Technopolis Concerts
Also in Athens, at the Technopolis cultural complex, there are going to be over fifty music concerts this summer, running from now through into September. These will include the Athens Jazz Festival, which is the biggest jazz festival in Greece, a hip-hop festival, and music including rock, rebetiko, electro-pop, and a concert from Dire Straits Legacy. This band, including some original members of Dire Straits, is keeping their music alive.
See the full line-up on the Technopolis website.
Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments
This isn’t a special event but we can’t let a mention of music in Athens go by without a plug for one of our favourite Athens museums: the Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments. If we have time when we’re in Athens, we try to get to this lovely little museum, where you can see and listen to an amazing variety of Greek musical instruments. You can read a bit more on our page covering the Ten Best Museums in Athens.
Mytilini Music Festival
The town of Mytilini on Lesbos will be hosting its first ever international music festival this summer. It will take place from July 25 to August 4 and as well as concerts there will be masterclasses for instruments including the classical guitar, piano and violin. One night will be devoted to the work of the Nobel Prize-winning poet Odysseus Elytis, who was born on Lesbos. Another night will be of music performed by some of the young refugees, who are being hosted on Lesbos. One of the aims of the festival is to help immigrants adapt to Greek life by learning about its arts and culture.
Also on Lesbos, 2024 sees the 10th anniversary of the Molyvos International Music Festival.
More on Greek Music
See the Greek Music page on our website.
That’s it for this time. There’ll be more about Greece in our next newsletter.
Mike and Donna