Emilios Riadis: Jasmines et Minarets The landscape of a multi-cultural city

Abstract

Emilios Riadis (1880-1935) is recognized as an authentic representative of Greek National school. He lived most of his life in Salonica, during a time when the city was a truly multicultural centre of its time. In 1913 he composed Jasmines et Minarets as a tribute to his own city, just after a year (1912) from the moment that Salonica became a part of Greece, after the treaty that was signed between the forces of the Ottoman Empire and the Greek army. In this song cycle, Riadis is attempting to represent the landscape of his own city, a landscape where Minarets and Jasmines are the main features, proving that Salonica was a truly multiethnic and multicultural city.