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.
2022 03 03 Opera Gala
THE EVENT IS POSTPONED
Due to recent events, the artist is not confident travel from Moscow to Athens will be undisrupted and has therefore requested a postponement of the Gala and apologizes to the audience.
For many years now, the Azeri soprano and the Greek baritone are two of the brightest stars in the world’s greatest lyrical theatres, interpreting –among other roles– the great roles in the operas of Verdi and Puccini and captivating audiences with the expressive power of their voice. The presence of the two sought-after lyrical singers at Megaron is eagerly anticipated as a major event of the current artistic season.
Mantzaros + 1 - 150 years since the death of Nikolaos Mantzaros
While Greeks everywhere may be familiar with Nikolaos Mantzaros as a name, since he composed our national anthem, the sad truth is that most of us know next to nothing about the remainder of his musical output. To mark the 150th anniversary of his death, the Athens State Orchestra is providing its audience with an opportunity to familiarize itself with works by the great Corfiote composer performed by musicians with an in-depth knowledge of his music. As an interesting counterpoint, the concert also includes a charming contemporary symphonic work by the imaginative American composer, John Adams.
19:30, free introductory speech by Kostas Kardamis for ticket holders
Major projects in a minor key
After what can only be described as a triumphal appearance in early 2020, the great Christoph Eschenbach returns to the podium of the Athens State Orchestra to conduct a chamber music jewel from the pen of Johannes Brahms as orchestrated—with knowledge, imagination and love—by his illustrious successor, Arnold Schoenberg. Eschenbach has always supported young musicians and will prove it once again by joining forces with the outstanding young pianist Nefeli Mousoura in Mozart's dramatic Concerto in D minor.
19:30, free introductory speech by Haralambos Gogios for ticket holders
All participants act pro bono and the concert's proceeds will be granted to support an initiative of the Union "Together for Children" to create a guest house in the centre of Athens for children and their mothers, refugees from Ukraine. For further information, visit www.mazigiatopaidi.gr
