Journey to the centre of Music - the Symphony
A series of interactive concerts which seeks to shed light on everything that connects contemporary audiences with symphonic music, making its timeless repertoire more approachable to everyone, whether they are newcomers to the form or music lovers who are already fans. Video, Talks and Music are combined to provide a dramatized portrait of a different symphonic genre each time. Historical facts both well-known and unfamiliar, personal stories, hidden symbolisms and motifs, and the structural magic of the works are presented in an entertaining way.
New Year Musicals Gala
The New Year Gala, co-produced by the Athens Concert Hall and the Athens State Orchestra, has for years now been an integral part of the New Year celebrations—something like a coveted musical "good luck charm" for the New Year! This year, the Gala’s theme is musicals— that complex music theatre genre which combines theatre, dance and music and is loved like no other—especially the works from its Golden Age between the 1940s and 1960s. Under the baton of maestro Michalis Economou, selected singers with a proven track record in this unique and popular style sing melodies that left their mark on New York's Broadway and London's West End, promising to add glamour and joy to this New Year's Eve.
Postponed: G.A. Papaioannou, a kaleidoscopic creation
G. A. Papaioannou's pluralistic creation reflects the creative restlessness of 20th century's Greek artistic world, like the quest of a Greek aspect and the need of a consistency with present time. The concert offers a rare kaleidoscopic journey in his music for ensembles of violin, cello and piano.
Intimate Sounds
Music can sometimes be a cry and sometimes a whisper. A ringing, lofty statement but also a hushed, intimate confession. The latter –music’s spiritual, inner dimension– is highlighted in the romantic and contemporary works performed here by the Athens Classical Players, a string ensemble made up of string musicians from the Athens State Orchestra.
Tradition in Music
Used by composers to express the musical traditions of their homelands, classical music has served as a bridge between cultures down the centuries. From different cultures themselves, the four musicians performing in tonight’s concert welcome important composers who, inspired by particular musical idioms, take us on a journey on which roots, myths, customs and traditions come together to form a mental path to mutual understanding and respect.
In Memoriam
Luigi Boccherini’s solemn Stabat Mater, which conveys in music the Virgin Mary's grief as Christ is crucified, and the heart-breaking Adagio by the American composer Samuel Barber may have been composed nearly two centuries apart, but both are ideal musical expressions of the contemplative spirit of Holy Week.
First Vienna School
This concert completes the Athens String Quartet's ambitious multi-season project of performing all sixteen of Beethoven's string quartets. Along with his Eighth Quartet, the dynamic ensemble interprets two of Mozart and Schubert's most beloved quartets.
String quartet τετArt-on
The String quartet τετArt-on interprets works from different eras in the Acropolis Museum.
Sergei Rachmaninoff's 1st string quartet is include in the programme as a tribute to the 150th anniversary of the birth of the great Composer.
Italian film music
An integral part of the beauty and international appeal of Italian cinema is its sensual music packed with melodies and harmonies that have the power to move you, no matter how many times you hear them. Five fine wind players from the Athens State Orchestra remind us of some characteristic passages from Italian film music for our musical delight.
Conte Fantastique
Charming and fantastic tales about passion, death, love and dance inspired great composers to write wonderful pages of symphonic and operatic music, which are performed here in fascinating transcriptions for string quartet and harp, performed by the Athens String Quartet and the harpist Gogo Xagara.