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
From Latin America to Paris
How can an exotic journey fail to stimulate an artist’s imagination? When Gershwin traveled to Paris and later to Cuba, and Milhaud spent some time in Brazil, their impressions formed the starting point for charming, light-hearted works which the principal conductor of the Romanian Radio Orchestras and Choirs Tiberiu Soare conducts for our enjoyment. The programme is rounded off with the sensual Tango Suite by the Argentine Astor Piazzola, performed by the distinguished saxophonist, Theodoros Kerkezos.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Solitary figures - German Romantics III
Loneliness is almost always an inevitable condition for great men, both real and imaginary. This was definitely the case with the distant Beethoven or the anonymous hero of Strauss’s vision. In each case, the music outlines and expresses their personalities, thoughts and actions with the intense timbres, vigour and epic magnificence they warrant.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Once upon a time–Slavic Soul III
Scheherazade, the best-known of Rimsky-Korsakov's works, is also one of the most passionate and alluring creations of Russian Romanticism. The Overture from the opera May Night provides still more proof of the composer's inexhaustible talent. The Athens State Orchestra is delighted to welcome the internationally fêted harpist Jana Boušková, who will perform Glière's ethereal concerto, one of the key works of the harp repertoire.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Petronius' Satyricon
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.