Closing Concert of the Athens State Orchestra Brass Workshop
The Athens State Orchestra and the Philippos Nakas Conservatory celebrate the completion of the 13th cycle of the Brass Workshop with the customary large-scale concert marking the official conclusion of this year’s activities.
The workshop’s artistic direction is led by distinguished musicians of the Athens State Orchestra, members of the ensemble METALLON, in close collaboration with and with the valued support of the Philippos Nakas Conservatory. Centred on the joy of collective music-making, hands-on engagement with the orchestral repertoire and meaningful collaboration between young musicians and experienced members of the ASO Brass Section, this year’s workshop once again offered inspiration and creative experiences to all participants.
The closing concert also features the Philippos Nakas Conservatory String Orchestra, conducted by Michalis Papapetrou.
Student Concert of the Athens State Orchestra Chamber Music Seminar
The final concert of the Athens State Orchestra’s Ongoing Chamber Music Seminar marks the culmination of a creative and meaningful educational journey. Through systematic guidance from the distinguished cellist Angelos Liakakis and intensive artistic work, participants delve deeply into the chamber music repertoire, cultivating attentive listening, dialogue and the delicate balance required in small ensemble collaboration.
The closing concert is not merely a presentation of results; it is a living testament to cooperation, artistic growth and creative exchange. Audiences will have the opportunity to hear young and emerging musicians perform together in a programme that highlights the richness and enduring appeal of chamber music.
4 Women
On the occasion of International Women's Day, the Athens State Orchestra proposes a special concert on March 8, dedicated to women. The concert will feature the Orchestra's all-female String Quartet and will feature works written by female composers.
The position of women in classical music, whether interpretatively or compositionally, constitutes an important chapter in the path and evolution of the art of music. From the obscurity and obstacles caused by social stereotypes, to the phrase "she plays like a man", the female musical identity has managed to rise to its feet and be recognized - albeit belatedly - for its great contribution to the world of music.
This concert will highlight the voice, inspiration and power of women through the language of music, reminding us that art is a field of equality, collaboration and shared vision. The program includes works by three female composers from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, which illuminate the romantic sensitivity, the interiority and the contemporary inspiration of female musical creation, capturing the timeless and essential presence of women in chamber music.
From Europe to America
Antonin Dvorak and Manos Hadjidakis are two completely different composers, originating from different countries and centuries, with different styles, lives and experiences. However, they had something unexpected in common: They spent some years in the United States of America and more specifically in New York; the former from 1892 to 1895 and the latter from 1966 to 1972. Their two works performed at the concert are transcriptions of two famous works that the two composers conceived and completed in the United States.
Lyric Quartets
Scarcely did the great Italian opera composers, Giuseppe Verdi and Giaccomo Puccini take a "break" from their operetta compositions to create works not involving human voice. Even in such cases, their infallible sensor and their plethoric operetta universe was transmitted unchanged to the scores of their musical instruments, full of lyricism, emotions and, of course, "vocal" scale melodicity.
Musical Gala of Hope and Love
“ELPIDA-Association of Friends of Children with Cancer”, in collaboration with Megaron The Athens Concert Hall and Athens State Orchestra, are organizing the unique Musical Gala, “Hope and Love”, with the participation of the internationally renowned maestro Alvise Casellati, on Friday, February 13, 2026, at 8:30 p.m., in the Christos Lambrakis Hall.
The leading conductor and Artistic Director of Palermo’s Teatro Massimo, Alvise Casellati, in his first appearance in Greece, joins forces with the Athens State Orchestra to create an inspiring, refined program, hymn to love, with famous arias from beloved operas by Verdi, Puccini, Gounod, Wagner and Rossini. The internationally renowned Greek tenor Christina Poulitsi and the distinguished Italian tenor Giorgio Berrugi will accompany this unique musical journey in classical music with their voices. An evening where the power of music turns into an act of love for the children who are fighting childhood cancer. All the proceeds of the show will support the goals of ELPIDA-Association of Friends of Children with Cancer.
200 years of Johann Strauss
Certainly, Johann Strauss (son) is one of the main responsible for the immense popularity that the waltz dance acquired in the 19th century and for this he rightfully earned the designation "king of the waltz"; yet even more impressive is the fact that his vast oeuvre remains fascinating to this day, capable of touching the heart of a wide audience around the world, always pleasant, welcomed and, of course, very harmonious with the smile of optimism for the advent of a New Year... It is with such a "smile" that the Athens State Orchestra honours the great Austrian composer and welcomes the New Year with his music, under the baton of the multi-award-winning and rising Georgian conductor, Mirian Khuhunaishvili.
Mozart and the Magic of Christmas
The "Friends of Music Kalamata Association" and the Athens State Orchestra welcome Christmas with a glamorous Gala at the Kalamata Dance Megaron: a night of supreme musical art and festive spirit. Conducted by the acclaimed maestro Nikos Haliasas, the Orchestra presents a programme combining timeless classical repertoire masterpieces with beloved Christmas melodies featuring the rising and particularly talented pianist Chrysanthos Therianos, who performs Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 24 KV 491, one of the great composer's most emotional pieces. Chrysanthos Therianos excelled in the competition section of the programme "Listening to the Young" 2025 and the Athens State Orchestra chose him among the winner musicians to participate in this concert.
The dramatic Concerto is followed by the glorious Mozart's Symphony no. 41, the "Jupiter's Symphony", a piece full of joy. The event also comprises a part connecting classical music and Christmas tradition: from the melodic Franz Shchubert's Ave Maria to the traditional Greensleeves, the well-known O Come, All Ye Faithful and two among the most joyful and recognizable Leroy Anderson's festive pieces.
Organization:
Around the World in 80ish minutes
The honourable Phileas Fogg travelled around the world in 80 (+1) days, spending a fortune like a true gentleman in order to win a bet. Alternatively, he might just as well have settled deeper into the armchair of his London club and journeyed in his imagination across seas and continents — ears open, and in the company of dazzling soloists, the city’s State Orchestra with a festive, brilliant, and highly virtuosic programme, and of course Alexandros Myrat, a familiar friend of Megaron. Before him (and us) will parade Gershwin’s syncopated jazz swing, the nostalgic waltzes of Hisaishi and Shostakovich, the African-American rhythms of Florence Price, and Chen Yi who transports us for a while to 19th-century China. Johann Strauss makes a brief appearance, as does Ravel with his jester, Skalkottas with a sparkling miniature for xylophone, the dazzling John Williams and Ennio Morricone, Villa-Lobos with his beguiling Bachiana, and Sarasate with his fiery Gypsy Airs. And for the finale, we head to South America, so that we — together with our Phileas — may welcome the New Year dancing to Latin American rhythms.
Bassoon ensemble
A concert with a bassoon ensemble is a unique musical experience that combines warm, deep and playful sounds! Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" stands at the center of the programme, transcribed by the great bassoon soloist Dag Jensen, and moves us to a world full of harmony and original sound styles. An evening that promises to surprise and captivate the audience by revealing the wide expressive range of the instrument, from velvety bass notes to dynamic, humorous, virtuosic passages!