Yannis Svolos is a journalist, music critic in Elevtherotipia newspaper. He is also an architect and archaeologist. Here's what he said to us about himself, for classical music and modern Greece.
As far as my love for classical music is concerned I can tell you that it all began during my childhood. I have been listening to classical music since junior high. But I graduated with a degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University in Athens. After that I earned a Masters degree in Landscape Design in America.
But we could mention many of all these things, which we are usually used to mentioning when talking about the relationship between music and architecture. Really many...
Culture, however, is the link connecting them. And culture has always been exciting for me.
During that time I also had great interest in archeology. I connected with it very early. I cooperate with the University of Athens in a number of archaeological researches. When the restoration of Epidaurus started, I applied in the competition for positions and I won. So for 10 years I was working on the restoration of the site. Though, I did not agree with the way things were done there. I gave up and I got out. I was the one who put the end.
Elevtherotipia newspaper and I have actively been cooperating since the end of 1996. Meanwhile I have been doing other things as well. There was a time when I returned to architecture. In 1995, when the center of Greek culture was created, I did some projects there. I left from there too. It seemed to me that work there was too simplified. My abilities were different than theirs. Since 2000 I am move mainly within music circles and occasionally I collaborate with fellow architects.
Frankly here's how I would identified myself - I believe I'm someone who is looking for and likes different things. I believe I am quite deep into things. My focus is culture. I believe I'm someone who cannot make peace with many things. I have always kept outside of any political formations, though of course, I have my political beliefs. I never tried to take advantage of any privileges. That's why I have often gotten in conflict with people and circumstances. I am interested in culture. And I try to have my horizons open. I believe I've achieved this.
Greece and its citizens are going through a difficult phase at the moment.
However, regarding Greece we can talk a lot. We are a new country. We freed ourselves from Turkey in 1821. The advent of classical music in the cultural life of Greece happened within the framework of its Europeanization. The urban community appeared, Western bourgeoisie and along this created were the ideological needs. Need to receive a musical and literary culture on European level.
I believe that whether Greece needed this, is matter of historical and philosophical nature. We Greeks have always had a dilemma whether we belong to the East or West. We are a country at a border. We have elements of western and eastern culture. When asked who we are, we could easily answer if we ask ourselves whether we belong to the East. Down from Greece countries are Islamic - then we could not belong to the East. This means we belong to the West, but we also have elements from the East.
Just as historians say, when a country decides to join the West - economy and management wise - inevitably such questions come to the surface. But actually it is a choice, which carries behind its consequences. If you want to belong to the West you must adjust many things to the western type of polity.
Keeping up with this is not easy.
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