TRIBUTE TO RENA KYRIAKOU
‘Hats off, gentlemen, I present to you a musical prodigy!’, Theodoros Synodinos wrote in the Musical Review [Mousiki Epitheorisis], in May 1922, impressed by five-year-old piano virtuoso Rena Kyriakou. A soloist collaborating with the greatest orchestras under the baton of the world’s top conductors, with recitals, radio programmes, and recordings, Rena Kyriakou (1917-1994) was an important 20th-century musician. Her recordings of the complete piano works of Mendelssohn, as well as works by other composers unknown at the time and subsequently recognized, constitute landmark interpretations on an international scale. A great Greek pianist and composer, whose work must be revived and made known to today’s audiences. Distinguished pianist Effie Agrafioti delves into her personal notes from lessons and conversations with Rena Kyriakou, proposing works that she discovered under her guidance and instruction.
Works by Antonio Soler, Isaac Albéniz, John Field, Helvi Leiviskä, Clara Schumann, Rena Kyriakou, J. S. Bach–Ferruccio Busoni, Felix Mendelssohn, Emmanuel Chabrier
Effie Agrafioti piano
Myrsini Margariti soprano