21.05.2005, Cumhuriyet, Turkey

Maria… Zülfü… Mikis… - Zeynep Oral

The article is a review of the concert of M. Farantouri and Z. Livaneli at Lütfi Kirdar International Convention & Exhibition Centre, in Istanbul, in 18.05.2005.

Maria Farantouri and Zülfü Livaneli embraced Nazim Hikmet, Lorca, Sabahattin Ali, Orhan Veli and Refik Durbaş, singing alternately in Greek and Turkish. There was nothing old or hackneyed in either Livaneli’s compositions or Farantouri’s warm voice. Everything was new and shining.

I missed those old songs of the 70s and 80s so much too. But how is it possible that all those young people at the concert knew them? These were songs that were created in times of violence and repression, songs that blossomed in prisons, that went through bars and walls and spread by word of mouth. Thanks to them we felt that we were not alone. But how is it that all these young people today also know them? Where did they learn them? Where did they sing them? How did they memorize them?

Z. Oral