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Anna Maria Rentzeperi -Tsonou: 1912-2012, Music life and musical Education in the 100 years of liberated Thessaloniki Print E-mail

by Anna-Maria Rentzeperi-Tsonou, Assistant Professor, Department of Music Science and Art, University of Macedonia, Τhessaloniki, Greece, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

The music life in Thessaloniki at the beginning of the 20th century, before the liberation of the City from the Turks in 1912, is relatively restricted. In the city were created certain artistic societies and associations, such as the philharmonic “Apollo”, “The Association of the Macedonian Friends of Education”, “The group of the friends of music”, “The club of the amateurs” “Orpheus” and the society “Apollo”, most of which had sections of philharmonic orchestra, choir and mandolin orchestra, contributing to the musical activity in the city but also serving national aims. For example, the philharmonic “Apollo” collected money from its concerts for the Macedonian Struggle (Themelis 1985: 456; Kazantzis 1985: 222; Mandakas 1963: 640; Leondief, 1991: 12).

At the same time various touring melodramatic companies, Greek and foreign, gave opera performances in Thessaloniki. Already since 1880 visited Thessaloniki the Italian melodramatic companies of Kastagna, Labruna, Di Giorgio, Messini Castelano, the Armenian-Turkish Couvegian Company and since 1905 the Greek Melodrama of Dionysios Lavrangas (Tsaousidou, 2010: 29-43).

With the liberation of the city the musical activity is intensified with the creation of orchestras, choirs and musical ensembles, cultural societies, concert halls and with the stipulation of cultural institutions. At the same time, are created bodies of musical education (Conservatories, musical Gymnasium/Lycée, University Music Departments) contributing substantially to the education of the Greek musicians.

 

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