2022 05 27 Everything in the superlative - Stravinsky Year
The Firebird was the first of many great successes for Igor Stravinsky, and the ballet made him famous in Parisian musical circles. Over a century after its composition, his music has lost none of its irresistible force. And the same holds true both for Mozart's riveting Symphony and Liszt's explosive Second Piano Concerto, which will be performed by the virtuosic Nikos Kyriosoglou under the baton of the distinguished German conductor Marcus Bosch.
2022 02 11 With Passion
Famous scores fizzing with passion and unbridled emotion, but underlain by an unwavering attention to detail, are recreated under the direction of the celebrated maestro Georgios Balatsinos, with ever-brilliant contributions from the dazzlingly virtuosic Vassilis Varvaressos on piano. The programme also includes the première performance of a work of especial significance for Greek music: the Symphonic Fantasy from Kalomiris’ opera The Master Builder, based on the tragedy of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis.
2022 05 06 «The Apocalyptic»
The celebrated maestro Vassilis Christopoulos returns to the Athens State Orchestra podium to take on Bruckner's Eighth Symphony, a work that is often described as 'apocalyptic'. The humble Austrian composer belatedly won the acclaim and recognition he so coveted with this, his Eighth Symphony, which says a good deal about the majesty of the work. The symphony really can be a revelatory and stirring experience for listeners, and the audience can look forward to experiencing its power for themselves at this concert!
2022 04 29 Nature in music
Nature has always held an irresistible fascination for composers. And there is no shortage of musical works inspired directly by Nature’s mystery, beauty and rejuvenating power. Essentially expressing the feelings engendered by contact with the natural world, Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony occupies pride of place among them. The distinguished conductor Miltos Logiadis leads the musicians of the Athens State Orchestra in a new reading of this awe-inspiring symphony, while the orchestra's tireless Theodor Milkov performs the première of a new work by the internationally celebrated composer Christos Hatzis inspired by the Spring Equinox.
2022 04 20 Easter Concert
In the spirit of Holy Week and the Passion, this year's Easter concert touches on the concept of the tragic in Music. Under the baton of the accomplished maestro Myron Michailidis, outstanding singers infuse their performances of celebrated works by Brahms, Wagner and Mozart with knowledge and inspiration, revealing the anguished gestures, impassioned melodies, dark progressions and explosive confrontations that run through them. Needless to say, the concert is spearheaded by Mozart's Requiem, the swan song of a life which, though short, bequeathed mankind a priceless legacy.
2022 04 11 The Athens State Orchestra in Piraeus - 100 years since the birth of Astor Piazzolla
What connects this programme, besides the high quality and the charming beauty of its works, is the spirit of youth, literally and metaphorically: Beethoven and Piazzolla, despite their huge differences in matters of style, brought with an uncompromising young urge the revolution to music of their time and space. Gustav Mahler and Maurice Ravel bend and are inspired by the juvenile world of the children, by the pure sight who contemplates the world through the lens of tenderness and innocence.
2022 04 01 A flame of youth and of maturity
Talent and inspiration can make their presence felt with equal power in youth and in maturity. Although written when the composer was just 18 years old, Shostakovich’s First Symphony may well be the most mature 'first symphony’ ever written by a young composer. At the other end of the spectrum, Brahms wrote his colossal Second Concerto for piano and orchestra aged 48, at the peak of his maturity, proving that the passing of the decades had removed none of the freshness and vigour from his works. The solo part is performed by the legendary Elisabeth Leonskaja, whose name has long been associated with riveting performances at the keyboard.
2022 05 13 Journey to the centre of Music - the Concerto
A parade of excerpts from the solo parts of concertos by Mozart, Bach, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and others, played by the musicians of the Athens State Orchestra. Together, they reveal the fascinating evolution of the concerto concept down the centuries along, of course, with the multiple guises of the classic heroic motif: “The One Against the Many - From the State to Music."
2022 03 11 Statement and counter-statement: Stravinsky Year
We don't often get to enjoy the French horn in a solo role, but this concert will give our audience the opportunity to enjoy the ethereal beauty of Richard Strauss's Concerto performed by one of the world's top horn players, Germany's Stefan Dohr, principal horn of the great Berlin Philharmonic. His compatriot Frank Beermann, a maestro with whom Athens music-lovers are already familiar, will lead the musicians of the Athens State Orchestra in a performance of Stravinsky's neoclassical masterpiece Dumbarton Oaks followed by Schumann’s iconic Rhenish Symphony.