Fatal Attractions - 200 years since the birth of César Franck
For his Athens State Orchestra debut, the prolific Polish maestro Pavel Kotla conducts Tchaikovsky's dramatic Fourth Symphony, a touchstone of the symphonic repertoire. Then, in honour of the bicentenary of the birth of César Franck, he leads a performance of the composer’s epic tone poem The accursed huntsman. Finally, the Flute Concerto by the outstanding and award-winning composer Michalis Travlos is performed by the internationally-renowned soloist, Ivona Glinka.
19:30, free introductory speech by Nikos Laaris for ticket holders
DISNEY FANTASIA - III
The finest animated film of all time, Disney's legendary Fantasia, meets the Athens State Orchestra at the Christmas Theatre in a magnificent celebration of images, colour and, of course, music. Fantasia is a unique partnering of animation and classical music, and the musicians of the Athens State Orchestra will be accompanying the screening with live performances of the much-loved symphonic pieces that stimulated Disney to such flights of cinematic fancy. The Athens State Orchestra is conducted by one of its principals, Nikos Haliassas.
Projection of the movie with live music and Greek subtitles.
Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts.
© All rights reserved.
DISNEY FANTASIA - II
The finest animated film of all time, Disney's legendary Fantasia, meets the Athens State Orchestra at the Christmas Theatre in a magnificent celebration of images, colour and, of course, music. Fantasia is a unique partnering of animation and classical music, and the musicians of the Athens State Orchestra will be accompanying the screening with live performances of the much-loved symphonic pieces that stimulated Disney to such flights of cinematic fancy. The Athens State Orchestra is conducted by one of its principals, Nikos Haliassas.
Projection of the movie with live music and Greek subtitles.
Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts.
© All rights reserved.
New Year Gala with the Athens State Orchestra
Faithful to its time-honoured festive rendezvous with its audience, the Athens State Orchestra welcomes in 2022 with beloved melodies from the opera and operetta repertoire, accompanying celebrated opera performers under the experienced baton of Byron Fidetzis. With a focus on Romanticism, from the Overture from Weber's The Marksman (an opera that premièred in 1821) to Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, which flirts heavily with jazz, this year's gala concert will be —as always— a wonderful musical prelude to the New Year!
19:30, free introductory speech for ticket holders
Arias, duetti and orchestral excerpts from operas by Weber, Leoncavallo, Massenet, Bizet, Saint-Saëns, Dvořák, Rossini, Bellini, Suppé, Gershwin, Offenbach, Samaras, Sakellaridis, Kálmán
Christmas concert
At festive times of the year, we often seek to reconnect with those values great and small which we can lose sight of amidst the daily routine. For Christmas this year, the Athens State Orchestra will stage the concert it couldn’t perform last year due to the pandemic, playing the ‘Parthenon’ of the symphonic repertoire, Beethoven's revered Ninth Symphony, singing the ever-relevant “Ode to Joy” for its audience under the baton of the internationally renowned Estonian maestro, Mihkel Kütson.
19:30, free introductory speech by Titos Gouvelis for ticket holders
Hope of a Homeland
The opera Elpis Patridos (Hope of a Homeland) looks to the outbreak of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and the events that preceded it. A Greek family from Smyrna finds itself drawn into the historic events, the people and ideas that played a leading role in the Struggle, and the first steps towards the creation of a modern Greek state. Courageous figures who shaped the Revolution, whether intellectually, spiritually or through their bold decisions and actions—Rigas, Cappodistrias, the Friendly Society, Papaflessas, Mavrokordatos, the heroic fighters—bring to life the desperate need for independence, while iconic episodes, from the proclamation of the Revolution to the first National Assembly at Epidaurus, convey the dreams they nurtured of a free homeland and a fairer life. The imprint these events left on the souls of the ordinary folk who turned the dreams into reality, their innermost feelings, the people they met and the lives of sacrifice and passion they led, help paint the picture of a unique era which gave birth to hope and breathed new life into long-standing demands for freedom and democracy.
An offering of music and a Musical Offering - Concert in Athens
Appearances by Leonidas Kavakos are now a global musical event. In Greece, pride comes alongside expectation, particularly when times are hard. Leonidas Kavakos wants to bring high-quality music both to Athens and the Greek provinces. For the sixth consecutive year, Kavakos joins forces with the KOA, with whom his connection runs long and deep, waiving his fee to help the Orchestra meet its many financial obligations. The proceeds from the concerts will be donated to charity.
An offering of music and a Musical Offering, concert in Patras
Appearances by Leonidas Kavakos are now a global musical event. In Greece, pride comes alongside expectation, particularly when times are hard. Leonidas Kavakos wants to bring high-quality music both to Athens and the Greek provinces. For the sixth consecutive year, Kavakos joins forces with the KOA, with whom his connection runs long and deep, waiving his fee to help the Orchestra meet its many financial obligations. The proceeds from the concerts will be donated to charity.
Greek Revolution IV
The struggle for National Rebirth provides as good an occasion as any for rekindling our relationship with the serious Greek music of today and yesterday. Crucial pages from our national musical heritage performed under the baton of the up-and-coming Dionisios Grammenos, with Tatiana Papageorgiou providing the solo part at the piano. The works on the programme range from epic to lyrical in mood and Romantic to modernist in idiom, but they all share the share the same need to sincerely express an authentic ‘Greekness’.
19:30, free introductory speech by Nikos Laaris for ticket holders