Greece after the War. Ten percent of its population had given its life defending the freedom and dignity trampled by the Nazi conqueror. We all had a relative or a friend among those heroes. Greece after the Civil War. Chaos. Chaos in our lives, chaos in our psyche, chaos in our culture. No one was left untouched. Greece in the '60s. This small world, the great, warmed our souls, nudged us on to rediscover our way, our pride, our songs. Mikis Theodorakis was the catalyst of this new collective conscience. And I, lucky recipient of the new vision, took along with me his 10-15 records, a dozen books by Elytis and Seferis, shoved them all in a small suitcase next to the blue sunday suit, and took off for New York to study and test my new wings. Today, 35 years later, in the same city, in this hall, I stand deeply moved, facing the teacher, the leader, facing that which is my homeland's most beautiful offering. I remember - it must have been 20 years ago - when I first saw Dutoit spinning together like a magician, the sounds of an entire orchestra, filling a vast concert hall with divine music. I think I fantasized then that Mahler was gradually fading and that music from my land was slowly fiiling the space. Twenty years later, it is no longer a fantasy. Today, in this hall, Dutoit is not playing Mahler, Stravinsky, or Shostakovich. He is giving us Theodorakis. He is giving us Greece. He is giving us the universal messages of a music and of a land forever championing a civilization with a human face. I am grateful to Dutoit for his vision and graciousness. The North American Foundation for Modem Greek Arts, with a few, albeit significant, initiatives on its record, such as the 11-city National Greek Radio Orchestra Tour in the United States and Canada; the exhibit of Greek Canadian painter Paul Soulikias' work; the PBs presentation of the Axion Esti oratorio by Elytis and Theodorakis; the lecture-performances on Cavafy's life and work at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., and at McGill University in Montreal; and, of course, tonight's concert, aims to help sustain the message that contemporary Greece possesses an immense cultural wealth in elements that are precious and essential at a time when the conflict between man and technology is intensified. Finally please allow me to express my deepest appreciation to the Executive Committee of tonight's event and to all those who have contributed hard work and financial resources to the realization and success of this historic musical event. Costas Spiliadis
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