Nobody loves Greece like Alain Lefevre. At least, that’s how the French Canadian pianist makes you feel when he talks passionately about our country, which he decided to make his own in recent years, since he moved here permanently.

His relationship with Greece, of course, has been going on for years, since the late 90s when he first came here for a concert. Many have since followed, as well as projects such as the album “Sas Agapo” but also a touching prelude to tragedy in Mati which he wrote in 2018 with Thanasis Polikandriotis.

2023 finds the composer and pianist on the threshold of a new album, “Paris Memories” dedicated to French music and his years in the City of Light, but also tour which will start in a few weeks.

So before you head to the record stores and the stage, oh Alain Lefebvre one afternoon he spoke to us from his home in Voula. He returned a little earlier from the sea. Because among other things, he is also an avid walrus.

– After the pandemic crisis in March 2022, I started touring again. My new album is coming out soon and I’m going on tour in a few weeks. Busy life, but good life.

– It will consist of older pieces, so I mentally travel back to my Parisian years when I was a student at the conservatory. The French have a very strange view of French music. It took me many years to decide to record French music. A few years ago I made “My Parisian Years” and now “Parisian Memoirs”. The second will have music that many will recognize. I discussed with Warner Classics that I didn’t want to go abroad, but I would record the album in Greece, in Megaro, as it happened. This is a very important post for me.

– To be completely honest, it is difficult for me to return to such a process. If you look around, there is always something that doesn’t work. Anyway, I started writing the next release, which will probably turn out to be especially melancholic. But, even if difficult things happened in Greece, there is something else in the mind of the Greeks. That’s why I decided to come here.

– Yes, I have. I was always surprised that the Greeks were so cruel to the Greeks. I met a man who explained to me for 50 minutes that the Greeks are liars, corrupt, one thing or another. And I told him that if he loves his country more and gives its people a chance, he will see that they are different. I came to Greece during the crisis not to make money, but because there is something genius among the Greeks. Of course, it is good to criticize your country.

– No. And I love Canada. My situation is a bit confusing because I was born in France to French parents, but we moved to Canada when I was five years old. But I feel like a Greek. The only thing that bothers me is the language. Of course, today I learned the phrase: when someone answers “What are you doing?”, “It’s okay,” say “Always okay.” I know that many people say how much they love Greece and the islands. Look, I don’t even like Mykonos. I like simple things. I am a simple guy who wants to do his job the best he can. Life moves so fast that you have to appreciate what you have. And Greece is the most beautiful gift in my life.

– I really like Plaka and its narrow streets, there is something very romantic about it. And I like to walk around the city. In the meantime, I am a rosary collector, so I am looking for rosary shops.

– When I compose, I really like the process. Surprisingly, more and more people want to hear my own compositions. Probably, being a composer is more interesting for the public for many reasons. I started composing as a joke, I didn’t know people would accept it. Perhaps, over the years, I will also devote more time to writing. Because there is a problem. Fewer and fewer young people are going to classical music concerts around the world. And what orchestras do to attract people is, for example, they play music from Star Wars, even doing these concerts for free. There is a difference between this and Puccini. The younger generation is not familiar with classical music. There are fewer and fewer of us around, and I’m not optimistic, unfortunately.

– I think that being a good person in this industry is a great achievement. Because there are so many fanatics and so-called who are constantly doing everything to themselves. The most important thing is that people come and tell you that you are good. Maybe it’s not the best choice, because when you’re an artist, you have to sell yourself. I sell it when I sit at the piano and touch the keys. But the most important thing in life is love and good mood.

“I could spend ten minutes trying to impress you with names. But most of all I was impressed by the meeting with young children in a juvenile prison who were taught classical music. One day they wrote me an article. I wept. Because these kids who were teenagers and their life was hard, they wrote the music for me. For me, this was one of the most important things.

– I wish the Greek politicians to try to be independent from the pressure of other countries and be strong. Since Greece has a very important history, it is a light in the darkness.

Parisian Memoirs by Alain Lefebvre releases March 10 on Warner Classics.