Images of the European North–German Romantics I
A number of this season’s concerts are dedicated to works by German Romantics and post-Romantics. The first concert in the cycle is presided over by Robert Schumann's larger-than-life Third Symphony and emotionally-laden Cello Concerto, which is performed by the up-and-coming soloist, Gabriel Schwabe. Alongside these masterpieces, under the baton of Stefanos Tsialis, the Athens State Orchestra sheds light on the fascinating work of a composer little-known in Greece: Hans Pfitzner.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Petronius' Satyricon II
Petronius, a member of Nero's court, portrays the debauchery of the Roman empire of his era with a provocative and satirical realism. His Satyricon provided the inspiration for Fellini's film of the same name. The well-known composer, Dimitris Papadimitriou, has selected key sections from the work and reworked them musically to create an ambitious work which verges on opera.
Russian fire – Slavic Soul VII
Sergei Rachmaninov's music needs no introduction; a well-spring of emotions, authentic passion, exhilarating harmonic dramaturgy, glorious orchestration and moving melodies, the Russian composer’s works never fail to speak to the listener’s soul with an enviable immediacy. The fiery First Piano Concerto is played by the talented Kornilios Michailidis, while the effulgent Second Symphony is conducted by Juraj Valcuha, the Slovenian maestro who needs no introduction for Greek audiences.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
One music, many faces
Acknowledged internationally as one of the most talented conductors of the new generation, the German Eckehard Stier presents his personal take on Berlioz's emblematic Symphonie Fantastique, a landmark in 19th-century music. The concert's three remaining works—two of which feature the celebrated clarinettist, Dimitri Ashkenazy—provide us with the perfect opportunity to familiarize ourselves with different aspects of the music produced in France during the turbulent 20th century.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Drama – German Romantics V
The final concert in this season's “German” cycle seeks to provide the audience with a panorama of the Romantic movement which was born and flourished in the German lands, from its first stirrings in Beethoven's grandiose Eroica symphony to its final flourishes in Schumann's Overture "Manfred". A work from the heyday of Romanticism, Bruch's beautiful Violin Concerto, is performed by the distinguished Hungarian violinist, Barnabás Kelemen.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Nostalgia for the lost belle époque
Franck's ethereal tone poem is redolent of the mythic French belle époque which was brought to an abrupt end by the onset of the Great War. Later artists have often expressed their nostalgia for the finesse and grace of that time and sought to channel both in new compositions which make use of the era's aesthetic formulae. Two outstanding Greek musicians, the conductor Loukas Karytinos and the pianist Alexandra Papastefanou, will be performing a selection of wonderful compositions that seek to capture the spirit of the belle époque.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Singing the end
The end of a Spanish princess's life, Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the Spring of a great composer: three composers, three works, three very different takes on the sense of an ending which conceals within it the hope of a new beginning. The artistic director of the Greek National Opera, Myron Michailidis, and the celebrated French cellist Emmanuelle Bertrand join forces in a musically demanding and profoundly emotive programme.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Titan – German Romantics IV
Christoph Poppen returns to the Athens State Orchestra podium in the wake of last season’s universally acclaimed appearance. On this occasion, he will be conducting Mahler's First Symphony, a truly titanic work in terms both of the orchestral forces it requires and—more crucially—its emotional and intellectual power. The exceptional German mezzo-soprano, Henriette Godde, will also be performing Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, musical settings for poems by Mathilde Wesendonck, with whom the great composer shared an unspoken love.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
A tribute to Theodore Antoniou
Theodore Antoniou, composer, conductor, academic and professor emeritus of Boston University, celebrates his eightieth birthday this year. With this concert, the Athens Megaron Concert Hall and the Athens State Orchestra, under the baton of the composer’s distinguished student, Michalis Economou, pay Theodore Antoniou the respect due to one of the most important figures in the world of music both within Greece and beyond, a great teacher who has made an inestimable contribution to his art.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders