Presidential Mansion Gardens open to public

The Presidential Mansion garden constitutes a green haven in the centre of Athens and occupies an area of about 25,000 square metres (just over 6 acres). In the middle of the nineteenth century, this area, because of its especially fertile soil, was in fact the vegetable garden of the former Royal Palace (Crown Prince's Palace, now the Parliament building), designed by Ernst Ziller.

After the erection of the mansion in 1897 and the construction of Herodou Attikou Street, the area which surrounded the Crown Prince's Palace was fashioned into a large ornamental garden. The planning of this appears to have been assigned to Ziller's technical office. The selection of suitable plants, though, apparently was entrusted to a Greek specialist, since most of the trees are native to Greece.

From the very beginning the garden was divided into two large sections because of the slope of the land. The building is situated in the upper section.

The design of the garden in front of the building was similar to that of other neo-classical structures of the period (the Academy, the University and the National Library). 

The garden follows a relatively rigid geometric plan of the French type, with symmetrical beds of grass and seasonal flowering plants. The formalism of the composition approaching Herod Atticus Road is alleviated by the perennial plane trees, lindens, palms and cypress trees.

The Presidential Mansion Gardens will be open on Sundays, except holidays, beginning this Sunday June 1, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, from the Vassileos Georgiou B' Street entrance.

Admission is free, with the display of a police identity card or passport.

Previous arrangements are required for group visits (schools, clubs), at telephone numbers: 210-7283289 and 210-7224939.

2nd Athens Open Air Film Festival

The 2nd Athens Open Air Film Festival is organised by the Greek Film Center and the Athens International Film Festival, and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

The festival, which opened few days ago, will last until September. One of the main objectives is to "advertise" the various corners of the city’s centre and suburbs, given that it will be taking place in various public spaces such as parks and squares.

The festival consists of several cycles, including: a tribute to "Summer in Athens", with Greek films depicting everyday stories using the capital as a background or as a character itself; 6 short films set in Athens, commissioned by the Greek Film Center to 6 young directors; Greek short films that received distinctions at the Drama Short Film Festival and a selection of international cinema classics.

It also features lectures and masterclasses focusing on the interaction between urban landscapes with cinema and art in general.

The festival’s signature events are a series of screenings -poetic documentaries, silent films- accompanied by live music composed specially for each of them, by selected musicians.

Greek News Agenda: 1st Open Air Film Festival & Cine Thission: The World’s Best & Enjoy a movie under the stars

Antike Kunstschätze in der Nähe von Skiathos gefunden

Eine große Anzahl von archäologischen Fundstücken wurde während der an der Insel Skiathos geführten archäologischen Unterwasserforschung unter der Überwachung vom Griechisch Ephorat für Unterwasseraltertümer ans Licht gebracht.

Die Expedition fand von 14 bis 25 Mai in verschiedenen Bereichen einschließlich des alten Hafens von Skiathos statt. Im alten Hafen von Skiathos wurde ein antiker Wellenbrecher entdeckt. 

Keramische Schalen und hauptsächlich vereinzelte Stücke von Amphoren wurden auch im Meeresbereich rund um das venetische Bourtzi-Schloss und im alten Hafenbecken gefunden.

In der Gegend Tarsanades und an der Platanias-Bucht wurden von spezialisierten Tauchern Teil Schiffbrüche der späten römischen Zeiten entdeckt. In engem Abstand vom alten Hafen wurde auch ein Schiffbruch gefunden, der auf die byzantinische Zeit zurückgeht. (Des.V.)

Approaching Surrealism July 1–September 30, 2012

Over the coming months the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation and its Museum of Contemporary Art, Andros, will be presenting a thematic tribute to Surrealism, one of the greatest and most subversive art movements of the past century. Surrealism was a movement of protest set to challenge all that had been the accepted norm mainly in the art of verse, and by implication also in the visual arts. Rather than evolving into an aesthetic school, it focused all its energies and aspirations on inventing ways through which to change life itself, concerned as it was not with aesthetic beauty but with the dynamics of the spirit.

With as many as 100 exhibits, including collages, paintings, and sculptures, constructions, prints, and photographs, as well as highly relevant archival material, the exhibition (which is scheduled to run from July 1 through to September 30, 2012) will offer visitors the opportunity to ‘approach surrealism’ through the work of both international and Greek artists.

Understandably, a visual event with all its intrinsic limitations (see technical means, research and funding potential) cannot possibly exhaust the ideological breadth and rich iconography of that massively iconoclastic movement of the avant-garde (the most popular of its kind since impressionism, as it turns out), which was born of a complete surrender to the power of impulse and the dream, to automatic writing and paradox, to the creative imagination and those repressed forces of the mind, and which challenged iconographic convention and the established cultural mores of post-war societies with unmitigated ferocity.

As its title emphatically suggests, the exhibition aims to approach and in turn communicate the message of an art that was bold enough to walk down the uncharted pathways of the soul and so to open up new horizons; an art that passed from being the object of dismissive irony, from an early stage of vagueness and fluidity, of quasi totalitarianism and political dispute followed by purges of some of the movement’s founding members, to achieving recognition and wide social appeal and even having some degree of influence on social and cultural behaviours. 

Even the name of that art, Surrealism, a term invented by coincidence, has long since transcended its purely literary and artistic function and has found its way into everyday speech to suggest the uncanny or paradoxical, the extraordinary within the ordinary.

The event comprises two sections:

The first, which makes up the exhibition’s core section, deals with historical Surrealism and its formative impact on twentieth-century sensibility, bringing together works by approximately twenty artists and archival material pertaining both to founding members and latecomers to the movement.

The second section attempts an approach of the literary and visual achievements of the Greek surrealists.

The bilingual (Greek-English) volume that is to accompany the exhibition will be produced by the well-known Greek publishing house MIKRI ARKTOS and will feature an introduction by MOCA-Andros director, Mr. Kyriakos Koutsomallis, and essays by Mmes. Hélène Glykatzi-Ahrweiler, Nadja Argyropoulou, Ioulita Iliopoulou, and Niki Loizidi, as well as Messrs. Nanos Valaoritis and Alecos Fassianos.

Related events organized in the context of the exhibition will include, among others, a roundtable on Surrealism featuring a number of literary luminaries among the key speakers, chaired as always by University of Europe Rector and President, Mrs. Hélène Glykatzi-Ahrweiler.

Ούτε η ουσία αλλά ούτε και το αποτέλεσμα αυτή τη φορά.

Οι πρόσφατοι αγώνες της εθνικής ομάδας ποδοσφαίρου στο euro 2012 αποκάλυψαν για ακόμη μία φορά την πικρή πραγματικότητα, αυτήν του επιπέδου του ελληνικού ποδοσφαίρου. Όσο κι αν προσπαθήσαμε να εμπλέξουμε το εγκώμιο της εθνικής μας αλλά και να δαφνοστεφανώσουμε τους ποδοσφαιριστές μας, δεν μπορέσαμε να κρύψουμε την αλήθεια.

Η εικόνα της εθνικής μας ομάδας είναι ο καθρέφτης του ποδοσφαίρου μας και την ίδια αυτή εικόνα την συναντάμε σε μικρογραφία, σε κάθε γωνιά της χώρας μας.
Σε κάθε πόλη και κοινότητα που ασχολείται και εκπροσωπείται ποδοσφαιρικά, υπάρχουν παράγοντες και τεχνικοί που δηλώνουν ευθαρσώς ειδήμονες (αγγλιστί experts) και ότι αυτοί και μόνο αυτοί γνωρίζουν τα μυστικά του αθλήματος.

Οι κατά τόπους αρχές (Ε Π Σ) και σωματεία νομίζουν ότι κάνουν την καλύτερη δυνατόν δουλειά σε επίπεδο υποδομών. Κι όμως στην πράξη δεν γίνονται και πολλά πράγματα, γιατί απλούστατα όλοι, λίγο-πολύ λειτουργούν σύμφωνα με τα ελληνικά μέτρα και σταθμά.

Το μεγάλο πρόβλημα είναι η απουσία κατάλληλων ανθρώπων, που να διαθέτουν την απαιτούμενη οργανωτικότητα, τις παιδαγωγικές μεθόδους και ιδιαίτερα γνώσεις ψυχολογίας, που θα κάνουν την διαφορά αρχικά στη βάση και μετά από μερικά χρόνια στο σύνολο του οικοδομήματος που λέγεται ελληνικό ποδόσφαιρο.

Παλαίμαχοι ποδοσφαιριστές παρουσιάζονται σαν γνώστες των μυστικών του αθλήματος (αν και ποτέ δεν είχαν οι ίδιοι, τους κατάλληλους δασκάλους)  και συμπεριφέρονται σαν καθηγητές υψηλού επιπέδου. Υπάρχουν φυσικά και οι καθηγητές σωματικής αγωγής, που ενδεχομένως να έχουν τη θέληση και την παιδαγωγική, αλλά συνήθως δεν γνωρίζουν πραγματικά το ποδόσφαιρο. Τα πενιχρά αποτελέσματα της δουλειάς και των δύο αυτών ομάδων, είναι περισσότερο από εμφανή, ήδη για αρκετά χρόνια.

Ένα είναι σίγουρο, ότι δεν θα δούμε φως και δεν θα βελτιωθούμε, εκτός κι αν αλλάξουμε τρόπο σκέψης και νοοτροπία.

Πριν από μερικά χρόνια, λόγω της σχέσης μου με τα διοικητικά τοπικού ποδοσφαιρικού σωματείου, αποφάσισα να επισκεφθώ ξένες ακαδημίες ποδοσφαίρου και να καταλάβω την φιλοσοφία και τον τρόπο λειτουργίας τους.

Η ευχέρεια (γλωσσικής) επικοινωνίας που είχα και το ενδιαφέρον που έδειξα γι αυτόν τον νέο για μένα χώρο, μου έδωσαν την δυνατότητα να καταλάβω τι σημαίνει οργάνωση και τεχνογνωσία στον τομέα ακαδημιών ποδοσφαίρου στο εξωτερικό.

Εδώ στην Ελλάδα, ακόμη και μεγάλες ΠΑΕ αποτυγχάνουν παταγωδώς στον χώρο αυτό, γιατί οι παράγοντες τους κουβαλούν τα γνωστά μειονεκτήματα της ελληνικής νοοτροπίας.

Αποτέλεσμα της κατάστασης αυτής είναι να προσφεύγουμε σε εισαγωγές ποδοσφαιρικών μισθοφόρων και να αδικούμε πραγματικά ταλέντα της πατρίδας μας.

Απόδειξη για τα παραπάνω είναι ότι κάθε φορά που τα ταλέντα αυτά βγουν εκτός συνόρων και βρεθούν στο κατάλληλο περιβάλλον, επιβραβεύονται με επιτυχίες.

Την στιγμή που προηγμένες ποδοσφαιρικά εθνικές ομάδες έχουν στις τάξεις τους νεαρούς ταλαντούχους αθλητές, εμείς συνεχίζουμε να επαναλαμβάνουμε τα ίδια και τα ίδια λάθη.

Επόμενο λοιπόν να βλέπουμε την Ελλάδα να σέρνεται, χρησιμοποιώντας παίκτες που συνεχίζουν να αποτελούν τον βασικό κορμό τα τελευταία 12 χρόνια. Κι αν κατά λάθος φέρουμε και κανένα θετικό αποτέλεσμα, τότε πανηγυρίζουμε σαν τρελοί.

Δεν είναι λοιπόν η ουσία (η ποιότητα) που μας ενδιαφέρει αλλά το αποτέλεσμα, και με τον ίδιο ακριβώς τρόπο σκέφτονται και πράττουν και οι εκάστοτε προπονητές - ειδήμονες  στην απανταχού Ελλαδίτσα.

Two new solo exhibitions in the Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete.

On Wednesday, 23 May 2012 the Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete has opened two new solo exhibitions: 

 

"Gate A" by painter Nikos Alexiou and “Non Profit Line” by sculptor Yorgos Gyparakis.

The exhibitions of the two Rethymnian artists reflect the artists' special interaction with their materials and the import of their intellectual qualities.

The title of the exhibition of Nikos Alexiou, “Gate A”, comes from the fact that Rethymnon was the first gate/passage into life and art for this highly important artist who worked either with primary materials like reed and paper or on the computer with the same sensibility.

The main body of the show is the artist's “Study” for the flagged pavement at Iviron Monastery and the map of the same monastery. Monumental in both volume and content, this project began in 2003 and culminated at the Greek Pavilion of the Venice Biennale in 2007.

The exhibition includes also traces of the past with the “Solar House” (from the 1990s series) and traces of the future with the “Arrow” (from the 2008 series). The show was realised with permission and support by the non-profit company “The Great Garden; Nikos Alexiou Archives”.

In "Άγονη Γραμμή - Non Profit Line” Yorgos Gyparakis presents a fictional island on which visitors are forced to discipline their body to the absence of physical activity or constant social wandering.

His sculptures emerge in the space as rock seats, as body receptacles for meditation, as implements for concentration, as mechanisms for spiritual workout which act upon the human body by exercising it and toning up its spirit.

The exhibitions will run through August 31, 2012 and they will be complemented as usual by guided tours for children and adults and educational programmes.

At the same time, other exhibition areas in the museum feature works from the Permanent Collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Crete.

Get ready to rock! Rockwave Festival 2012.

The 15th Rockwave Festival takes place at the Terra Vibe venue on June 30 and July 1-2. This year´s edition features impressive names from the international scene along with local bands.

The first day includes performances by Spanish ska-punkers The Locos (originally a side project by Pipi, Ska-P’s backing vocalist) and The Last Drive, a historic rock band from Athens.

On the second day, when Black Sabbath were originally scheduled to appear, the audience will have the unique opportunity to see the iconic band’s frontman, Ozzy, as part of the "Ozzy Osbourne & Friends" European tour.

The much awaited gig will feature the famous guitarists Slash, Zakk Wylde and Gus G.

This day’s line-up also includes the American metal band Machine Head, who knew great success with their latest release Unto the Locust, Paradise Lost, the famous English metal band with a huge fan base in Greece, Unisonic, a German metal band and Greek stoner bands Planet of Zeus and Lucky Funeral. 

On the final day, American legends Iggy and the Stooges will perform their greatest hits along with The Prodigy, the iconic dance music band, and Everlast, the ex-frontman of House of Pain. Get ready to rock!

Les anges vivent encore en Méditerranée

Le chanteur grec, Lavrentis Machairitsas, organise le 9 juillet au Stade Kallimarmaro d'Athènes un concert unique intitulé "Les anges vivent encore en Méditerranée" avec la participation de grands noms de la chanson grecs et étrangers.

Salvatore Adamo, Angelo Branduardi, Tonino Carotone, Christophe, Bernard Lavilliers, Nomadi, Piluka Aranguren, Quatuor Stevens, Josep Tero, Nikos Aliagas, Eleonora Zouganeli, Haris Katsimichas, Vassilis Papaconstantinou, Filippos Pliatsikas, Dionysis Tsaknis, Maria Farantouri, Dionysis Savvopoulos.

C'est la première fois qu'un artiste grec participe à un seul et unique concert avec la participation d'importants artistes grecs et étrangers, pour la première fois que des chanteurs de Belgique, de France, d'Italie et d'Espagne se produiront sur la même scène à l'occasion de leur participation sur le disque d'un artiste grec.

Ce grand rendez-vous culturel a lieu avec le soutien de l'ambassade de France en Grèce, de l'Institut français de Grèce et de Instituto Italiano di Cultura di Atene.

Des tombes grecques à Marseille

Une découverte majeure pour l'histoire de la cité phocéenne. Retrouvées sous les vestiges du lazaret, elles datent du IVe ou Ve siècle avant notre ère. Des sarcophages sont bien conservés.

Une découverte archéologique importante a récemment vu le jour à Marseille. Lors des fouilles de l'ancien Lazaret d'Arenc, les archéologues ont découvert entre 6 et 8 tombes datant du IVème ou Vème siècle avant notre ère, contenant des sarcophages et des urnes très bien préservées.

Selon les experts, cette nécropole antique constitue une découverte totalement inattendue à cet endroit, ainsi qu’intéressante car elle permettra de mieux connaître tout ce qu’il y a sur la présence des Grecs anciens à Marseille.

La plus ancienne ville de France a été une colonie grecque fondée par les Phocéens en 600 avant notre ère. Pourtant, après que Marseille aie demandé la protection de Jules César, les traces grecques ont été presque effacées.

5th Nemean Games to Commence

The Nemean Games 2012 are about to commence in Nemea, some 23km from Corinth, north-eastern Peloponnese, and participants aged between 8 and 82 years old are ready to take part in an event reliving the Games of antiquity.

The celebration will begin with the opening ceremonies at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 22. These will be highlighted by the lighting of the flame at the Altar of Nemean Zeus and the crowning of Nemea by Ekecheiria (Sacred Truce). As in Ancient Greece, the Sacred Truce both protected and symbolized the spirit of peaceful competitions.

Saturday, June 23 will be a full day of footraces for all who have registered to run no later than May 15. There will be “stadion” races of 100m on the ancient track, and a 7.5km “Footsteps of Herakles” race from the ancient temple of Herakles at Kleonai back to the Nemea stadium. At the end of the day all the winners will be crowned with the traditional wild celery, followed by a buffet at the local school hosted by the Cultural Society of Ancient Nemea.

On the final day, Sunday, June 24 at 7:30 p.m. there will be presented in the ancient stadium the “Nemeada,” a poetically framed story of the ancient mythology and history of Nemea and the Nemean Games written by George Kostouros, the vice-president of the Society. This piece was first presented at the Fourth Nemead in 2008 and proved to be very popular with the local people.

 

The festival will take place in the ancient stadium (constructed about 330 B.C.) at the eastern edge of the modern village of Ancient Nemea. Participants will run barefoot, and wear white tunics (the ancient chiton - in place of ancient nudity) in the first locker-room known in the history of mankind. 

They will proceed through the ancient tunnel, being careful not to damage the graffiti scratched on its walls by athletes 2,300 years ago – and not to add their own graffiti to the ancient monument. At the far end of the tunnel, each participant will wait for her or his name to be announced by the herald, and then will run out onto the track.

The Nemean Games are organized by the Society for the Revival of the Nemean Games, a movement born from nearly 40 years of excavation by the University of California at Berkeley in the panhellenic Sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea, Greece, and from the enthusiasm and dedication of local residents of Nemea who feel that they could make an important contribution to today’s world because of their personal ties to Nemea.

The event is also organized under the aegis of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Prefecture of Peloponnese and the Hellenic National Committee for UNESCO.

Fête de la Musique 2012 - Concert “Double” Jazz en plein air à l’Institut français de Grèce

L'Institut français de Grèce, en collaboration avec specs ‘n’arts, organise dans son patio le jeudi 21 juin à 21h00, à l’occasion de la Fête de la Musique célébrée à travers le monde le jour du solstice d'été, une soirée pour découvrir deux saxophonistes de talent, Sylvain Rifflet (saxophoniste jazz) et Clément Himbert (saxophoniste classique). 

Les deux musiciens mêleront influences allant du classique au jazz, accompagnés d'un dispositif électro-acoustique. Deux faces d'un même son se confondent ou s'opposent à la croisée des musiques, de leurs temps et de leurs langages.

Durant cette soirée, Clément Himbert présentera l’oeuvre Grab it pour solo saxophone et tape de Jacob Ter Veldhuis et Sylvain Rifflet jouera avec le virtuose jazz, Yorgos Psychoghios, compositeur, pianiste, accordéoniste, musicien expérimental de renom, et Nikos Terzakis, guitariste jazz. Les musiciens entraîneront le public dans un parcours de musique jazz expérimentale.

Sylvain Rifflet / saxophone Jazz Musicien français diplômé du Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris

Clément Himbert / saxophone classique Diplômé du Conservatoire National de Musique de Paris en saxophone, musique de chambre

Yorgos Psychoghios / acordéon Le pianiste et accordéoniste Υorgos Psychoghios a reçu la mention spéciale de soliste d'exception et le second Prix de composition au Concours international « Ensemble Moderne de Montréal ».

Entrée libre

Stephen Fry's Parthenon Marbles plea backed in debate vote

A call backed by actor Stephen Fry for the return to Greece of the British Museum's Parthenon Marbles has come out on top in a debate held in London.

Fry said it would be a "classy" move to restore the sculptures brought to the UK by Lord Elgin in the 19th Century.

The debate, hosted by Intelligence Squared, ended with a majority for the motion of 384 to 125.

Opposing the motion, Tristram Hunt MP said the British Museum played a key role in cosmopolitan culture.

The Greeks were a proud people suffering terribly, Stephen Fry told the audience in London's Cadogan Hall, but "no matter how much the sovereign debt crisis means they owe us, we will never repay the debt that we owe Greece."

He said he revered the British Museum as "one of the great flowerings of the Enlightenment" but that returning the Marbles to Greece would be an act of "grace and decency".

He said it would be "classy" if future visitors to the British Museum could see a "Parthenon experience" including a film showing how Britain had curated the marbles "beautifully" for 200 years and then handed them over to Athens' Acropolis Museum.

Mr Hunt supported the argument advanced by the British Museum, which says there is a need for collections like its own which allows many different cultures to be compared.

The museum says the division of the sculptures between London and Athens "allows different and complementary stories to be told about the surviving sculptures, highlighting their significance within world culture and affirming the place of Ancient Greece among the great cultures of the world."

It should be a source of pride to the Greeks that the sculptures, as a symbol of Greek culture, were such an important part of the British Museum's collection where it could be compared with exhibits from other civilisations, said Mr Hunt.

He feared that restoring the Marbles could lead to a "purge" of museums in which "tit-for-tat recoveries" of objects by their countries of origin would lead to a "global loss of appreciation and understanding".

 

He said the Marbles had been legally acquired with a permit from the Ottoman empire and the Greek government had never challenged their ownership in an international court. 

But Stephen Fry said the argument did not apply because Greece was an occupied country at the time.

Proposing the motion to send the sculptures back, Andrew George MP said it may be that Elgin helped preserve the sculptures, but that job was done now.

He said he was "appealing to Britain's better instincts" and that restoring the sculptures willingly now would be better than a "cringing climb-down" some time in the future. 

The debate comes a week before an "International Colloquy" in London on the Parthenon sculptures in London, organised by the British, US and Australian committees calling for their return to Greece. Those attending will hold a "planned organized attendance" at the British Museum on 20 June.

Source: BBC News

57ème Festival d’Athènes à l’ordre du jour

Le Festival d’Athènes et d’Epidaure a ouvert ses portes cette année ayant comme but encore une fois d’offrir des expériences artistiques de qualité à ses nombreux visiteurs. L’avant-première a eu lieu le 8 juin avec la production musicale internationale de Vénice Baroque Orchestra, Olympiade. Aux bâtiments de la Rue Pireos 260, le duo de danseurs suisses Zimmermann & de Perrot a ébloui les spectateurs avec sa nouvelle performance Hans was Heiri.

En dépit de la conjoncture financière difficile, le programme reste riche et varié. Parmi les grands noms internationaux qui participent, on trouve l’actrice irlandaise Fiona Shaw, le chorégraphe français Alain Buffard et la chorégraphe allemande Sasha Waltz. A côté d’eux, des productions grecques ambitieuses sont présentées, telles que la comédie d’Aristophane Ecclesiazusae et l’Amphitryon de Molière par Lefteris Voyatzis au théâtre d’Epidaure, ainsi que la performance du fameux chorégraphe Dimitris Papaioannou, Matière Première.

Le Festival constitue depuis 57 ans l’événement culturel par excellence de l’été grec, ayant accueilli pendant sa longue histoire des figures artistiques emblématiques, comme Maria Kallas, Alexis Minotis et Katina Paxinou, Nana Mouskouri, etc. De nos jours, il continue à bénéficier d’une réputation importante, en accueillant en son sein les tendances artistiques contemporaines tant classiques qu’avanguardistes.

Des distinctions internationales pour le vin grec

Beaucoup de vin s´est écoulé dans les goulottes des caves vinicoles avant que les vins excellents du vignoble grec n´arrivent dans les verres des amateurs de vin à travers le monde, grâce, essentiellement, aux efforts des viticulteurs grecs enthousiastes. Evidemment, les nouveaux vins grecs sont bien différents des vins de l´antiquité, qui pouvaient être coupés d´eau salée ou enrichis avec du thym, de la menthe, de la cannelle, du miel ou de la résine, mais l´attachement à la tradition et à l´idée du terroir est resté intact en Grèce au fil des temps. Ainsi, les nouveaux vins grecs sont singuliers, parce qu´ils ont préservé les principes d´hier, tout en les enrichissant et en les complétant de façon idéale avec les méthodes les plus modernes d´aujourd´hui, créant un assemblage unique.

Les cépages indigènes du vignoble grec offrent un caléidoscope d´arômes et de saveurs unique, qui séduit tous les amateurs de vin, comme justement les viticulteurs enthousiastes grecs ou les dégustateurs les plus exigeants qui, tous les ans, leur décernent de multiples prix et distinctions dans les concours de vins les plus prestigieux du monde.

Le vin grec multiplie les récompenses aux concours importants, annonçant ainsi une percée prometteuse sur le marché international, la grande variété et qualité des cépages autochtones constituant le point fort de la viticulture grecque.

Lors de la 9ème édition des Decanter World Wine Awards 2012 à Londres, considérée comme la plus importante compétition vinicole au niveau international, les produits grecs ont affiché des résultats importants, avec des distinctions pour le 72% des vins qui ont participé à la dégustation. Six bouteilles ont remporté des médailles d’or dont 3 produites par les vignobles de Gaia. D’autres étiquettes primées d’or sont Lyrarakis, Estate Argyros et Domaine Gerovassiliou.

En outre, lors du Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, tenu au Portugal début mai, des bouteilles grecques ont été récompensées par 7 médailles d’or et 33 médailles d’argent. A noter également, les deux étiquettes primées avec la Grande médaille d’or, Theopetra Estate Rosé 2011, Meteora et Samos Nectar White 2008, Samos. 

Sampajana Jazz Festival 2012 in Chania Crete

This festival take place in Chania, Crete from June 26 to 29, 2012

 

JUNE 26, 2012

- Human Touch

Human Touch is an elevatingly innovative instrumental trio. They have a long presence in the Greek musical affairs. Their unique multi-instrumental approach not only makes a visual impression but projects Human Touch's limitless palette of rhythm, colour and emotional depth. Human Touch's music is 'lived' music. Each concert is its own experience and leaves its audiences uplifted and moved within.

Human Touch : David Lynch - Yiotis Kiourtsoglou - Stavros Lantsias

- Eva Giannopoulou Trio

- Z Pinakoulakis Trio

-George Limakis “ Never the same”

George Limakis presents his new album titled "Never The Same". An atmospheric jazz project, with an intense tropical element and simultaneously ....

- Harris Lambrakis Quartet
The Harris Lambrakis Quartet was established in 2006 and has since appeared in major festivals in Greece and abroad.Centerpiece of the music is the modal jazz, and it is obvious influences from John Coltrane, the world music and improvised music. With references to the East, the quartet is inspired by jazz harmonies, rhythms and melodies that refer to the 1960s and 1970s. Nick Sidirokastritis: drums - Dimitris Theoharis: piano - Dimitris Tsekouras: bass - Haris Lambrakis: ney
 

JUNE 27, 2012

- George Kontrafouris Baby Trio
George Kontrafouris (musician with an international career and probably the leading and most restless figure of his generation on the Greek jazz scene) and his Baby Trio, plays his Hammond for pleasure and fun.  Groooovy  !!!...
George Kontrafouris, hammond organ - Vassilis Podaras, drums - Konstantinos Stouraitis, guitar

- Crazy People Music

The Crazy People Music guide us through the streets of Jazz with groovy and funky .mood Crazy People Music : Antonis Andreou, Dimitris Tsakas, Yiorgos Georgiadis, Alexandre Drakos Ktistakis, Dimitris Sevdalis

- Amores Perros

- Silent comedy

 

JUNE 28, 2012

-Mode Plagal
Mode Plagal is an originally Greek group who perform traditional Greek music blended with jazz, funk and other international styles. They have been described as "the preeminent ambassadors of the much-maligned vernacular Greek music in the 21st century"

- Haig Yazdjian, Yiotis Kiourtsoglou, Vagelis Karpis

- ElektroBalkana

- Nektarios Mitritsakis

 

JUNE 29, 2012

- Giannis Loukatos Quartet

Giannis Loukatos  studied Jazz guitar and theory at the Franz List Academy in Budapest next to  notable musicians such as Bela Lakatos and Laszlo Attila. He took part of the first & second edition of DjangoFest in Athens in 2010 & 2011 as one of the most representative quintet of Gipsy jazz. He has worked with most of Greek jazz musicians  and has gained valuable teaching experience.

- Diminuita the Swing Trio

Diminuitamade their first appearance under this name in November 2007. They have long before loved and pored into swing, a kind so special and so rare in Greece.They have been playing and teaching music for at least fifteen years. For the last  years though, they are solely working on European Jazz (Jazz Manouche). That is the European version of string swing ( also called “chamber jazz), as it was originally played in the 1930’s by Django Rheinhardt and Stephane Grappeli of The Hot Club de France. 

DIMINUITA:George Papadogiannis, guitar - Efie Sarandi, guitar - Kostas Arsenis, bass

- The Stephane Grappelli Project

Maria Manousakis has performed with various groups around the world (Madinat theatre Dubai, Perth Concert Hall Australia, Frank Sinatra Venue NewYork, Mediterranean Olympic Games Pescara Italy, etc.).  In 2008 she released her first cd entitled From South to the Moon.

The" Stephane Grappelli Project" is based on Jazz tunes played by the virtuoso jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli

Maria Manousakis, violin - Apostolos Leventopoulos, guitar -Petros Klampanis, bass -  Dimitri Klonis, drums -

- Sugahspank & Swing Shoes

The SwingShoes is cheerful band. The repertoire is constantly mutating and their choices are impressive. Their concerts surprise and excite the public. The SwingShoes formed in 2006 by William Adonis and George Koutras, who began playing in the street a mixture of swing, gypsyjazz, bossanova, rock, gospel and traditional songs.The band took its current form with the addition of bassist Panos Tomaras (TheEarthbound) in 2007 and Nick Painter on drums in 2010. 

The winter of 2008 and spring of 2009 began collaborations between vocalists Irini Dimopoulou and Sugahspank!

They played in various scenes and festivals in Athens (Djangofest I & II, BABEL comics festival, Blenderfestival, Resistancefestival, Janus, HalfNote, Southern Cross, with Pallas JossStone, Floral, Belafonte and others) and the rest of Greece. In the spring of 2010 released their first album entitled «LadiesandGents ... Here'sTheSwingShoes» in ProminenceRecordings, which has become very much and has gotten positive reviews 

- Lefteris Andriotis & Antonis Priftis 

Bijoux d'artistes à Athènes. De Picasso à Koons.

Les œuvres exposées de Stephen Antonakos, Louise Bourgeois, César, Jean Cocteau, André Derain, Max Ernst, Giacometti Ablerto, Roy Lichtenstein, Yoko Ono, Pablo Picasso et Man Ray, entre autres, viennent principalement de la collection personnelle de Diane Venet.

Des bijoux uniques conçus par les fameux artistes contemporains sont présentés l'exposition "Picasso à Koons. Bijoux d’artistes, qui se tient du 15 mai au 2 septembre au bâtiment principal du Musée Benaki.

Cette exposition, présentée avec grand succès en France et aux Etats-Unis, comprend de plus, dans sa version grecque, des œuvres de 21 artistes grecs, comme Takis, Koulentianos, Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas, Sofia Vari et Fassianos.