Music academic condemns Olympics-related CD release
One of the country’s leading music figures, Antonis Kontogeorgiou, has spoken out against a recent Olympics-related 12-CD box set containing works by Greek composers. The box set, released as part of the state-sponsored Cultural Olympiad series of cultural events, is marred by significant factual errors and inaccuracies, protested Kontogeorgiou, a leading academic of choral music in Greece. «The initiative taken for this release is important and commendable,» Kontogeorgiou told Kathimerini, and added, «I hope the next release of scholarly Greek music does not emerge in 200 years’ time, which is how long it took for this state-sponsored production…» Focusing his criticism on the release’s accompanying booklet, Kontogeorgiou said he had spotted various mistakes after a preliminary read of some written text. «I initially skimmed through the parts that concern me and other parts – selectively. If the flaws I’ve found can be expected in pages to come, then the release’s responsible parties will need to reconsider the pride they had expressed, stressing their efforts taken to produce flawless content,» he said. Besides his condemnation of alleged factual errors, Kontogeorgiou also contended that mistakes had also been made in the publication’s pictorial content. While a commentary on «Choral Music in modern Greece» is illustrated by photos of five choirs, it does not include a shot of the Greek Radio and Television (ERT) Choir, which recorded the box set’s choral music contents, said Kontogeorgiou. The academic added that his name and biography were included in the credits for «Constantine Palaeologus» by Manolis Kalomiris without him «knowing the work or even taking part in its recording.» Other errors, Kontogeorgiou said, included inaccuracies regarding historical facts and dates. For example, the accompanying booklet’s claim that the Athens Conservatory’s establishment was linked to the addition of the Ionian Islands to modern Greece was not true, and moreover, did not take place in 1870 as stated, he said.
