The President of the Republic awarded medals to 11 representatives of letters and the arts

On Tuesday, the President of the Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, awarded medals to 11 important representatives of letters and the arts for their work and contribution. Among the persons honored by the State through Katerina Sakellaropoulou were Thanasis Valtinos, Reni Pittaki, Rhea Galanaki and Nasos Vagenas.

The President of the Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou, in a special ceremony at the Presidential Palace, awarded the following medals:

• of the Brigadier General of the Order of the Phoenix to Thanasis Valtinos, writer
• of the Golden Cross of the Order of the Phoenix to Aris Christofellis, musician
• of the Golden Cross of the Order of Honor to Nasos Vagenas, poet and critic
• of the Golden Cross of the Order of Honor to Michalis Ganas, poet
• of the Golden Cross of the Order of Honor to Alekos Levidis, painter
• of the Golden Cross of the Order of Honor to Giorgos Rorris, painter
• of the Golden Cross of the Order of Efpoia to Rhea Galanakis, author
• of the Golden Cross of the Order of Efpoia to Domna Eunouhidou, musician
• of the Golden Cross of the Order of Genius to Daria Koskorou, Director – Curator of the Kapodistria Museum in Corfu
• of the Golden Cross of the Order of Genius to Dora Bakopoulou, musician
• of the Golden Cross of the Order of Genius to Reni Pittakis, actress

The address of the PtD:

“Today we honor creators and performers who, with their books, opened paths in our literature, with their paintings they penetrated the human form and the Greek landscape to reveal their essence, with their musical interpretations or with their transformations on stage they introduced us in a “revelation ceremony”, to use a phrase of Manos Hadjidakis. I feel that today I owe a debt to the people of culture who produce values, beauty, contemplation and invite us to share them. And it is my firm belief that it is the duty of the State to respect, take care of and honor those who are the oxygen of our society, those whose work deepens and renews our perception of the world.

Thanasis Valtinos enriched our secretariat with a work in which history, politics and society are strongly intertwined with ego and individuality. With his narrative austerity, the deluge of his pages with the action and passions of ordinary people, the pioneering use of evidence as literary material, but above all with the ministry of the Greek language in a way capable of restoring its freedom from the estuary to the its sources, changed the course of the modern Greek novel.

Nasos Vagenas enriched the theoretical discourse with his knowledge, he approached our literary tradition with astuteness as a critic, and with his playful, ironic and sarcastic poetic work, he always allows the anxious, existentially troubled face to be seen behind the canvas. of the poetic subject.

Lyrical, drastic and simple, drawing manners and rhythms from folk song and folk song, Michalis Ganas is a poet who leverages emotion without a trace of melodramatism. With his poems and short stories he built a solid bridge between the lost world of the countryside and modern life, leaving an indelible mark on our collective sensibility.

Rhea Galanaki gave a new twist to the historical novel through the persuasion of literary truth, spoke to the present by connecting it to its mythological origins, gave universality to the autobiographical element and delved into the female experience. He gave us and continues to deliver a work that masterfully renders the nuances of the era, gender, social conflicts and individual destinies.

Dora Bakopoulou, charismatic pianist, excellent performer of a wide repertoire in Greece and abroad, dedicated teacher, inspirer and artistic director of the International Classical Music Festival in Aegina, works tirelessly to bring the great masterpieces into contact with the general public, promotes the communication between performers, music schools and genres and points to the importance of collaboration in the production of artistic work.

The collaboration is at the heart of the painstaking effort of Domna Eunouhidou, a distinguished soloist in Greece and abroad. Her contribution to the organization of new musical institutions for the dissemination of music is very important, while with Piandaemonium, the piano orchestra she founded in 1998, she redefined the traditional piano sound, thus enriching and broadening the listener’s relationship with the instrument.

Aris Christofellis, an “acrobat of the voice” as he has been described, is a counter-tenor with an almost otherworldly vocal clarity and fullness. At the same time, dedicated to musical interpretation and teaching, he opened up the field of our knowledge of the lyrical repertoire and expanded the horizons of musical education.

Alekos Levidis, in his rich visual and scenographic work, reconciles the rigor of geometry with the freedom of gesture, opens a dialogue between imagination, memory and history and, keeping his contact with the past unbroken, indulges in a fruitful reflection for painting and the forms it has taken over time.

Giorgos Rorris, persistent researcher of the human body, renders it on the canvas perishable and imperfect, but heroic in its durability, a touching symbol of our human nature, our mortality. He converses with the great masters who inspired his anthropocentric painting, without ever escaping the thorny intensity of reality.

Reni Pittaki perfectly corresponds to Brecht’s conception of the actor: a great artist is one who combines supreme intellectual clarity with supreme passion. Tested in all theatrical genres, from ancient tragedy to modern theatre, it causes the spectator to be captivated and to experience inner turmoil that makes him leave the performance different – in short, it brings back to the stage the pulse, the mystery, the intoxicating participation.

Daria Koskorou, Director and Curator of the Kapodistrias Museum in Corfu, is doing exemplary work in the only museum dedicated to the great Greek and European politician of the 19th century. Thanks to this, the Museum, although small and private, operates according to the standards of a modern museum institution of international standards and is an educational core and a valuable treasury of modern Greek history and memory.

Thank you for your offer. These honors, which I award you with pleasure, are a recognition of your value and morals, invaluable elements that work as an example for all of us.”

Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.