The Cypriot Fiddler

Cypriot ethnomusicologist Nicoletta Demetriou has won one of this year's five Europa Nostra Grand Prix awards — Europe's top heritage honour — for her project The Cypriot Fiddler.

Built on more than 15 years of fieldwork, the project documents the lives and music of some of the last traditional fiddlers of Cyprus. The jury praised it for safeguarding the island's shared cultural heritage and fostering understanding between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

Nicoletta Demetriou's acceptance speech last night, on receiving the Grand Prix in the Research category for The Cypriot Fiddler:

"Many thanks to Europa Nostra, to Europa Nostra Heritage Hub in Nicosia for nominating the project, and to the jury members for choosing The Cypriot Fiddler over many other worthy contestants. I'm honoured and priviledged for this recognition. And, of course, many thanks to all the fiddlers and their families, who, over more than twenty years, have opened their homes to me, and have allowed me to record and publish their stories.

In the past few days, I have often joked that The Cypriot Fiddler might well be the poorest project ever to have received a Europa Nostra award. And I think this might be true: in over ten years, the project received no more than €10.600 - the first chunk through an online crowdsourcing campaign. This is truly a project by the people, for the people.

More than twenty years after the first interviews for The Cypriot Fiddler were conducted, I can now safely say that this is a victory of listening over talking, of waiting over rushing, of patience over haste. And this is most definitely a victory of perseverance, a victory born out of love. The fiddlers may be mostly gone now, but their stories will live on forever. This award belongs to them."

Ευχαριστούμε, Parathyro!

Κυπριακή διάκριση στα European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2026 Το ερευνητικό πρόγραμμα «The Cypriot Fiddler» ανάμεσα στους μεγάλους νικητές της ευρωπαϊκής πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς.

Ευχαριστούμε πολύ, AlphaNews.Live!

Βραβείο Grand Prix Europa Nostra στην Νικολέττα Δημητρίου για τον «Κύπριο Βιολάρη» | AlphaNews Το «The Cypriot Fiddler» αποτελεί ένα μακροχρόνιο εθνογραφικό ερευνητικό έργο

Thank you for the coverage, En Philenews!

Cypriot researcher Nicoletta Demetriou wins Europa Nostra Grand Prix Award Cypriot ethnomusicologist and researcher Dr Nicoletta Demetriou has been named one of the five Grand Prix Award winners at the 2026 European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards for her long-term ethnographic project, The Cypriot Fiddler. The accolade, which selected Demetriou’s work in the Rese...

Ευχαριστούμε, Γραφείο Τύπου και Πληροφοριών - Press and Information Office και Αλίκη Στυλιανού, για τη στήριξη και την προβολή!

Σύνδεσμος για το άρθρο στο πρώτο σχόλιο.

The Cypriot Fiddler has won the Grand Prix in the category of Research, in this year's European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards. Thank you to Europa Nostra, to Europa Nostra Heritage Hub in Nicosia for nominating the project, and to the jury members for choosing The Cypriot Fiddler over many other worthy contestants. And, of course, many thanks to all the fiddlers and their families, who, over more than twenty years, have opened their homes to me, and have allowed me to record and publish their stories.

This award is for them, in gratitude and love 🎻

We’re live in Nicosia, Cyprus unveiling this year’s Grand Prix laureates, selected from among the winners 2025!

The fifth goes to… The Cypriot Fiddler 🇨🇾

🏆 This long-term ethnographic research project, dedicated to documenting the intangible heritage of traditional musicians in Cyprus, stands as a testament to a fragile heritage, at risk of disappearing due to the advanced age of its practitioners and the inherently oral nature of its transmission.

Learn more about this winner 👇
https://www.europeanheritageawards.eu/winners/the-cypriot-fiddler/

Η τελετή απονομής των βραβείων Europa Nostra 2026 θα πραγματοποιηθεί ΑΠΟΨΕ, στο Δημοτικό Θέατρο Λευκωσίας, από τις 20:00 μέχρι τις 22:00. Ο Κύπριος Βιολάρης είναι ένα από τα τριάντα βραβευθέντα έργα της χρονιάς. Μπορείτε να παρακολουθήσετε την τελετή ζωντανά στον πιο κάτω σύνδεσμο:

The 2026 Europa Nostra awards ceremony will take place TONIGHT, from 20:00 to 22:00, at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre. The Cypriot Fiddler is one of thirty projects awarded this year. You can watch the ceremony live at the following link:

2026 Europa Nostra ödül töreni BU AKŞAM, saat 20:00-22:00 arasında, Lefkoşa Belediye Tiyatrosu'nda gerçekleşecek. Kıbrıslı Kemaneci, bu yıl ödüllendirilen otuz projeden biri. Töreni aşağıdaki bağlantıdan canlı olarak izleyebilirsiniz:

European Heritage Awards Ceremony 2026 - Europa Nostra Programme Booklet (PDF)   The winners of the 2026 European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards will be celebrated during a high-profile event on the evening…

Thank you, Wolfson College, Oxford, for featuring The Cypriot Fiddler and the Europa Nostra Award on your news page. Wolfson College and The Oxford Centre for Life-Writing was The Cypriot Fiddler's academic home between 2012 and 2019.

Wolfson alum wins European Heritage Award for research project “The Cypriot Fiddler” - Wolfson College Dr Nicoletta Demetriou, former Research Fellow in Ethnomusicology and Life Writing at Wolfson between 2012 and 2019, has recently received the 2026 Europa Nostra European Heritage Award.

📣 Τελευταίο 24ωρο ψηφοφορίας!

Στηρίξτε τον Κύπριο Βιολάρη / The Cypriot Fiddler, ψηφίζοντάς τον για το Βραβείο Κοινού Europa Nostra 2026 🎻

1. Πηγαίνετε στο https://vote.europanostra.org/

2. Διαλέξτε το The Cypriot Fiddler

3. Διαλέξτε δύο ακόμα έργα (είναι υποχρεωτικό να ψηφίσετε τρία συνολικά)

4. Συμπληρώστε το όνομα και την ηλεκτρονική σας διεύθυνση

5. Πηγαίνετε στο inbox σας και πατήστε στο email που θα σας σταλεί από τη Europa Nostra, για να επιβεβαιώσετε την ψήφο σας

Σε περίπτωση νίκης, ΟΛΑ ΤΑ ΧΡΗΜΑΤΑ θα πάνε στο Αρχείο Κυπριακής Μουσικής - Cyprus Music Archive, για στήριξη του δικού του έργου.

Προθεσμία υποβολής ψήφων: 12 Μαΐου 2026

Ευχαριστούμε!