2023 12 22 The Athens State Orchestra in motion Ι – Mozart the Magic Flute
The timeless appeal of Mozart's Magic Flute has a lot to do, of course, with the universally acknowledged perfection and expressiveness of his music, but it's also because Emanuel Schikaneder's libretto expresses the ever-topical humanist ideals of the European Enlightenment and of Freemasonry in an elegant and vividly symbolic way. Under the baton of the dynamic Katia Molfesi, a cast of fine Greek lyric actors recreate Mozart's operatic swansong in a semi-staged version, adding a beautifully spiritual, fairy tale tone to this year's Christmas celebrations.
2023 12 15 Beethoven... alone
Beethoven's great and immortal works, though clearly the products of their era, nonetheless inhabit a space beyond space and time as archetypal expressions of concepts and emotions that have always existed and will exist in perpetuity. So a concert with works by "Beethoven... alone" can trigger unexpected meanings, new reflections and entirely fresh musical experiences. Let's confirm the truth of that one more time by listening to three beloved symphonic masterpieces by the great German classical composer, conducted by an experienced and mature maestro and performed by a truly virtuosic soloist in his absolute prime.
2023 12 08 10 movies - 10 decades - 10 Oscars
As everyone knows, the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been awarding its famous gold statuettes to outstanding figures in Film at the annual Oscars ceremony since 1929. Needless to say, these include the composers whose music caused a stir in darkened auditoria down the decades as the perfect accompaniment to great films. The celebrated film critic Yannis Zoumboulakis has selected ten famous film scores, one for each decade in the Oscars' history, which we can hear with fresh ears and enjoy anew in inspired performances by the world's leading film music conductor, Frank Strobel.
The Adventures of Robin Hood, 1938
MIKLÓS RÓZSA (1907-1995):
Spellbound, 1945
DIMITRI TIOMKIN (1894-1979) and NED WASHINGTON:
High Noon, 1952
MAURICE JARRE (1924 - 2009):
Doctor Zhivago, 1965
JOHN WILLIAMS (b. 1932):
Jaws, 1975
VANGELIS (1943-2022):
Chariots of fire, 1981
NICOLA PIOVANI (b. 1946):
La vita è bella, 1998
DARIO MARIANELLI (b. 1963):
Atonement, 2007
ALEXANDRE DESPLAT (b. 1961):
Grand Budapest Hotel, 2014
HANS ZIMMER (b. 1957):
Dune: Part One, 2022
2023 12 01 Romanticism... to the max
Cornelius Meister, the German musical director of the Stuttgart State Opera and Orchestra, makes his debut on the Athens State Orchestra podium in a concert that promises to stir the most heartfelt and passionate emotions in our city's music lovers! After all, is there any other way to react to a performance of Bruckner's popular Fourth Symphony, a work which paints the joys and beauty of Life in truly vivid colours? As for Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto, what need is there for words about a piece whose melodies and drama never fail to strike the most sensitive chords in the human soul? We can expect a breath-taking interpretation from Alexia Mouza, a musician of infinite talent and rare pianistic gifts!
2023 11 24 Hungarian Emotions 100 years since the birth of Ligeti
In the 19th century, Hungarian folk music was identified in most people's minds with gypsy music, which is why Brahms' Hungarian dances have the allegro dance feel of Romany music. Later, however, the studies of Bartók and Kodály revealed the true identity of the Hungarian musical tradition, which inspired the two great composers to create masterpieces. Some of these are to be conducted tonight by the distinguished maestro Stefan Asbury, along with the otherworldly Lontano by a later Hungarian-born composer, György Ligeti. The soloist is the versatile violinist Roman Simovic, who combines service to symphonic music (as a leader of the London Symphony Orchestra) with an active and impressive solo career.
2023 11 19 70 years of the Friends of Music Society
The Friends of Music Society, thanks to its indefatigable efforts has offer a lot for the good of Music in our country, among others to the creation of the Athens Concert Hall, is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its foundations. In this concert the Finnish Maestro Hanu Lidu inspires the interpretation of Beethoven's grandiose Eroica. Joining his talent with him, the rapidly rising violinist Daniel Lozakovich interprets Sibelius' masterly violin concerto.
2023 11 10 Music - Poetry I
The Athens State Orchestra is delighted to honour the tireless conductor and composer Alkis Baltas with this concert in which he conducts the première performances of two of his symphonic works, one of is also an Athens State Orchestra commision. We will also be listening to the exquisite and in many ways ground-breaking incidental music which Dmitri Shostakovich wrote for Nikolay Akimov's 1932 production of Hamlet. The programme ends with the clarinet concerto by the Argentine composer, pianist and arranger Daniel Freiberg, in which the improvisational mood of jazz is combined with the sensuality of Latin music and the plenitude of the symphonic sound. The soloist is the famous Greek clarinettist, and principal clarinettist of the Athens State Orchestra, Spyros Mourikis.
2023 11 03 Two...
Our second concert of symphonic music features two works: Rachmaninoff's Second Concerto and Elgar's Second Symphony - so it's clear to say the number two has left its imprint on this concert programme, both in and between the lines! The (extremely) youthful conductor Finnegan Downie Dear became the centre of attention when he won the 2020 International Mahler Competition organised by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has been making one successful debut after another around the world. He is joined by the internationally renowned pianist Kirill Gerstein, who is sought after for the unique combination of brilliant virtuosity and heartfelt emotion he brings to performances across a truly wide-ranging repertoire.
2023 10 20 Season Opening Concert
For the opening of its 2023-2024 artistic season, the Athens State Orchestra welcomes an old friend to the podium: the outstanding Matthias Foremny, the German conductor who has been a leading light on the classical music scene for many years and regularly conducts top European orchestras. Two symphonic suites, one from Kurt Weill's famous Mahagonny, the other from Maurice Ravel's exciting impressionist ballet Daphnis and Chloe, reveal the unmatched musical riches of the first half of the 20th century. The two demanding piano concertos to be performed by Andrei Gavrilov, one of the most eminent representatives of the Russian piano school, belong to precisely the same period.
2023 07 18 Andrea Bocelli with the Athens State Orchestra
The world's favourite tenor, the legendary artist who breathed new life into opera, Andrea Bocelli is to perform at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, giving Greek audiences a first rare opportunity to enjoy and be enchanted by his voice, his courage, and his on-stage persona. The singer with the evocative voice who has broken every record with his sold-out concerts around the world, the most famous tenor of his generation and one of the most important artists of all time, is coming to Athens for his biggest ever concert in Greece.