Musical promenades at the Museums VII 2019-2020
Three distinguished woodwind principals from the Athens State Orchestra join forces beyond the confines of symphonic music, placing their delicate, lyrical, penetrating sound at the service of a programme distinguished by its lightness of mood, classical (and neoclassical) clarity, and musicality.
Breakthroughs and Pioneers IV – Beethoven: 250 years
Iason Keramidis, who holds the prominent position of associate concertmaster of the Munich Philharmonic, performs one of the most adventurous, moving and exuberant quartet's in the violin repertoire: Shostakovich’s First. Giancarlo Andretta, a maestro with a long and exceptional career spanning both the opera and symphonic repertoires, contributes to the celebrations of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth by conducting his ever-fresh Eroica Symphony.
Beethoven: 250 years 28-02-2020
We are delighted to be welcoming back the rising violinist Linus Roth after few years as the soloist in Beethoven’s monumental Concerto. Our faithful audience is well aware of Vassilis Christopoulos' virtues, as the conductor who has played such a key role in the Orchestra's development in recent years. His consistently detailed and thorough approach promises an unforgettable “Pastoral".
Musical promenades at the Museums VI - Musical confessions
The musical idioms of Mendelssohn and Shostakovich could not be more different. And yet both of the superb quartets tackled by the Aenaon quartet in this concert are redolent with emotions which draw on harrowing experiences from the composers’ lives: for Mendelssohn, the untimely death of his beloved sister; for Shostakovich, the deep feelings he nurtured for his student Galina Ustvolskaya.
Breakthroughs and Pioneers III
A great work of art does not conquer an audience, it passes them by... Seen through this prism, Wagner's musical drama Tristan and Isolde is not only one of the most superlative achievements of Romanticism, it is also a gateway through to a sonically, harmonically and expressively new world—a true turning point in Music. Conducted by Stefanos Tsialis, distinguished opera singers with considerable experience in the Wagnerian oeuvre transport us into a world of fierce passions, unparalleled music and poetic emotion.
Musical promenades at the Museums - V - Contrasts of three major composers of the 20th century
The combination of violin, clarinet and piano came into being in the 20th century. And while the original works written for this unique timbral combination may be few in number, some of them are of outstanding quality. Our three artists will perform the three top works in this repertoire, which, though very different in style, are all equally charming.
Images of the Orient
It's important to remember that European serious music isn't a purely Western affair. This will be confirmed for the audience of this concert, who will enjoy Matthias Foremny conducting Khachaturian's Violin Concerto, in which elements of Armenian traditional music coexist harmonically with a classical idiom, as well as the gloriously orchestrated and unstoppably melodic Scheherazade, in all its unbridled sensuality.
Christoph Eschenbach conducts the Athens State Orchestra
An undisputed titan at the keyboard and on the podium conducts a titan of the symphonic repertoire, Mahler's First Symphony, an emotionally fraught and rivetingly dramatic work. It is with justified pride that the Athens State Orchestra welcomes the celebrated Christoph Eschenbach, one of the leading maestros of our time to conduct the always fascinating pianist Vassilis Varvaresos in a cornerstone of the piano repertoire, Beethoven’s Fifth Concerto.
According to Maestro’s wish, that both the Orchestra and the soloist embraced, all participants will contribute to the concert pro bono in order to support the Association Together for Children and the unaccompanied children refugees.
Musical promenades at the Museums IV - Piano Trio
Close collaborators for several years now in the sphere of chamber music, Papanikolaou, Liakakis and Gouvelis focus on seminal 20th-century works for violin, cello and piano. After Nikos Skalkottas’ inventive variations, they will play Shostakovich’s renowned Second Piano Trio, which he wrote in memory of a beloved friend and important Soviet scholar, followed by the explosive Trio by the prolific (but largely unexplored) French composer, Olivier Greif.
Tribute to Jani Christou
Half a century on from the unexpected and untimely death of Jani Christou, an internationally celebrated and influential exponent of the post-war musical avant-garde, the Athens State Orchestra and the Megaron Athens Concert Hall honour his memory with a concert that includes important and beloved symphonic works of our great composer. The celebrated maestro Miltos Logiadis will conduct the outstanding mezzo-soprano, Irini Tsirakidis.