MEGARON  THE  ATHENS  CONCERT  HALL

 

PERFORMANCE DIARY

 

 

 

 

APRIL   MAY   JUNE

 

 2 0 0 0

 

 

 

 

 

 

BOOKING ON THE DAY OF THE PERFORMANCES

 

AT THE LOWEST TICKET PRICES

 

FOR STUDENTS AND YOUNG PEOPLE

 

On the day of every performance, all remaining seats are available

at reduced prices to students and young people aged 8-18 years.

In the case of youngsters under 15, discount price is also offered to one escort.

 

ON THE DAY OF THE PERFORMANCE CALL 7282 333 (AFTER 10 AM)

TO CHECK FOR TICKETS AVAILABILITY. TICKETS SALES BEGIN AT 6 PM

 

 

MEGARON THE ATHENS CONCERT HALL

 

Vass. Sophia & Kokkali

Athens 115 21

 

Information on 7282 333

 

The Annual Programme is subject to changes.

A detailed programme of all performances is made availbale every three months

published by the Athens Concert Organization

 

_________________________________________

 

 

TELEPHONE   BOOKING

 

You can book tickets by telephone using your credit card.

Telephone booking opens one day after the date that booking opens to the public

at the Megaron Box Offices.

 

 

Call  7282 333

 

________________________________________

 

GREAT ORCHESTRAS 

GREAT CONDUCTORS SERIES

 

Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre (4 & 5 April)

Established in the 18th century, one of the oldest music formation in Russia, with a long and distinguished history marked by first performances of major musical works: Glinka's Ruslan and Ludmila, Borodin's Prince Igor, Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.

Tchaikovsky himself conducted the Marinsky Orchestra on many occasions.

Following the acclaimed appearances of the Mariinsky dancers, the April concerts bring the Athens Concert Hall's tribute to the Kirov Theatre a close.

 

Valery Gergiev (4 & 5 April)

The dynamic and talented Gergiev has stamped his own mark on an organisation that is inseparably linked with the history of Russian music. Born in Moscow, he began his music studies at the Leningrad Conservatory. While still at school he won the competition for orchestra conductors of the Soviet Union. He won his first international award in the Herbert von Karajan competition in 1977. Gergiev was appointed artistic director of the Mariinky in 1988 at the age of 35. He broadened the orchestra's repertory better than any other orchestra in the world. Nominated Conductor of the Year in 1993 and Musician of the Year (by the 'Independent') in 1994, he received the Schostakovich Award in 1997.

 

Gürzenich Philharmonic Orchestra of Cologne (13 & 14 April)

The orchestra's successful alliance with James Conlon, which began nine years ago, has brought it to the forefront of the international music scene, with concerts in Scandinavia, Spain, Japan, Austria and Switzerland. It began working with EMI Classics in 1922. The Gürzenich's recordings of Mahler's fourth and fifth symphonies and Zemlinsky's entire output have received awards and outstanding reviews in the international press.

 

James Conlon (13 & 14 April)

The American conductor, a graduate of the Julliard School, made his professional début at the Spoleto Festival in 1971, conducting Boris Godunov. Since the start of his career (with the New York Philharmonic, at the invitation of Pierre Boulez), he has worked with all the major orchestras in the United States and Canada, and has enjoyed fruitful associations in Europe, with the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Paris Orchestra, the National Orchestra of France, the Dresden Staatskapelle amd the Orchestra of the Kirov Opera. Principal conductor at the Paris Opera since 1996, Conlon has conducted Don Carlo, Tristan and Isolde, Lohengrin, Pelleas and Melisande, The Marriage of Figaro, Rigoletto, La traviata and Carmen.

 

CROSSROADS CYCLE

 

"Echoes from the Byzantine East" (17 April)

 

Readings selected and introduced by professor Athanassios Angelou.

Readers: Lydia Koniordou and Dimitris Katalifos.

Music selecetd by Kyriakos Kalaidzidis.

Slides: Nikitas Aliferis.

An evening of readings from Byzantine and Western literature that brings us closer to the world of the Hellenic East, and at the same time introduces us to the vibrancy, perceptiveness and inwardness of Byzantine literature, both scholarly and popular. This is a place where high rhetoric and reality coexist, a world under constant siege, with heroic, legendary, metaphysical defenders. The readinds are excerpts from epics, psychographic works, addresses, lamentations for the two conquests od Constantinople (in 1204 and 1453), and characteristic extracts from Byzantine letters. The readings, in the original or in translations, are accompanied by live contemporary music and improvisation on traditional instruments, and by slides of the places they mention.

In association with the Byzantine Festival in London.

 

'In Cords' music ensemble with guest performers from Turkey and Persia (18 April)

 

Artistic director: Kiriakos  Kalaidzidis. The programme has been structured in a way as to help the audience explore the multi-ethnic character of the music, its internal interconnections and the profound organic dialectal relationship between the classical music of the East and Byzantine music. Artistic direction, research and documentation: Kiriakos Kalaidzidis.

Advisers: Thomas Apostolopoulos.

In association with the Byzantine Festival in London.

 

'Eastern Antiphons' (22 April)

Byzantine and Arab Greek music.

 

English Chamber Choir

'The Byzantine sound in contemporary music' (23 April)

 

A melange of contemporary, Byzantine and mediaeval music, with works by composers who drew their inspiration from the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic liturgy.

The English Chamber Choir took part in the Byzantine Festival in London 1998, singing music from the Orthodox tradition in the Greek Orthodox cathedral, the church of Hagia Sophia. This year Guy Protheroe has been conducting fully staged performances of Ioannis Xenakis's Oresteia, in association with the English Bach Festival, in the Studio Theatre, Covent Garden.

In association with the Byzantine Festival in London

 

BRIDGES SERIES

 

Moby Dick (3 & 4 April)

 

The American Drama Group Europe

An adaptation by Paul Stebbing and Phil Smith of Herman Melville's classic novel.

Musical score by Paul Flush and John Kenny.

 

The production of Moby Dick distills the very essence of the ten-year partnership between the members of the company. When Paul Stebbings and Phil Smith first worked together in 1983, sharing the view that music theatre is more than small-scale opera, they started to think about how the two forms could co-exist. In every production of theirs, the musicians and the actors have performed together on the stage. In this their most recent venture (which has been preceded by Cabaret Faust, inspired by Klaus Mann's Mephisto, Tempest Now, Wizard of Jazz and Oliver Twist), the permanent members of the company - choreographers, musicians and actors - have joined forces with new artists for a work that is considered especially difficult to stage.

 

Guitar Festival

 

Art Director: Kostas Kotsiolis (5-11 May)

 

5 May

Egberto Gismonti: piano and guitar

Athens State Orchestra

Conductor: Leo Brouwer

 

6 May

Leo Brouwer: masterclass in interpretation and analysis

 

6 May

Sergiu Nastasa: violin

Kostas Kotsiolis: guitar

La Camerata Orchestra of the Friends of Music

Conductor: Alexandros Myrat

 

7 May

Recital by Liza Zoe and Evangelos Asimakopoulos

 

9 May

Recital by Sergio and Odair Assad

 

11 May

Flamenco by the Merengue de Cordova Trio

 

Bang on a Can All Stars (17 May)

 

'The Bang on a Can All Stars present new music the way it should be presented - with passion, precision, dynamism, stylistic authority and a welcoming informality.'

(New York Newsday, April 1995)

The instrumentation of the Bang on a Can All Stars is unique: clarinets and saxophones, electric guitars, cello, bass, keyboards, percussion make up a combination that doesn't seem to fit into any recognisable musical category. Part classical ensemble, part rock and jazz band, the group maintains the flexibility it needs to be true to its founders' vision, for they believe in the ability of new creators to communicate with the general public.

 

EUROPEAN CONCERT HALL ORGANIZATION

RISING STARS

 

Recitals by young musicians who are selected annually by the European Concert Hall Organisation to appear in Concert Halls that are members of ECHO.

 

Spyros Mourikis: clarinet recital (22 April)

 

Born in 1974, Mourikis earned his diploma from the Athens Conservatory with the highest possible marks. He continued his studies in Paris at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, graduating with first prize in clarinet and chamber music. He has played with a number of orchestras, including the Athens State Orchestra, the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Thessaloniki State Orchestra, la Camerata and the Orchestra of the Paris Conservatoire. He has also given many recitals in Greece, France, Germany, England, Canada and Denmark. Several Greek composers have written clarinet works for him. In 1977, Mourikis won first prize, the orchestra prize and the audience prize in the Carl Nielsen Competition.

 

Christian Dierstein: percussion recital (15 May)

 

Dierstein completed his studies in Freiburg under Bernhard Wulff and in Paris under Gaston Sylvestre, and has won major awards and scholarships in Germany. He makes frequent appearances at major contemporary music festivals, such as the Donaueschlinger Musiktage, the Vienna Festwochen, the Munich Biennale, the Strasbourg Musika, the Paris Festival d'Automne and the Berlin Festwochen. Apart from his career as a soloist, Dierstein has also worked with research teams in Freiburg since 1989, and he composes music for radio amd Theatre.

 

LA CAMERATA ORCHESTRA

OF THE FRIENDS OF MUSIC

 

Saturday 1 April (at 8.30 p. m.) FM

- Sergei Prokofiev: Visions fugitives

- Joseph Haydn: Piano Concerto in d major, op. 21, H XVII: 11

- Dmitry Shostakovich: Concertino for two pianos (transcription for piano and orchestra - S. Korkolis)

- Stefanos Korkolis: Scherzo for piano and orchestra

Sokrates Anthis trumpet

Stefanos Korkolis piano

La Camerata Orchestra of the Friends of Music

Alexandros Myrat conductor

 

 

 

THE ATHENS STATE ORCHESTRA

 

SUN 2 APRIL (at 11.30 am) FM

SUNDAY MORNINGS

- W. A. Mozart: Ouverture and arias

- J. Sibelius: The swan of Tuonela

- P. I. Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake suite, op. 20

Julia Troussa soprano

Stamatis Beris tenor

The Athens State Orchestra

Dimitris Agrafiotis conductor

 

MON 3 TUE APRIL  (at 8.30 pm) DM

MOBY DICK

 

BRIDGES SERIES

 

Adapted by Paul Stebbings and Phil Smith from the classical novel by Herman Melville

The American Drama Group Europe

Paul Stebbings director

 

TUE 4 WED APRIL (at 8.30 pm) FM

KIROV ORCHESTRA

OF THE MARIINSKY THEATRE

GREAT ORCHESTRAS -

GREAT CONDUCTORS SERIES

- Claude Debussy: La Mer (4/4)

- Alexander Scriabin: Poème de l'extase (4/4)

- Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony no 5, op. 100 (4/4)

- Gustav Mahler: Symphony no 6 (5/4)

 

Kirov Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre

Valery Gergiev conductor             

         

SAT  8 APRIL (at 8.30 pm) DM

DANAE KARA, piano recital

Belcanto's influences on the piano art

Works by John Field, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, Vincenzo Bellini.

Danae Kara piano

 

SUN 9 APRIL (at 8.30 pm) FM

LA CAMERATA ORCHESTRA

OF THE FRIENDS OF MUSIC

- Vangelis Boudounis: Let it Beatles, for two guitars and strings

- Felix Mendelssohn: Octet, op. 20

(transcription for string orchestra - A. Myrat).

Maro Razi guitar

Vangelis Boudounis guitar

La Camerata Orchestra of the Friends of Music

Alexandros Myrat conductor

 

MON 10  APRIL (at 8.30 pm) DM

HARA IAKOVIDOU, piano recital

works by Joseph Haydn, Ludwig vam Beethoven,Franz Schubert

 

 

THU 13 APRIL (at 8.30 pm)FM

GÜRZENICH PHILHARMONIC

ORCHESTRA OF COLOGNE

GREAT ORCHESTRAS -

GREAT CONDUCTORS SERIES

- Richard Wagner: Götterdännerung (13/4)

- Johannes Brahms: Violin concerto in d major, op. 77 (14/4)

- Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, op. 28

                       Der Rosenkavalier, suite (14/4)

Carolyn Yahr soprano (13/4)

Hanna Schwarz mezzo soprano (13/4)

Wolfgang Schmidt tenor (13/4)

Leonidas Kavakos (14/4)

Gürzenich Philharmonic Orchestra of Cologne

James Conlon conductor

 

MON 17 APRIL (at 8.30 pm DM

ECHOES FROM THE BYZANTINE EAST

CROSSROAD CYCLE

Reading selected and introduced by Professor Athanassios Angelou

Readers: Lydia Koniordou and Dimitris Katalifos

Music selected ny Kyriakos Kalaidzidis

In association with the Byzantine Festival in London

 

TUE 18 APRIL  (at 8.30 pm) FM

IN CORDS, music ensemble

CROSSROADS CYCLE

Melihat Gülses song

Suleyman Erguner ney

Ziya Tabassian zarb

Kiya Tabassioan setar

"In Cords" music ensemble

In association with the Byzantine Festival in London

 

FRI 21 APRIL (at 8.30 p.) Conference room 1

LECTURE

CROSSROADS CYCLE

An introduction to the concert of 22nd April

by Pr. Gregorios Stathis

"Eastern Antiphons"

Byzantine and Arab Greek Music

 

Sacred Music with the Maestros of Psaltic Art and the Arabs Chanters of the Lebanon's Balamat Monastery.

Chorus master Gregorios Stathis

 

SAT 22 APRIL (at 8.30 pm) DM

SPYROS MOURIKIS, recital

RISING STAR SERIES

Works by J. Brahms, L. Bernstein, G. Kouroupos, M. Arnold, E. Devissov, G. Rossini

Spyros Mourikis clariner

Thanassis Apostolopoulos piano

 

SUN 23 APRIL  (at 8.30 pm) FM

ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

CROSSROADS CYCLE

"The Byzantine sound in contemporary music"

- Christos Hatzis: Everlasting Light

- Michael Adamis: Photonymo

- John Tavener: The Last Discourse

English Chamber Choir

Guy Protheroe conductor

In association with the Byzantine Festival in London

 

MON 24 APRIL (at 6 pm) Conference room 1

LECTURE

Delivered by Gregorios Stathis, Professor of Byzantine Musicology and Psaltic Art in the Music Department of the University of Athens.

 

TUE 25 APRIL (at 8.30 pm) FM

GREEK NATIONAL OPERA EASTER CONCERT

- Gioacchino Rossini: Stabat Mater

Julia Troussa soprano

Alexandra Papatziakou mezzo soprano

Antonis Koronaios tenor

Dimitris Kavrakos bass

Orchestra and Choir of the Greek National Opera

Ilias Voudouris conductor

 

FRI 5 MAY (at 8.30 pm) FM

GUITAR FESTIVAL

Kostas Kotsiolis, artistic director

BRIDGES SERIES

Works by Egberto Gismonti

Egberto Gismonti piano and guitar

Athens State Orchestra

Leo Brouwer conductor

 

SAT 6 MAY (at 3 pm) DM

GUITAR FESTIVAL

Kostas Kotsiolis artistic director

BRIDGES SERIES

Leo Brouwer, masterclass in interpretation and analysis

 

SAT 6 MAY (at 8.30 pm) FM

GUITAR FESTIVAL

Kostas Kotsiolis artistic director

Works by J. Rodrigo, S. Assad, T. Takemitsu, T. Mikroutsikos

Sergiu Nastasa violin

Kostas Kotsiolis guitar

La Camerata - Orchestra of thre Friends of Music

Alexandros Myrat conductor

 

SUN 7 MAY (at 11.30 am) FM

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OF THE CITY OF VOLOS

SUNDAY MORNINGS

- Joseph Rheinberger: Organ Concerto

- P. I. Tchaikovsky: Symphony no 4

Nicolas Kynaston organ

Symphony Orchestra of the City of Volos

Semion Kogan conductor

 

SUN 7 MAY (at 8.30 pm) DM

GUITAR FESTIVAL

Kostas Kotsiolis, artistic director

BRIDGES SERIES

Works by John Duarte, Theodore Antoniou, Nikia Koshkin, Kyriakos Tzortzinakis, Joaquin Rodrigo, Jorge Morel

Lisa Zoe guitar

Evangelos Asimakopoulos guitar

 

TUE 9 MAY (at 8.3 pm) DM

GUITAR FESTIVAL

Kostas Kotsiolis, artistic director

BRIDGES SERIES

- Jean Philippe Rameau: Pièce de clavecin (transcription for guitar)

- Federico Moreno Torroba: Estampas

- Darius Milhaud: Scaramuche

- Isaac Albeniz: Cordoba

                        El Puerto

- Leo Brouwer: Danzas concertantes

- Egberto Gismonti: 7Aneis, A Fala de Paixao, Karate

Sergio & Odair Assad guitar

 

WED 10 MAY (at 6 pm) conference room 1

LECTURE

Delivered by Dr. Lise Manniche, Professor at the Carsten Niebuhr Institut, at  the University of Copenhagen

 

THU 11 MAY (at 8.30 pm) DM

GUITAR FESTIVAL

Kostas Kotsiolis artistic director

BRIDGES SERIES

Trio Merengue de Cordoba

Rafael Rodriguez Fernandez guitar

Concepcion Desirée Rodriguez Calero dance

Rafael Espero Moreno song

 

SUN 14 MAY (at 11.30 am) FM

STRING ORCHESTRA OF THE GREEK NATIONAL OPERA

SUNDAY MORNINGS

Arias and orchestral works by F. Haendel, W. A. Mozart

Sonia Theodoridou soprano

String Orchestra of the Greek National Opera

Spyros Pissynos conductor

 

SUN 14 MAY (at 8.30 pm) FM

LA CAMERATA - ORCHESTRA OF THE FRIENDS OF MUSIC

GUITAR CYCLE

Works by Vivaldi, Borodin, Bartòk, Theodore Antoniou, Roland Dyens

Helena Papandreou guitar

Maro Rasi guitar

Haris Kanellidis guitar

Vangelis Boudounis guitar

La Camerata - Orchestra of the Friends of Music

Miltos Logiadis conductor

 

MON 15 MAY (at 8.30 pm) DM

CHRISTIAN DIERSTEN, recital

RISING STARS

Works by H. W. Henze, J. Cage, H. Lachenmann, M, Feldman, G. Apergis, I. Xenakis

Christian Diersten percussion instruments

 

WED 17 MAY (at 8.30 pm) FM

BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS

BRIDGES SERIES

- Tan Dun: Concero for six (1977)

- Julia Wolfe: Believing (1977)

- Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint (1987)

- David Large: The Anvil Chorus (1991)

- John Halle: Operation Chaos (1998)

- Brian Eno: Music for Airports (1978)

Maya Beiser cello

Robert Black bass

Lisa Moore piano

Steven Schick percussion instruments

Mark Stewart guitar

Evan Ziporyn clarinet, saxophone

 

WED 24 MAY (at 8.30 am) DM

LA CAMERATA - ORCHESTRA OF THE FRIENDS OF MUSIC

GUITAR CYCLE

Works by Antonio Vivaldi, Mauro Giuliani, Samuel Barber, Antonin Dvoràk.

Philippe Bender flute

Iakovos Kolanian guitar

La Camerata - Orchestra of the Friends of Music

Philippe Render conductor

 

MON 29 MAY (at 6 pm)

LECTURE

Delivered by Gregorios Stathis, Professor of Byzantine Musicology and Psaltic Art in the Music Department of the University of Athens.

 

ATHENS STATE ORCHESTRA

 

FRI 19 APRIL (at 8.30 pm)

Gustav Mahler: Symphony no 9

Jacek Kaspszyk conductor

 

THU 25 MAY (at 8.30 pm) FM

Works by W. A. Mozart, Vakhtang Kakhidze, Maurice Ravel

Alexander Kniazev cello

Vakhtang Kakhidze piano

Jansung Kakhidze conductor

 

THU 1 JUNE (at 9 pm) FM

Works by Giuseppe Verdi, Reinhold Glière, Jacques Ibert, Manuel de Falla.

Nikos Spinoulos horn

Choo Hoey conductor

 

FRI 9 JUNE (at 9 pm) FM

Works by William Walton, Ottorino Respighi

Paris Anastassiadis viola

Byron Fidetzis conductor

 

FRI 16 JUNE (at 9 pm) FM

Works by Edouard Lalo, Anton Bruckner.

Yannis Georgiadis violin

Karolos Trikolidis conductor