Important Influences

My friendship with Manos Hadjidakis was both unexpected & proved extremely fruitful. In 1970 he lived in New York, having left Greece due to some tax implications. So, after we had met in Athens in 1966, he invited me to come to New York & study with him. I had no idea what to expect, but what I knew was that he had won an Oscar for the film score of “Never on Sunday” starring Melina Mercouri. As a result of this, he became a most successful personality known all over Greece but also abroad. He was portrayed as a “right wing intellectual” & he was openly gay.

I rented a room in a dilapidated Hotel in New York city but close to his apartment, where they allowed me to bring in an upright piano into my room. So, I practiced all day & then we met in the evenings to go for dinner. Most days he would invite 3 or 4 other friends to join us, either artists, intellectuals, musicians, dancers – or visiting Greeks. During dinner the discussions were undeniably interesting, specially for me. Because during my previous years of study in Vienna & Moscow, I was totally devoted to perfecting my piano playing & little else. But now I was thrown in amongst other artists & creative people, who opened up a whole range of new topics & broad horizons.

With Manos we listened for hours on end to recorded music from his vast collection: Haydn, Mahler, Jazz, Greek music – you name it. I marvelled at his obsession with the whole of music, because most musicians I had known, never listened to such a rich variety of styles. What they did was play, perform & discuss interpretation, whereas with Manos, it was an essential education offering me a vast & extraordinary vista of all music. And I realized for the first time, that the piano repertoire extensive as it is, was only a fraction of the 300-hundred-year-old tradition of Western Music.

One day he took me to a local music store & bought me several piano works by Nikos Skalkottas. I had not even heard of his name, not to mention his music. Manos explained to me that I should get to know the music of my time, & only then go back to early 20^th C & to the rest of the piano Repertoire. He insisted that by doing this, one becomes aware of the “living elements” in all music & not the frills, mannerisms that previous performers indulged in. No other teacher spoke to me this way – it was a revelation.

Another memorable event for me was the following: In 1966 I had met Manos in Athens & played for him his very popular piano work “For a little white seashell Op.1. Now in New York he shocked me with this request: His friend the pianist Eugene Istomin (with whom I had had a few lessons) had studio recording time left over & was now offering this to Manos. Therefore, Manos said to me, tomorrow you are going to have the chance to record my work in this professional studio. I nearly panicked, because at that time I was studying other works & not his piece. But of course, I could see what an opportunity this was & was not going to miss it! We went to the studio together & recorded this 20-minute work of his. Looking back, it was not my best rendering having performed this work several times & in many countries. Years later, he asked me to record it again when I was in Athens, for his own record label called SEIRIOS.

Manos had a fascinating personality. He possessed a wicked sense of humour, his musical tastes were strict & “aristocratic” plus he wrote poetry, commentaries on politics as well as Art. Of course, his amorous affairs took centre stage, as he often quoted: everything in life leads towards EROS.

When he coached me on the piano, his singing of musical phrases was exceptional. He naturally followed the shape & line of each, helping me understand the correct flow. A natural musician & at the same time a serious & no-nonsense approach to all music. During those evenings over dinner, he often retold spicy anecdotes about friends but also well-known personalities. He was never nasty but extremely witty & delighted in describing human miss-haps & frailties. At the same time, he openly admired fellow composers, performers, poets & painters.

His personality was large, like his physical side. I feel much the richer having met him & listened to him.  And I truly admired his huge natural talent & his human “largesse”.

My meeting with the artist Polly Hope came about like this: The composer Malcolm Singer offered me several of his piano works to play, & one such concert opportunity was coming up at Polly’s large studio in Spitalfields. I played Malcolm’s work & then enjoyed the party which followed afterwards.

Days later, Malcolm called me asking whether I would accept Polly as my piano student. We met & I listened to her playing some of her old repertoire. And I accepted to coach her, as I commented that “older students” work more diligently that the younger ones! So, we started weekly lessons in her home which lasted for several hours ………. She was keen to study many works & to improve her feeble technique.

When I arrived each Saturday (that was the day I taught my pupils in their homes) we all had a hearty lunch, before going to the piano for our lesson. There were many aspects of her playing that needed improvement – though she enjoyed making music & tried hard to apply my instructions. Amongst the works I chose for her were duets, some contemporary pieces & standard repertoire, though she wanted to explore newer trends as well.

Being a very gifted painter, she also excelled in many other fields producing magical textile art (often religious in character) sculpture, pottery & publishing her own books. Together we collaborated on many of her texts, librettos, songs, fairy tales & short stage works, some of which we presented in her studio. Moreover, she was a marvellous & creative cook, saying that she never spent more than half an hour, preparing any of her dishes!

I was truly indebted to her for the following: she was the one who in 1989 opened up my compositional skills – which were lying dormant for over 30 years. Her encouragement together with her husband the sculptor & architect Theo Crosby, gave me the confidence but also the enthusiasm to start composing again. (As a child I composed many short works for the piano, some of which I was able to jot down, once I learned how to write music)

My first work “Five easy Dances “for piano was naturally dedicated to her, as were other pieces later. In 1990, she offered me her libretto “Dionysian Rites “which took place in the sixties on a barren Greek island. It fascinated me because the plot developed in two parallel strands, creating a certain mystery, that only revealed the whole truth in the very end.  Each strand of the story completing the other, to finally make sense of the entire work.

We both worked on this Opera / detective story for nearly five years, eventually presenting a shortened version in London & in Cyprus. Besides this, we joined forces writing song cycles, Christmas carols, fairy tales & short stage works. Our collaboration proved fruitful, maybe because I was her piano teacher & also because we tackled the problem of music & words head on – something quite tricky & demanding. Additionally, though Polly was English, she had a great sympathy for the Greek way of life, living many months in Rhodos. And myself though being Greek I was quite “anglicised”, having come from Cyprus – a British colony for over 80 years.

Therefore, our joint creative efforts produced much interesting work, & naturally gave us joy & satisfaction, all be it not much financial reward! But it was a period of wonderful exchanges between us, which I still treasure today & which propelled me further into composition. To date I have completed over 75 works & am eternally grateful to Polly, for putting me on my path, both as a pianist & as a composer.

I was still a bachelor at the age of 35. Being a pianist really devoured most of your time & energy, so it was no surprise that many other musician friends were also single. Either that, or already divorced & most often struggling with their strong emotional & sexual drives! Because performing great musical works instinctively encourages the extremes in your personality i.e. at times you are asked to portray a man’s world, then a woman’s, a child’s a poet’s, or warrior’s – even a King’s majesty.

Therefore, finding a soul mate becomes even harder than for an average man, working in an office 9 – 5. Because such a person does not really work constantly with his innermost emotions – like we have to, immersing ourselves totally in the turbulent world of Music.

Anyway, one day in London I was invited by a distant acquaintance to join him at a Theatre performance. We were a group of six but did not know any of the others, except for the person who invited us. In the interval we went to the bar & everyone chose their alcoholic drinks. I asked for a cold glass of milk! One of the girls looked at me with curiosity ………… who is this chap? When I felt her attention coming my way, I invited her days later to a concert. She enjoyed the outing & we ended up having supper together with another couple. We found out that we had much in common:  Her grandmother played the piano & organised musical evenings in her house in Bath. Her mother had a lively interest in Buddhism & the teachings of Krishnamurti, plus they were both vegetarians, like myself.

During one pleasant walk in London’s Primrose hill park, Peta challenged me to a race. She was quite a fast runner in her school years, & so she hoped to impress me with her fitness. Needless to say – I won the race easily & I suspect this convinced her that I might make a good husband!  We married in 1980 at the King’s Cross Registry office & months later had a Greek orthodox church wedding.  At that time if as a Greek you did not marry in church, any children that ensued would be pronounced illegitimate!

In 1982 our son Anthemos – Paul was born to the delight of both our families. For Greeks, a son means the continuation of the family surname, something extremely important. Peta stayed at home for 5 years, to give Anthemos a good start in life. My activity consisted of giving piano lessons, travelling to play concerts, being part of a Jury in Piano Competitions etc. But I longed to return home to my lovely blue-eyed boy, who was growing & developing fast. We both introduced him to all the things we enjoyed: music, nature, outings to museums & castles, football & of course family get-togethers both in London & in Cyprus.

In summer, we often spent our holidays in Cyprus, where Anthemos was the centre of attraction, amongst his five older cousins. They taught him how to swim, play table tennis but his greatest delights were the huge ice creams on offer! As he grew, we took him to a Montessori group, which offered various voluntary activities. You could run around in the courtyard, join a group reading a story, solve some educational puzzles etc. A young teacher there told us that he was nearly ready to learn writing at four. He was a bright little boy & developed fast & well.

Of course, we were a mixed marriage & so both English & Greek cultures were important to us. Automatically we offered the two languages but as he reached the age of two, he spoke neither. My mother-in-law Marjorie came to me one day with this request: Would I stop speaking Greek to him, so that he will start speaking English. I could understand her worry, because he was obviously a clever boy, but trying to separate & accommodate both languages obviously took longer. And Marjorie was impatient! The truth was that his mother tongue was English, we lived in London & chances are that he would grow up & live in England.

So, my Greek pride had to yield & I stopped the Greek. Within weeks he spoke English as expected, though I still feel it was such a pity that Marjorie could not wait a little longer for him to master both languages! The good news was that there was a new school in Knightsbridge called the Hellenic College.  It came into existence through the Greek Ex- King Constantine, who made his home in North London. This was a small school with circa 180 students & the daily curriculum included both Greek & English lessons. We visited this school, liked it & sent Anthemos there. One other important detail: there were no drugs amongst the students, as Greek parents kept a beedi eye on their kids.

Now that Anthemos was settled, Peta went back to work in an architect’s office nearby. I was at home practicing & teaching in the afternoons, so we worked well in tandem. I would cook for us & when the others returned, the household was “operational”. My wife looked after the bills & other formalities & also helped Anthemos with his homework. I was of course in charge of the Greek homework & slowly-slowly Anthemos started absorbing many Greek traits like, ethnic dancing, poetry, food traditions – even some ancient Greek language! It was a very lucky combination for us, having this school in London.

When Anthemos reached eleven, Peta suggested we move him into a “proper” English school. The Hellenic College was a very good choice to begin with, but academically it was not too strong. So, he sat the entrance exams for UCS in Hampstead & was accepted. I still remember that before allowing him to start there, we the parents were also interviewed, something quite clever & wise.

In 1989 I returned to serious & regular composing, & Peta gave me the time & space to do so. This meant that when I travelled for concerts abroad, she kept everything ticking while I was away & so when I returned, we picked up on our usual routine. This worked well over several years.

But in 1996, bad luck struck our family. Peta needed a hysterectomy which then developed into cancer. At the same time, like often in life, I was having financial troubles in Cyprus over my inheritance. Both my parents had died & now my brother & sister were arguing over the finances. Bitter exchanges were taking place & the frustration was mounting by the day. There were disagreements, tensions & angry accusations – all this, while we in London were struggling with Chemotherapy. The doctors gave us hope that she might be cured, but in the end, it was not to be. We lived through four years of anxiety, hospital treatments while in Cyprus, the financial obstacles were continuously mounting.

Peta was in & out of the Marsden which was the specialist Hospital for cancer treatment. When in the fourth year her liver was also attacked, there was little hope left & the hospital advised us to seek palliative care, which we did. Fortunately, they accepted her at the North London Hospice, where the care was excellent & she was given her very own room & bathroom.

During this trying time, Anthemos had applied to Oxford wanting to read History there. (he had achieved ten A stars at his GCSE exams) But he was turned down though, due to the popularity of this course. He then applied to read Classics (which was Peta’s suggestion) & so we were waiting to hear the verdict of the university, early in the coming year. And at this point something truly amazing happened:

Peta was slowly weakening & had lost all her appetite. Naturally she was worried about Anthemos’s future & it was December 2000.  One of Anthemos’s teachers at UCS realising our situation, took the bold step of contacting Oxford by phone. He described the severity of his mother’s health & begged for an answer regarding Anthemos’s application. And when the University realised our situation, they did away with the written rules & replied YES – he has been accepted to read Classics next September in 2001.

A wonderful piece of good news especially for Peta, knowing that her son will carry on the family tradition of studying at Oxford. It seems that the “Gods” do look after us, after all. And knowing this, Peta passed away peacefully soon after. She was just 56.