Metropolis
Fritz Lang’s epic futuristic film Metropolis (1927) is a masterpiece of silent German expressionism and one of the greatest cinematic creations of all time. The restoration of the film’s original version and original music, which was composed by Gottfried Huppertz, was completed just two years ago. Frank Strobel, a master conductor of film music from whom Athenian audiences have come to expect a great deal, will be synchronizing sound and music throughout an evening which no cinéphile will want to miss!
New Year Opera Gala
The Athens State Orchestra and the Athens Megaron Concert Hall invite you to see in the New Year together with a dazzling festive concert dedicated to the music of Giuseppe Verdi—as fresh now as it was when it was written—and to the legendary Maria Callas. Cellia Costea and Dimitri Platanias, singers as well-loved internationally as they are in Greece, will sing famous areas and duets from Verdi on which the great soprano has left her own, indelible mark.
Christmas Concert II
The dynamic Nikos Haliassas will be conducting this year’s Christmas concert, which will feature atmospheric and melodiously tranquil music by German composers. Mellifluous readings from classic German Christmas tales are guaranteed to awaken the spirit of Christmas within us, while Heinrik Albrecht’s highly evocative music breathes new life into Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Music for ten strings
The cellist Asterios Pouftis and the guitarist Nikos Zarkos present a panorama of four works from the charming and unexplored repertoire which brings their two instruments together. Entitled “Music for Ten Strings”, the concert explores romantic and neoromantic works by the Brazilian Radamés Gnattali, the Russian Nikita Koshkin, the Bulgarian Atanas Ourkouzounov and the Mexican Manuel Ponce.
Free guided tour in the Museum
Vienna-Mahler Cycle III
Vienna was Europe’s music capital for many years. Among the many composers who many Vienna their home, Mozart—and later Mahler—belong to those who left an indelible stamp on the city’s musical life with their work. Of course, the ever-fresh waltz is a key element of that musical identity and a form in which many composers wrote exceptional music, including Themistocles Metaxas, a Greek composer who has largely been forgotten.
Free introductory talk for ticket holders
In association with the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation
The king’s pipes
Although we tend to assign the title “king of instruments” to the piano, that honour could more fittingly be awarded to the magnificent church organ, which is being honoured in tonight’s concert! The programme begins with one of Bach’s magnificent organ work transcribed for orchestra by Dimitris Mitropoulos. Next up, the outstanding organist Thierry Escaich joins forces with the Athens State Orchestra to perform two celebrated symphonic works in which the organ plays a lead role.
Free introductory talk for ticket holders
London
While the English may not, generally speaking, be celebrated for their music, Edward Elgar is clearly an exception: his cello concerto in particular, whose solo part is played here by Yannis Tsitselikis, is one of the most emotionally charged concerti in the repertoire. The German conductor Daniel Huppert, General Music Diretor at Staatstheaters Schwerin, also leads the A.S.O. in a performance of Mendelssohn's celebrated Italian Symphony, a work which received its première in London, the city in which our own highly imaginative Kostis Kritsotakis would study some 170 years later.
Free introductory talk for ticket holders
Romeo + Juliet x 6
Four hundred years on from the death of William Shakespeare, the most famous lovers of all time, Romeo and Juliet, remain forever young! The tale of their love has inspired all manner of wonderful musical compositions down the centuries, six fragments of which will be performed in this concert entitled “Romeo + Juliet x 6” from the Athens State Orchestra and the Athens Megaron Concert Hall.
Works for violin and piano
The violin and the piano, though very different instruments in terms of their construction and the way in which they are played, have always been the most compatible of musical companions. Indeed, their every encounter can be relied upon to set the musical sparks flying! This evening’s programme includes well-known works, but also delves into less frequented corners of the vast piano and violin repertoire, covering a chronologically broad range, too, from 18th-century classicism to the 20th century.
Free guided tour in the Museum.
Centenary of the foundation of the Union of Greek Ship owners
In honour of the traditionally flourishing Greek maritime sector, the Athens State Orchestra is joining in the celebrations to mark the centenary of the Union of Greek Shipowners, performing well-known works by Greek composers. While Skalkottas and Constantinides capture the spirit of the mariners who have been venturing out to sea for millennia, the ubiquitous theme from Mikis Theodorakis’ Zorba recalls the Greek lust for life.