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Hortó, the Museum of Folk Art

SPALATHRIANS IN AMERICA
IN EARLY 20TH CENTURY

by Yiannis Koniordos

The main body of this exhibition consists of portraits and letters sent from America by Spalathrian immigrants in early 20th century. They are supplemented by some extra items such as passports, official papers, etc.
Studio photos sent by immigrants to relatives back home highlight the false images that at the time fed people’s illusions over the “promised land”. Suits with handkerchief in lapels, hats, white collars, gold watches, were symbols of a supposedly comfortable life and prosperity which contrasted the harsh conditions of rural life the immigrants had left back at their village. What the letters reveal instead are the harsh living conditions they were facing in their new country: insecurity, a struggle for survival, concerns about the debts they left behind and, of course, the expectation of return.

The exhibition seeks to illuminate an unrecorded (and relatively little known) part of history about the region of Argalasti and its people. The objective is to contribute to collective awareness of who we are. At the same time the occasion reminds us that the experience of migration is timeless and intertwined with the history of human societies. The understanding and tolerance of, as well as solidarity with the suffering of immigrants are a debt imposed to us by history.

Η ΜΕΤΑΝΑΣΤΕΥΣΗ ΣΤΗΝ ΑΜΕΡΙΚΗ

Υπολογίζεται  ότι από το 1890 έως τις αρχές της δεκαετίας του 1920 περίπου μισό εκατομμύριο Έλληνες έφτασαν ως μετανάστες στις ΗΠΑ. Μόνο το 1907, 46.282 άτομα ελληνικής καταγωγής  πέρασαν από το Ellis Island, τον σταθμό υποδοχής και εξέτασης των μεταναστών, στην είσοδο του λιμανιού της Νέας Υόρκης.  Το μεταναστευτικό ρεύμα ξεκίνησε πρώτα από την Πελοπόννησο, τα Ιόνια νησιά, τη Δυτική Στερεά Ελλάδα και αργότερα εξαπλώθηκε στη Θεσσαλία και τα νησιά του Αιγαίου.
Η  μετανάστευση σχετίζονταν με τις οικονομικές συνθήκες και δυσκολίες που αντιμετώπιζε η ελληνική κοινωνία την περίοδο εκείνη και αποτελούσε μια διέξοδο ώστε να ανακουφιστούν οι οικονομικές δυσκολίες της οικογένειας, να βελτιωθεί το βιοτικό της επίπεδο, ακόμα και να προικοδοτηθούν τα κορίτσια. Μέσα σε λίγα χρόνια, ο μύθος της Αμερικής ως γη της επαγγελίας ήταν αρκετός ώστε να εξωθεί πολλούς ανθρώπους από διαφορετικά περιβάλλοντα και διαφορετικές ανάγκες να μεταναστεύουν.
Το ταξίδι για την Αμερική δεν ήταν εύκολη υπόθεση ....

Γ,K,

GREEK MIGRATION IN AMERICA

It is estimated that from 1890 until early 1920, about half a million Greeks arrived as immigrants in the U.S.. Only in 1907, 46,282 people of Greek descent went through Ellis Island, the dock of reception and examination of immigrants at the entrance of the harbor of New York. The first immigration wave began in the Peloponnese, the Ionian islands, western mainland Greece, and later spread to Thessaly and the Aegean islands.
The migration was related to economic conditions and difficulties faced by Greek society at that time and it was a way to alleviate the financial difficulties of the family, improve living standards, even to “proikodotithoun?” girls of the family. Within a few years, the myth of America as a land of promise was enough to persuade people from many different backgrounds and different needs to migrate.
The trip to America was not easy...

Y.K.

Josepf Kreutzer Trio op.16

Carlo Domeniconi Sonatina Mexicana

AlfredoCasella Pavana op.1

Paolo Fontana 8 pieces

DonatoSemeraro Fantis

Heitor Villa-Lobos Bachianas brasileiras No 5

Hendrik Adriessen Variations and fugue on a theme of Johan Kuhnau for string orchestra

Antonio Vivaldi Concerto No 2 in G minor, op. 8, RV 315, "L'Estate" from The Four Seasons, I. Allegro non molto, II. Adagio III. Pesto

George Bizet / Pablo de Sarasate Carmen Concert Fantasy for violin and orchestra ( in arrangement for string orchestra by Vladimir Agopov )

Nikos Skalkottas Five Greek Dances for string orchestra I. Tsamikos (II/9) II Thessalikos (I/12) Dance of Thessaly province III. Based on the folk song "Mariori mou - Mariori mou" (III/4) IV. Nisiotikos (III/4) Island's Dance from Crete V. (III/12) Dance from Roumeli

Antonin Dvořák Serenade for Strings in E major, Op.22 I. Moderato II. Tempo di Valse III. Scherzo: Vivace IV. Larghetto V. Finale: Allegro vivace

The temperamentally performance of the young Emmy Storms, violin solo, in George Bizet / Pablo de Sarasate 's Carmen Concert Fantasy for violin and orchestra ( in arrangement for string orchestra by Vladimir Agopov ) was a real delight!

I. INTRODUCTION Aragonaise - Allegro moderato

II. Andante molto moderato

III. Habanera - Moderato

IV. Interlude - Lento assai

V. Seguidilla - Allegro Moderato

VI. Gypsy Dance - Moderato

Camille Saint-Saëns Danse Macabre, op.40 / arr. Ernest Guiraud-

Olivier Messian Trois mélodies No 1, Pourquoi, No 2 Le sourire

Claude Debussy Romance No 1, Mandoline, Ariette oubliée No 1

Charles Alkan Fantasy on don Juan, op. 26

Dimitris Dragatakis There is a moon tonight, April's moon, Lullaby

Edvard Grieg Norvegian Dances op.35 No 1 in D minor, No 2 in A major

Eric Satie Trois Petites Pièces Montées: De l'enfance de Pantagruel, Marche de Cocagne, Jeux de Gargantua

Yiannis Constandinis 20 Songs of the Greek People, Nos 2, 3 & 10

Duo Vivo - Chris Marinos and Nikos Adraskelas - piano-4 hands

Anticoni Gaitana

Fritz Kreisler,

• Variationen über ein Thema von Corelli, für Violine und Klavier

• Rezitativo ( Lento con espressione ) und Scherzo Caproce ( Presto e brillante ), für solo Violine

• Rondo aus der Haffner Serenade von W.A. Mozart, für Violine und Klavier

Sergei Prokofieff

• Sonate für Violine & Klavier nr 2 in D-Dur, op. 94: Moderato - Scherzo (Presto) - Andante - Allegro con brio

Christos Kanettis, violin, and Ana Dimova, piano

An end-of-masterclass-concert - violin and piano. Participants demonstrated their for some still young musical mastery by executing works of Kreisler, Wieniawsky, Schubert, Lalo, Schumann, Brahms, beethoven, Spohr, Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saens, under the supervision of Prof. Kanettis and accompanied on the piano by Prof. Dimova.

The audience has many times encouraged enthusiastically these ( for some very ) promising talents.

Personally we enjoyed particularly the violinists Therese von Bemberg in the Sonata in A minor, op.105 for violin & piano - mit leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck of Robert Schuman, Tobias Höll in the Sonata in A minor op. 23 - Presto of Ludwig von Beethoven and Kostas Malamis in Preludium & Allegro of Kreisler-Paganini, and the very nice artistic demonstration by Elisabeth Kanettis at the piano, in the Fantasy op.103,D 940 for piano 4-hands - Allegro molto moderato - Largo of Franz Schubert, and in the Ungarischer Tanz Nr.1 for piano 4-hands - Allegro molto, of Johannes Brahms - 4-hands with Ana Dimova.

Therese von Bemberg, violin, and Ana Dimova, piano

The participants of the concert,

with in the centre Prof. Christos Kanettis and Prof. Ana Dimova,

listening to Mrs. Pia Hadginikos, the co-founder of the Summer Meetings