Monday 22 July 2013

Intercultural topic: music, literature, theater, film, fine art

In Portugal, people listen to fado music, that is the most popular traditional music genre. Fado was enlisted in the Unesco intangible cultural heritage list.
In Italy, one of the most famous songs is “Val pensiero”, by Verdi. Italy has many sculptural and architectural works, such as David (by Michelangelo). One famous painting, internationally known, is “Gioconda” by Da Vinci.
Spain is famous for its music, the flamenco. The classical flamenco has transformed into a new style, the mestizase or flamenco fusion. The pioneers are the Amador’s Brothers and now the most famous groups are the Delincuentes. The mestizase has influences from various types of music, like Cuban, Latin and Raggae music, for example.
In Turkey, the old architecture is represented by remnants of the Ottoman Empire buildings and mosques – Sultanahmet, the Bogaz ici Bridge, the Galata Tower. Turkey also has vestiges from the times of Antiquity, such as Efes Theatre. There is a popular traditional dance performed by men, spinning around and holding their hands up – it is called “semazen”.
Romanian music has been marked by George Enescu, a 19th century composer, musician.  Traditional music is generally based on violin and flute. A renowned flute master is Gheorghe Zamfir, the so-called “king of the pan flute”.
Sweden is mostly known for its Viking heritage. Nowadays, what is popular is the Swedish pop culture, which has marked the international music scene. Bands like Abba, Roxette, Robyn, Swedish House Mafia and others more are now internationally known. The film industry is also quite strong, with personalities like Ingrid Bergman (actress who starred in Casablanca), her father, Ingmar Bergman (film director).

In Bulgaria, Balkanik music is widely listened to. A national version of it is best represented by Valya Balkanska, a very famous Bulgarian singer. 

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