10-12 OCTOBER 2025
MOMENTS: Ten songs in poetry by Lefkios Zafirios and music by Evagoras Karagiorgis
19:00
MUSICAL PERFORMANCE / PRESENTATION
With Paris Paraschos (vocals) and Cleo Papadia (piano)
DESCRIPTION
The 7 songs were written in 1991 for the theatrical performance "The Wedding of Charoula" by Christos Zanos, which ultimately did not take place. The remaining three songs were written in the spring of 2024.
L. Zafirios' poems come mainly from the poetry collection "Almost Nothing" (1977). The poet, deeply disturbed by the tragic events of 1974, anxious for the future of the country, protests against betrayal and occupation and with his poetry he sympathizes with the pain of his homeland, cries out for injustice, suffers for the divided Nicosia, watches, hopes and fights with it.
Short poems (see Moments of K. Monti), which express the pain of the mutilation of people and place. Stormy verses such as "Nicosia, you cannot sleep, your face touches the face of betrayal...". Verses that they approach the situation allegorically or symbolically like the "strange moon, bloody, distant, that saw the murderous and hid behind the cloud...". Lyrics that are disturbed because "The Long Way that reaches nowhere..." and that "behind the shop windows towers hover, towers of silence...", a deafening silence in the closed shop windows of the shops/houses in the dead zone or even, the houses that 200,000 refugees left behind...
The album MOMENTS, in addition to the poetry of L. Zafiriou and the music of E. Karagiorgis, is characterized by the emotional and meaningful interpretations of Paris Paraschos on vocals and Kleia Papadia on piano. Visual photographic intervention on the cover and in the insert of the CD: Evangelos Hadjikyriakou, photographs from the Green Line/Dead Zone. Stefani Pantelidou, artistic design.
BRIEF CV
Lefkios Zafiriou, 1948-2022
Important Cypriot poet, writer and researcher (1948-2022). He studied Philology in Athens and journalism. Since 1974, he has taught in high schools and high schools in Cyprus. He published his poems and essays in various publications in Cyprus and Greece. His work was influenced by the coup and the Turkish Invasion of 1974. He published poetry collections: "Poems" (1975), "Almost None" (1977), "Apomagnitophonisi" (1978), "Migadas Angelos" (1980), "The Sorrow of the Afternoon" (2011) - State Poetry Award and a collected volume "Poems 1964-2010" (2011).
He published the novella "The Gangsters" (1983/2009/2023) and the collection of short stories "With Reverence and Sorrow" (2013) - State Prize 1984 and 2014. "The Modern Cypriot Literature" (1991), and "The Cypriot Chronology" (2009) are two other important works of his.
In 2003, he discovered in the University of Glasgow Library the latent ode by Andreas Kalvos “Elpis patridos” (1819, London), which he republished with notes. He subsequently published the study “The Life and Work of Andreas Kalvos 1792-1869” (2006) in Athens – Essay Prize of the Academy of Athens. He collaborated in the compilation and publication of “The Correspondence of Andreas Kalvos” (2014) by the Benaki Museum. From 2008-2018 he published texts with new information about the life of Kalvos. His work has not yet been studied in all its dimensions.
Evagoras Karagiorgis
He studied music in New York (1982-88) at the Aaron Copland School of Music, CUNY with Allen Brings and Leo Kraft, receiving his BA and MA in Music Composition. During 1988-89, he continued his postgraduate studies at NYU, in composition, ethnomusicology and electronic music. Since 1989, he has taught music in secondary schools, while from 2012-2023 he held the position of Director. Since 1990, he has collaborated with theatrical groups (THOK, ETHAL, Satiriko, THEPAK, ENA) writing music for theatrical performances. He has written music for television, works for guitar, for mixed musical ensembles, electronic music, works for symphony orchestra. He has published a series of digital discs with various works (The Old Lute 1994, Places in the Color of Indigo 1997, Without the Open Door 2006, As if Ready for a Long Time 2009, Embroideries 2017, 10 Haiku for Four-Voice Choir, History of an Image 2021, Moments 2024). His works are included in publications by the Center of Cypriot Composers. He has presented his works in Cyprus, Crete, Greece, England, France, Germany, Italy, Albania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.