Celebrating 25 Years of Kol Shishi – Zorba the Greek

The timeless music of Zorba the Greek, composed by Mikis Theodorakis, will open a series of performances marking the 25^th anniversary of Kol Shishi, the radio program hosted by Yaron Anoush on Kan Bet. The concert will take place on September 25, 2019 at the Herzliya Performing Arts Center at 21:00. Yuval Ben Ezer will conduct the performance, with the participation of the Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva; the Kibbutz Artzi Choir, Israel Yifrach on bouzouki, vocalist Afroditi Kampali, and Yaron Anoush, presenter and storyteller.

Yaron Anoush commented on his radio program, saying that he has been sharing his loves for 25 years, having decided from the first program, that he would only present music that he loves, in the hope that his listeners would love it too. That has been the guiding principle in planning this series, sharing the music and stories that he loves.

Yaron Anoush on the concert:

The choice of Zorba the Greek to open this series of performances was not by chance. Zorba the Greek was shown in Israel when Yaron Anoush was 9 years old. His father was a partner in the Herzliya cinemas and that was where Anoush spent his days as a child, much like the boy in Cinema Paradiso. He would watch movies every night, sometimes from the screening booth, standing on tip toe to see through the small window. Zorba the Greek moved him, the story that began in a random encounter at the port of Pireaus on a stormy winter morning, captured his heart…then the journey of the young intellectual who cannot express his feelings, and Alexis Zorba whose life is a burning flame, and his entire existence is a song of praise for humankind, freedom, feelings and their expression. It is not random that the film was so successful worldwide, and the music of Mikis Theodorakis, which conveys the vitality, energy and feeling of Greek life. Theodorakis later adapted and arranged the film score as a ballet. The score includes different songs composed by Theodorakis, with choir, female soloist and orchestra, closing with the dance on the beach.

“No, you’re not free,” he said. “The string you’re tied to is perhaps no longer than other people’s. That’s all. You’re on a long piece of string, boss; you come and go, and think you’re free, but you never cut the string in two. And when people don’t cut that string . . .”
“I’ll cut it some day!” I said defiantly, because Zorba’s words had touched an open wound in me and hurt.

Zorba the Greek, by Nikos Kazantzakis

Zorba the Greek deals with the meeting between the modern world, and the old world, which is disappearing, a world that respects intimacy between people, feelings, and human instincts. I have no doubt that this is the right concert to begin the 25^th anniversary celebrations in the city of my birth – Herzliya.

Ticket prices range from 140 NIS – 170 NIS, and may be ordered from Ticketmaster and the Herzliya Performing Arts Center.