Myrsini Margariti - Greek Muse (2020)

Greek Muse contains songs by Greek women composers, local and of the diaspora, performed by renowned and internationally recognized soprano Myrsini Margariti and pianist Efi Agrafioti. The selection and location of the works is the result of years of research and study by pianist Efi Agrafiotis in collaboration with the Athens Conservatory Archive, the Lillian Voudouri Music Library of the Friends of Music Association, the “Thomas Tamvakos Archive of Greek Composers” and the Composers’ files, in the few cases where they existed.

This double cd features songs by composers from Australia (Linda Kouvaras), France (Mario – Foscarina Damaschino, Irma Colassi), Britain (Vivien Lambelet, Cleonice Gennadios), Romania (Maria Taban-Chefaliadi, Mansi Barberis, Rodica Soutzo, Mansi) and others, who became famous as famous piano soloists (Lalaouni, Kyriakou) and lived in Europe for decades. The album also includes composers who, after studying in Europe, returned to Greece, offering their invaluable services to the field of music (Eleni Lampiri, Maria Kalogridou, Eleni Lamari, Vasso Filippaiou, Lena Platonos). The songs of the two world-renowned piano soloists Lila Lalaouni and Rena Kyriakou have been recorded for the first time, as was the song by Irma Colassi whose huge contribution to classical song in the twentieth century in Europe is well known. Other songs on this double CD may be recorded for the first time, or performed for the first time, but the lack of information about these works does not allow us to support it with certainty. This release symbolically overturns centuries-old prejudice, illuminating a musical world to the greatest extent unknown, that of and Greek women composers, under an equally symbolic title: Greek Muse. The recording gives us the opportunity to listen to 35 songs for the first time by inspired composers, whose music have not had the opportunity to hear, until now. The back cover was created by the internationally renowned painter Giannis Psychopedis.