Greek artists Tania Tsanaklidou (Right) and Maria Papageorgiou perform "Correspondence," lyrics of Mikis Theodorakis at the National Museum of China in Beijing, on July 30, 2025. The program is also part of the Sino-Hellenic International Theater Festival. Photo: Dong Feng/GT

Editor's Note:

Diversity is the basic feature of the world and the very charm of human civilization. Civilizations thrive and prosper through exchanges and mutual learning.

The Global Times reporter Dong Feng recently interviewed foreign envoys in China to share their observations and how profound art forms such as music, painting and poetry have been functioning as universal languages of humanity and guiding us to a shared human spiritual world.

The Embassy of the Hellenic Republic in China inaugurated a two-week tour commemorating 100 years of the birth of Mikis Theodorakis (July 29, 1925 - September 2, 2021). For its second leg, the musical performance reached Beijing on July 30, offering Chinese audiences a unique opportunity to experience his extraordinary works. Greek musicians told the Global Times that they look forward to enhancing cooperation with their Chinese counterparts. 

The lyrical works of Theodorakis, the most significant Greek composer, as captured in the album Correspondence by Maria Papageorgiou, is being presented for the first time in China. The concert features two remarkable voices personally recognized by the composer: Tania Tsanaklidou, a performer who has left her mark with her voice and sensitivity on some of the most beloved songs of contemporary Greek repertoire, and Maria Papageorgiou, a classical and classical crossover performer. 

Minister Counselor Chargé d'affaires ad interim Alexandros Vidouris told the Global Times that loud applause during the performance in sync with the beats of the music was way beyond his expectations. 

"Tonight was a very impressive evening," he said, expressing his gratitude to the director of the National Museum of China (NMC) for hosting the concert. 

"It was a dream of composer Theodorakis to have his work performed in China. Unfortunately he could not come before he passed away. So this was a very significant moment in his memory commemorated yesterday [July 29], a hundred years since the day he was born," he said. 

Vidouris also said that the performance showed the very close links between the two civilizations, that culture transcends time and space, and it complemented the already existing exhibition here that embodies many aspects of beauty. "This was a musical aspect of beauty, bringing together Greek culture and Greek civilization that combines the past, the present, and the future," he said. 

Music is the universal language in and of itself, Minister Counsellor Chargé d'affaires ad interim Vidouris pointed out.

"No matter what part of the world you're from, musical notes depend on how they are combined to create melodies, and each culture and each civilization has a different way of combining the same notes, the sounds that emerge from this combination are what create the DNA of each culture. However, we can find the connections between each culture and civilization," he said. 

He also evaluated the performance. "Even tonight we heard some melodies that were very close to melodies we can hear here in China as well." Distance is not a factor in musical expression, the diplomat concluded. 

"I was not only pleased but also very emotional about the participation of the Chinese audience, because they were also very active during the performance. Hopefully we might host Chinese artists in Greece as well," he added. 

Having performed his duty in China for several months, the diplomat has been exploring Chinese TV. "I can hear the sound of the language and music, especially in the music; I think there is some common ground between the two," Vidouris said. 

The music tour fulfills one of Theodorakis' final wishes: "To have his music heard in China, a country he was never able to visit, but always hoped to reach."

The renowned performer Tsanaklidou bridges the Greece of great poets with the anguish of exiles and the blue of the seas, creating - alongside Papageorgiou - a circle of songs that resound as a global outcry, beyond the Greek language, through Theodorakis' deeply instinctive melodies. Theodorakis was a global revolutionary and visionary of a free and equal world. 

After the performance, Tsanaklidou told the Global Times that the music Theodorakis left behind is not only a rich musical legacy for Greece, but also an invaluable cultural contribution to the world. 

Against the backdrop of a turbulent and changing world, "the music [we played] is people's music. Audience can gain the power of democracy, equity, and solidarity from it," said Tsanaklidou, who is in her 70s but very energetic. 

Papageorgiou told the Global Times that "Theodorakis was a global composer, because he had strength and was willing to bring all people together in peace and protest for their rights, or for their love and their country."

Talking about the common ground of Greek and Chinese music, Papageorgiou said the two countries share the same passion, the same roots, knowledge, and myths that is about how to stand in life and have integrity. 

As for Chinese music, Papageorgiou said that when she hears Chinese music, she thinks of one word - respect. "When I hear Chinese music, as with Greek music, I respect what I'm hearing."

Papageorgiou even sang a song in Chinese. It took her one month to learn and sing it in Chinese. "It is a very very difficult language for us," she said, noting that she looks forward to cooperating with Chinese musicians. 

Three generations unite under the artistic legacy of the unparalleled Mikis Theodorakis, who - through his popular style - brought poets into the homes of the people, unified a nation tormented by dictatorships, and upheld the Greek cultural standard through his multifaceted global work.

In the first part of the performance, the album Correspondence is presented, featuring songs by Theodorakis with new arrangements by Papageorgiou. During their creative collaboration, the two artists exchanged emails containing notes, thoughts, and progress updates on the project, which inspired the album's title.

The second part pays tribute - through songs and narrative texts - to the two Greek Nobel Prize-winning poets George Seferis and Odysseas Elytis, whose verses inspired some of Theodorakis' most powerful compositions.

The year 2025 marks the centenary of the birth of the great Greek creator, who left an indelible mark on Greek and global musical heritage. As part of the celebration of 100 years of his birth, the two performers honor his legacy with a tour across three major cities in China - Shanghai, Beijing, and Nanchang.