Athens Festival

An undisputable masterpiece of contemporary Greek culture, Axion Esti is both an unassailable poetic composition and a majestic musical creation, written as an “oratorio populaire” for a folk singer, cantor, narrator, mixed chorus, popular orchestra, and symphonic orchestra. Published in 1959, Odysseas Elytis’ Axion Esti is at once a personal testimony and a sacred Liturgy of Hellenism in three parts: “The Genesis,” “The Passion,” and “The Gloria”—a poetic fresco of grand dimensions that reshaped Greek literature with its bold narrative architecture. At the time of its conception, the idea of adapting the work into music had not yet crossed the poet’s mind. However, two years later, Elytis sent a copy of the poem to Mikis Theodorakis. In the press conference at the work’s premiere in 1964, Mikis recalled: “I received it in Paris in the spring of 1961—a generous gift from the poet. That very evening, I had already outlined the first two parts: ‘Genesis’ and ‘The Passion’. The poem already contained the music…”. The premiere took place at the Rex Theatre-Marika Kotopouli, despite the creators’ initial wish to see it staged at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus—a request denied at the time, as Grigoris Bithikotsis’ status as a folk singer was not deemed compatible with the venue and, consequently, the stature of the Athens Epidaurus Festival. Since then, however, the work has been presented countless times at the Roman theatre, always evoking the same sacred awe—from the first awakening notes of the woodwinds in “The Genesis” to the final triumphant cry “Forever the world, the small, the great!” This year’s performance holds a particular significance as it marks the seventieth anniversary of the Festival and the centennial of the composer’s birth, in a year officially declared as the Year of Mikis Theodorakis by the Ministry of Culture. The work features George Dalaras as the folk singer, Dimitris Platanias as the cantor, and Dimitris Katalifos as the narrator, who will deliver the ecstatic and visionary recitations of “The Passion.” They will be joined by the Athens Mixed Municipal Choir, the ERT Choir, and the Athens State Orchestra.

The programme opens with the Symphonic Concerto by Manolis Kalomiris, the towering work of the frontrunner of the Greek National School of Music. Composed in the mid-1930s, it combines the composer’s lifelong quest for a genuinely “Greek” symphonic music with the solid technique he has mastered in his mature years. He christened the work “symphonic” to preemptively dispel any notion of the soloist’s predominance—an ironic choice, considering the fiendishly demanding and virtuosic piano writing. Only a handful of pianists can rise to the occasion of such a work’s performance, and Titos Gouvelis is definitely one of them. Myron Michailidis, one of Greece’s leading conductors, will accompany him on this journey.

Divided by the historical wounds of the Occupation and the Civil War, yet bound together by a shared pursuit of a deeply lived Greekness, these two emblematic works expand into previously unseen dimensions under the shadow of the Acropolis Hill. To quote Mikis once more: “We never listen only with our ears; we listen with our imagination.”

The Athens State Orchestra is conducted by Myron Michailidis.