Credentials
Guestbook News media
Credentials
Guestbook News media
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↓Boukolisches Konzert in mythologischer Atmosphäre
↓Klassisches Griechisch im Garten des Epikurs
21st of October 2000
Märkische Allgemeine
[…] The guests are welcomed by the scent of roses, jasmine and rosemary, exotic flowers shimmer in various types of red, yellow and blue. In this paradise garden relaxation, culture and education are standing evenly next to each other. To create such a symbiosis is the main idea of the founder of this musical and cultural meeting point Hellenikon Idyllion at the north west coast of the Peloponnese, which is located directly to the sea; with the view to Parnassus […].
9th+10th of September 2000
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Lifestyle
Hoping of the kiss of a Muse - gentle, active holidays
Intoxicated by colours - Painting holidays in Greece
By Christa Arnet
There is a big house, some bungalows, a stage and a concert pavilion surrounded by a charming garden next to the sea. Between roses, geraniums, palms, lemon- and fig trees you can see a dozen people sketching and brushing: I'm spending painting-holidays in the cultural meeting place Hellenikon Idyllion at the Peloponnese. It is lead by the Swiss Gielia Degouda, a nun, an artist and a teacher at the girls' college Theresianum' in Ingenbohl… The first day is relaxing. There was neither compulsion to work hard nor any other pressure, only curiosity.
First of all we start to learn some new techniques. After we need to find a suitable image to paint. All participants swarm out like bees to find the perfect object. Five run over to the flower garden, two were heading towards the sea and one is taking over the Statue of Aphrodite. I choose five lemons, yellow-green-ochre shimmering with pointy muzzles and bulging bellies, which are put on a chair. First steps are done! My carrier as an artist can begin… good so far, but the third day starts with a major disaster. My lemons are gone. Someone must have stolen my creative arrangement, perhaps even made ordinary juice out of it. There seems to be no other way then going into town and getting new ones. And what should I say?! The Little market turns out as a treasury. In the boxes you can find several kinds of lovely fruit and vegetables in all different types of colours and shades as well as various shapes. We have to draw this! Enthusiastically we are buying a kilo of lemons, one purple aubergine, two golden melons and a pound of shiny red cherries. Now we are able to create a still life. A green stony table is just the perfect base.
It is great so far, just the kiss of the Muse is missing. Between the trees the Gulf of Corinth is sparkling, Parnassus rises on the other side brace, it’s the home of Apollo, he is the patron of all the other Muses…
At the very next day we are officially off and we can do a little trip to Epidaurus if we want to. But we don’t have time for that. We need to paint! One vital experience follows the next, be that the water glass tip or a paint splatter accentuate something unexpectedly well…
The last day dawn and we all aim for the final spurt. We nearly exhibit 200 art pieces on the stage - all of them aquarelles but each of it unique. Art works, accurate in every detail, are hanging beside creative imagination, a touch of gentle colours next to straight geometrical forms. Our teacher Gielia seems to be as happy as she never had a great art class as us before. We are congratulating each other. Who would have expected that we would be able to create something like this? We haven’t become perfect artists during this time but we got an idea of what art is able to do to people and how it can change the view on ourselves and all our fellow humans.
April 2000
Flöte aktuell - Newspaper of the German Association of Philologists
Hellenikon Idyllion 2000
Seminar with E. Weinzierl and E. Waechter in Greece
By Mechthild Horn
Is there anything better than the symbiosis of art, music and nature? This summer (1st - 13th of August 2000) we hold a course for flute players, which connected all of these three topics perfectly with another. For the eights time Elisabeth Weinzierl and Edmund Waechter surrounded themselves with amateur flautists, students and professionals to work, learn, relax and make music together under the Greek sun. Also for the eights time this seminar was hold at the musical and cultural meeting place Hellenikon Idyllion in Selianitika/Egion at the Peloponnese founded by Andreas Drekis. It was the dream of this musically and philosophically sun of an orthodox priest to create a place where people can do all different types of seminars in an idyllic atmosphere free of the everyday constraints. The spectrum includes chamber musican, piano, violin or flute projects, choir and orchestra holidays as well as programs about ancient Greek language or art classes. It is kind of a guaranteed that music and nature are connected closely in this paradisiac garden, where lemons and figs nearly grow into the mouths of the audiences from the public concerts […]. Andreas, tirelessly, organises concerts for us as in Xylokastro and Galaxidi or at the village fair inclusive fireworks in Selianitika. Thank to Andreas Drekis, who has a very good contact to the local cultural life and is a master in organisation, we got the chance to open with our concert a new cultural centre in Galaxidi… in order to this concert trip we were able to visit ancient places as Corinth, Mykene and Delphi […]. Beside such an intense schedule the participants needed to have a little free time: having a bath in the nearby sea, daily frappes at the small Café directly at the promenade and tasty dinners at the small taverns were also quite a highlight of our very inspiring stay.
21st of October 1998
Westfalen-Blatt,
about the theatre of Egeira
[…] At the same day the small antique theatre, located in the mountains above Egio, was visited. Up there people could enjoy a wonderful view on the Gulf of Corinth and the Parnassus and its sanctuary Delphi. The members of the Zupforchester were able to have open air rehearsals until sun set. In the end they played the Greek song Arnisi composed by Mikis Theodorakis one of the most important contemporary Greek composer who is very popular in taking up the folk music of his country.
August 1998
Peloponnisos-Patras Newspaper
Charming night with Vagelis Varvaresos
On Saturday the 2nd of August in the beautiful garden of the holiday resort and cultural centre Hellenikon Idyllion in the village Selianitika near Egio a large audience got the opportunity to enjoy a special artistic event in the midst of summer.
14 year old Vagelis Varvaresos, one of the ten best young soloists in the world, who had come with his family from Solonica especially for the event, delighted his audience not only with his skill as a pianist, but also with his sensitivity and simple manners. Under the dense canopy of the fruit and decorative trees, the virtuoso sounds of the grand piano got mixed with the scent of roses, jasmine and primroses. This unique concert provided an opportunity that combined music and nature, on the one hand the original sounds of the inspiration of the composer and at the same time performer, on the other hand a sensual orgy the nature was creating, it was such a contrast being outside instead of in an ordinary concert hall. The audience got carried away, inspired by a truly exceptional listening as well as emotional experience of classical music.
The very talented young man concerted some of the most difficult pieces of music by Liszt, Chopin, Prokoviev and Balakierev as well as Hantzidakis with an amazing skill, striking sensitivity, expressiveness and maturity. In the end the audience applauded enthusiastically. He is a young star in the music scene who promotes our country internationally.
In this breath taking garden - an oasis of fresh air and peace which is so different to all the other noisy holiday resorts - the famous pianist Milena Molova (V. Varvaresos' teacher, who was by his side during the concert, supporting him with her presence), is holding piano master classes at Hellenikon Idyllion with students from Greece and abroad for the third time this year.
The students are going to practise on a wonderful German grand piano of the brand Schimmel, in mid the nature by the quiet sound of rustling leaves and the chirping of crickets. Beside the piano classes there are going to be violin, flute, classical song, choir, cello, guitar etc. seminars until October in this garden where the Muses and the Spirit meet to extend their creativity. Events - in which various artists from all over the world will participate - will be hold until August.
For us, as a choir, our rehearsals are the focus of our work. Andreas Drekis, director of the resort, had organiseded a real concert-tour for us. In order to that we were going to Delphi first, afterwards we were heading for three days to the island of Kefalonia, where we joined a choir festival with our gospel- and spiritual program. At daytime we took part in a guided tours and visited other attractions. At night concerts were held. This was a very good combination to us. We will never forget the Greek hospitality we got to know everywhere. No one needed to be hungry or thirsty! Andreas Drekis was accompanying us all the time. He was solving easily all our however small or big problems, and was leading us through the country surely. To put it in a nutshell he was taking care of us all the time. After those beautiful and exciting days we felt like coming home when we arrived back to Selianitika. Happy about the quietness we took Hellenikon Idyllion back into our possession.
14th of November 1996
Passauer Neue Presse
Hellenikon Idyllion at the Peloponnese:
Singing, Painting, Poetry underneath the olive trees
The Idealists Epicurean Garden
by Ariane Freier
They philosophize in classical Greek by moonshine, paint with watercolours in the shadow of lemon- and olive trees or try to bet the larks in carol the joy of life. In Hellenikon Idyllion individualists can combine hobbies and holidays or just relax.
The fishing village is located at the southern coast of the Gulf of Corinth on the Peloponnese. A narrow path leads from the sea directly to Hellenikon Idyllion. It's a holiday place with a unique style: a musical-cultural centre attracting musicians, philosophers, poets and artists.
Villa-appartements from natural stone and wood with large verandas or terraces provide a cosy living area. Andreas Drekis offers courses for drama, dance, archaeology, literature and art, run by professional teachers. Choirs and orchestras practice in expectation of the new season. In the garden pavilion soloists such as the state-prize-winner for young musicians, Constance Ziemann, or the Small opera from Berlin- Zehlendorf are giving concerts.
The owner of the place, Andreas Drekis, the son of an orthodox priest from Egio, who studied in Switzerland, made his life’s dream coming true by creating Hellenikon Idyllion: an epicurean garden, consecrated the pleasure and joy. Likeminded get the chance to exchange mental and cultural values in an idyllic atmosphere. Without any rules or constraints.
Equally welcome are all those who are not actively involved in music. EDV specialists, who are happy to help for a few hours in the office, composers or graphic artists, can get a very reduced prize on accommodation if not even for free residence, if they are up to work for it. There is also time to relax, for example on the Hollywood swings in the 4000 m² large fruit and ornamental tree garden. Fig trees, roses, orange- and lemon trees grow and blossom here. Playing music spontaneously, hiking up in the mountains together or garden parties enable to meet up other guests. The shadow of the trees and the indoor practise rooms make it possible to play music, even at temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius.
The sand and pebble beach in front of the garden invites for swim. There are several restaurants and cafes at the promenade for your enjoyment. People can also visit local dance halls outside the village and for guests with the urge to explore and have adventures Mr Drekis has a lot of suggestions for excursions. Lots who stayed once at the Idyllion come back again. In my dreams, I am always in Selianitika, says Constance Ziemann, the young pianist, the idyllic atmosphere is just unique.
29th of July 1995
Die Glocke (Westfalen)
[…] Andreas Drekis has precise ideas of his guest profile. The perfectly suitable guests are music-intellectual with high mental claims, that are loving nature and the ancient Greek culture (in day-trips there can be visited such antique sites as Delphi, Epidaurus, Mycenae, Olympia, ancient Corinth), besides they should bring enthusiasm for the beauty and the truth. But also if it might sound so, it is no arrogance behind those unspoken claims only the wish to save values which threaten to get lost by bringing them to a new and predictable experience back into the minds of the now a days world.
1993
Concert tour to Greece
Neue Musik-Zeitung
by Brigitte Franz, member of the orchestra
From 9th to 20th of July 1993 the Youth Symphony Orchestra Leipzig of the Johann Sebastian Bach state music school unter the direction of the conductor Iwan Iwanow travelled to Greece.
This trip was based on the idea to connect rehearsals and concerts with excursions to ancient sites. In order to that Selianitika, a small coastal village at the north-west coast of Peloponnese located between Patras and Egio, seemed to be the perfect destination for the young musicians. Here Andreas Drekis, whose heart belongs to music and other arts, has founded a haven for artists, Villa Idyllion. In his cultural holiday-resort musicians from all over the world can meet for classes and concerts combined with a relaxing time.
Drekis had organized two concerts for the youth orchestra Leipzig. To improve rehearsals were hold in Villa Idyllion. The young musicians prepared beside their repertoire of music from Bizet, Gounod, Lloyd Webber and Strauss also Greek folklore music to honour the hosts. They had studied these tunes already in Leipzig, but now they had to work together with the singers Barbara Luther and Nicos Voutsinos (once singing for the German Opera Berlin). Beyond Voutsinos had composed an epigram to praise the ancient Greek heroes. After checking the tunes the orchestra decided spontaneously to play the hymn in both concerts together with the singers as a premiere.
The rehearsals alternated with swims in the Gulf of Corinth as well as visits of ancient places. Trips to Mycenae, Epidaurus, Corinth and Olympia gave an idea of antique history to the young musicians.
But in the end both of the open-air concerts turned out as the highlights of the stay. On 16th of July the orchestra played on a stage directly near the coast in Selianitika. The locals and the tourists were already very interested in the winds-group, as they had played there every evening, so there was nearly no empty seat in the auditory.
The second concert was on 17th of July at the west coast of Peloponnese, in a ford above Killini as part of the Festival of ancient Theatre. The magnificent surrounding with the gorgeous music was for the orchestra as well as for the about 1500 visitors an unforgettable and overwhelming experience.
Both concerts were a good practical value and a great success for the young musicians from Leipzig and their conductor Iwan Iwanow. Not only the Greek pieces but also the well known melodies of Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Carmen and the music of Johann Strauss absolutely thrilled the audience. Because of standing ovations the young musicians were giving several additional encores on both days.
The proceed of both concerts was donated to a foundation which goal is to unearth a sunk antique town, that is suspected near Helike, a farming village next to the coast. What was already agreed in advance.
With the concert in Selianitika Andreas Drekis was hoping on a side effect. The orchestra from Leipzig should be an example for young people to found an orchestra of their own in the region of Egio. The feedback after the public rehearsal and the concert in the evening gave hope, that this idea could be realized. We wish a great success to this project.
This trip was supported by the cultural ministry, as well as Jeunesses musicales and the piano-factory GmbH in Böhlitz- Ehrenberg.
A boukolic concert in a mythological atmosphere
by Katja Groß, member of the orchestra
The members of the Holstein chamber orchestra from the northern part of Germany were this year staying as guests in the musical-cultural centre of Hellenikon Idyllion in Selianitika again. After a concert in Athen on July 18th the musicians spent a week here to prepare other concerts and to relax by the scent of rose bushes and lemon trees at the seaside in the wonderful garden of Hellenikon Idyllion. What made the 65 young instrumentalists aged between 13 and 25 and their orchestra leader Hajo Jobs to come back the second time? Nadine, a member of the orchestra, who plays the violin (21) coming from Hamburg says: This centre is just amazing, you can have time on your own (not as in ordinary youth hostels) and you have the possibility to practice everywhere, even directly next to the sea.
At the beginning of the week the director of Hellenikon Idyllion Andreas Drekis had organized an open air concert in Peristera, located at the foot of the mountain Chelmos that the wellspring of Styx is. We played Swedish dances of Max Bruch, an Hungarian dance of Johannes Brahms, German dances of W. A. Mozart and as a tribute to the hosts Peloponisiakos of the Greek composer Skalkotas. The audience received those opening pieces enthusiastically. In the following part the orchestra impressively demonstrated its great skills by interacting with its prominent clarinet soloist Hjalmar Boehm. With great clarity and sensibility the soloist handled the three scenes. The sixth symphony of Antonin Dvorak completed the evening. To create a symphonic evening in such a place in the hilly hinterland of the Peloponnese suits to the ideals of Andreas Drekis, who supports musical-cultural meetings at his place for several years now. For the orchestra from Germany it will always be an unforgettable experience. On their way up to the mountains they had stopped at a river, where already the antique Greek gods had eaten nectar, for a swim, to refresh under the small waterfalls and to rest underneath the trees. Before the concert the people of Peristera had invited the guests generously to eat and drink with them together. After the concert the young musicians and the Greek audience were celebrating and dancing the night away. The orchestra will always keep the Greek hospitality, the unique atmosphere of this wonderful landscape as well as the knowing, that it is not necessary to play in a big concert halls to have cultural meetings in their minds.
Classical Greek in Epicure's Garden
Newspaper of the German Association of Philologists
A warm gentle breeze blows through the holiday-resort nearby the Gulf of Corinth. From the canopy of the numerous trees the cicadas are chirping bright metallically, while single sunrays make their way to the ground. A group is sitting around a big stonetable: Germans, an Austrian guy, teachers from Athens. The IPTS expert-advisor of Old Languages acts as a moderator. The only language combining all is Classical Greek, as the Greeks don't speak German and only a little English and the others have barely any knowledge of Modern Greek.
Nevertheless they all got together to combine the pleasure with the useful: active holidays by speaking and reading Classical Greek. They all aren't used to speak this language of the past. Because of that they are treating each other kindly and indulgently. What`s your name? Where do you come from? Why did you come here? The questions are simple, but replaying doesn’t seem to be that easy. One is helping the other, everybody tries to understand as much as possible. Anyway the participants are on holiday, so they take things calmly. The Greeks it is the hardest part to become Erasmian pronunciation, as it is used in the rest of Europe. The Germans have problems to speak Greek kind of fluently. But the enthusiasm for this versatile language, which was the first in Europe in that the most wonderful hymns were sung, imperishable thoughts were thought, helps a lame dog over a stile...
It is tough and tiring when you need to think about every world and sentence your want to say. Because of that they started to read together. Unerring a Greek chooses the gods' dialogues of Lucian, a masterpiece of the old scoffer written in choicely Attic, that also delights Christoph Martin Wieland again and again. Lecture means really lecture, so its every ones turn to read out loudly after a while. When all did understand the tenor, they are going on, if not they paraphrase in ancient Greek. But often that still doesn’t work, so the moderator has to help in German or in New Greek. But the good mood remains.
Additional to the flippant lines of Lucian there are also thoughtful ones. The group reads Plotinus's scripture of beauty, those treatises that once revived the creativeness and the concept of beauty of the artists in the Renaissance through the interpretation of Marsilio Ficino. It's not necessary to read much as there are few lines very substantial. The attendees could dream of it in the following long siesta.
The concept of this active Classical Greek holidays (two week duration) is invented by the founder and director of the resort. When he gets bored by ordinary tourists he invites mostly musicians and other artists to be his guests. By times he extends his program step by step into other cultural fields. But there is no other course he supports as much as the Classical Greek one. But still the participants of this seminar also enjoy the meetings with artists, the concerts at moonlight, the lectures and the endless dialogues. For a language, often declared for abundant or dead, this spontaneous initiative is a ray of hope.