«¡Espana!» Cycle (V)
A cycle entitled “¡España!” could hardly fail to include Chabrier’s celebrated work of the same name. Danae Kara performs a virtuosic transcription for piano and orchestra of Albeniz’s celebrated Spanish Rhapsody, while Michael Economou conducts the Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin’s inventive and spectacular Carmen Suite in a festive conclusion to the cycle.
19:45
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Side by Side, Young Creators and Recreators cycle (III)
Four hand-picked graduates and final-year students from the Ionian University Symphony Orchestra—a composer, a performer and two conductors—join forces with the Athens State Orchestra. Sitting side by side, the musicians share music stands as well as the joy of performing Mussorgsky’s much-loved Pictures at an Exhibition under the baton of the exceptional Miltos Logiadis.
19:45
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Easter Concert 2013
It is in a spirit of devotion that the Athens State Orchestra presents Miki Theodorakis’ great Requiem conducted by Myron Michailidis. A profoundly mature and expressive work, the requiem is based on dramatic religious texts by Saint John Damascene and marshals powerful instrumental and vocal forces to provide a profound musical meditation on human mortality.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Young Creators and Recreators cycle (II)
This eagerly-awaited concert features a symphonic composition by Lina Tonia and the young pianist, Grigoris Ioannou, playing Mozart’s finest piano concerto. Nikos Athinaios conducts Sibelius’ Second Symphony, a magic sound journey through the grey landscapes of the North and a nation’s dream of independence.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Concert with Kolja Blacher
The Athens State Orchestra is honoured to welcome the internationally celebrated violinist, Kolja Blacher, back to Athens after his triumphant appearance as a soloist last season. Conducting this year from the first stand, he will bring his trademark refinement to a programme featuring popular and technically demanding works from the classical repertoire.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Tribute to Rachmaninoff on the 70th anniversary of his death
The Athens State Orchestra will be marking the seventieth anniversary of the death of Sergei Rachmaninoff with a programme consisting of two of his finest and most charming works. The celebrated pianist Nikolai Demidenko joins us for a performance of the Russian composer’s rarely played but powerful Fourth Concerto, while Vassilis Christopoulos guides the orchestra through his Second Symphony, a work awash with harmonic beauty and fiery passion.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Beethoven cycle (IV)
We continue our Beethoven cycle with another pair of symphonies which highlight different facets of the greatest composer of German classicism. The light-hearted and optimistic Eighth is followed by the monumental and explosive Fifth; one of the best-loved works in the classical repertoire, it expresses Man’s clash with Fate and the agonizing journey to the Light.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
«¡Espana!» Cycle (IV)
After a light a la Rossini introduction written by the Spanish composer, Juan Crisostomo Arriaga, the youthful virtuoso Ruben Mendoza joins forces with the Athens State Orchestra for one of the most impressive works in the violin repertoire: Lalo’s Spanish Symphony. The celebrated conductor, Loukas Karytinos, will also conduct two impressive works inspired by the legendary charmer, Don Juan, by Gluck and Strauss respectively.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
Concert for International Women’s Day
On the eve of International Women’s Day, we remember that music is... female! Leading women in the roles of composer, performer and conductor take the reins in a concert that illuminates the sensitivity of female music past and present, and highlights the power of female interpreters. The prolific Emilia Meyer, who was known as the “female Beethoven” during her lifetime, was perhaps the most outstanding of them all.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders
70 years of the Athens State Orchestra: a celebratory concert
The Athens State Orchestra gave its historic first concert on 28 February 1943 at the Olympia theatre, performing works by leading Greek composers of the time. Seventy years later, the Orchestra is still hard at work offering audiences in Athens and beyond masterpieces from the international symphonic repertoire.
Remaining true to the spirit of that inaugural concert, we have chosen to celebrate our seventieth anniversary with four Greek works: the ritualistic Phoenix Music by the great innovator, Jani Christou, Pyrrichios by the talented Christos Papageorgiou, Six Greek Dances by the great Nikos Skalkottas, and the world premiere of a new work by a leading Greek composer of today, Thodoros Antoniou.
The concert will also pay tribute to the heart and soul of the Athens State Orchestra, our musicians, three of whom will be playing solo roles: concertmaster Dimitris Semsis, principal clarinettist Spyros Mourikis and timpanist Spyros Lambouras on percussion. This festive spectacular will be conducted by the artistic director of the Athens State Orchestra, Vassilis Christopoulos.
Pre-concert talk, free for ticket holders