Music

THE ARTBASSADOR : REVIEW – MUSIC EVENTS

During spring and summer 2016, THE ARTBASSADOR had the honor to contribute by offering its services to music events which were well received by the audience and the critics.

Spring 2016

On March 6th, in the frame of the annual Open Day event of the Onassis Cultural Center, people of all ages were initiated in the musical stream of minimalism. This was a truly riveting marathon performance of flagship musical works which in their majority, were presented for the first time in our country. The music compositions VOLKSLIED by Louis Andriessen, EIGHT LINES by Steve Reich of the Publishing House BOOSEY & HAWKES and FOG TROPES by Ingram Marshall of the Publishing House PEERMUSIC CLASSICAL were presented among others, during this event. The Artbassador, provided the music ensembles with the music material of the works, on behalf of the aforesaid publishers.

A week later, on March 12th on the occasion of the Greek carnival festivities, the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Thessaloniki Concert Hall “MOYSA” performed music excerpts of well-known and beloved films such as LE STREGHE, op. 8 (The Witches) of Niccolo Paganini, the bittersweet MARCHE FUNEBRE D’UNE MARIONNETTE (the Funeral March of a Marionette) by Charles Gounod and many others. The Artbassador, provided the Orchestra with the musical material of the Paganini and Gounod works on behalf of The Music Gifts Company.

On Sunday morning of March 20th the young friends of The Athens Concert Hall gave an answer to the timely question of whether the human relationship with nature can inspire a musical work. Students of all grades of school collaborated on stage with the musicians of the Orchestra Camerata in a live and fresh presentation. Max Richter’s work «Vivaldi's Four Seasons Recomposed» was executed. The Artbassador provided the Orchestra with the material of the work on behalf of the Publishing House CHESTER MUSIC LTD.

On March 21st, the Cultural Association “Saint Ioannis Chrysostomos” – after  the huge success of the performance which took place at the Linz Concert Hall in Austria, in November 2015 – organised a new performance at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall with “Alexis Zorbas – the Ballet” the emblematic work by Mikis Theodorakis performed this time by the Symphony Orchestra of the Municipality of Thessaloniki directed by maestro Constantinos Diminakis, with the participation of the “Brucknerhor” from Linz Austria, "Saint Ioannis Chrysostomos" mixed choir and Josephine Katoflidou’s children choir, as well as of the soloists Elsa Giannoulidou and George Karamfili. The Artbassador, provided the orchestra and the choirs with the musical material of the work on behalf of the Publishing House SCHOTT MUSIC.

The famous work “RHAPSODY IN BLUE FOR PIANO AND ORCHESTRA” by the composer George Gershwin, was included in the program of the Athens State Orchestra’s concert of April 1st at the Athens Concert Hall, with the conductor Miltos Logiadis and the participation of the pianist Alexander Sarakenidis. The Artbassador provided the Orchestra with the music material of the work on behalf of the Publishing House SCHOTT MUSIC.

The Symphony Orchestra of the Municipality of Athens presented on April 10th at the multipurpose venue “Anna Maria Kalouta”, among others, the work CONCIERTO ANDALUZ by Joaquin Rodrigo. The Artbassador provided the Orchestra with the musical material of the work, on behalf of the Publishing House SCHOTT MUSIC. In their next concert at Pallas theatre, on April 25th the Orchestra presented the work STABAT MATER of Gioachino Rossini. For this concert, the Artbassador provided the Orchestra and the Choir with the music material of the work on behalf of the Music Gifts Company.

After one hundred years of silence, the first revival of an opera, the tragic opera “DIDO AND AENEAS” of Henry Purcell, took place in the city of Patras by the Opera Studio of the Municipal Theatre of Patras. The performances directed by the artistic director of the Opera Studio, Michael Seibel, took place from 13 to 24 of April at the Apollo Theatre. Because of their great success, the performances were repeated on 15 and 16 July, at the Roman Odeon of Patras in the frame of International Festival of Patras. The Artbassador provided the Opera Studio with the license for the public execution of the work as well as the orchestral and chorus material on behalf of the Publishing House CHESTER MUSIC LTD.

The Camerata – Orchestra of the Friends of Music presented on April 24th as part of the event “ADAGIO, MUSIC FOR EASTER DAYS”, of the Athens Concert Hall, a concert with works by MikisTheodorakis. Among others, the Orchestra performed the work RHAPSODY FOR STRING ORCHESTRA AND BARITONE with the participation of the baritone Tassos Apostolou. The Artbassador provided the Orchestra with the music material of the work on behalf of the Publishing House SCHOTT MUSIC.

The Chamber Orchestra Contra Tempo included in the program of their concert of April 25th at the Thessaloniki Concert Hall, with Vladimiros Simeonidis conducting the Orchestra and the participation of the excellent trumpet soloist Dimitris Gogas, the work MYSTERIES OF THE MACABRE FOR TRUMPET AND CHAMBER ORCHESTRA from the opera LE GRAND MACABRE by Gyorgy Ligeti . The Artbassador provided the Orchestra with the music material of the work on behalf of the Publishing House SCHOTT MUSIC.

In May, from 21 to 23 May in particular, the Onassis Cultural Centre held the festival for children "Big Bang». The Big Bang was created by the contribution of major cultural centers in Europe, with the purpose of creating and presenting new and imaginative music for children. After its success in 2015, the festival promises to transform the spaces of the House of Arts and Letters into a musical maze full of adventures. In the frame of this year's festival, three-minute excerpts of the works BEAT THE RETREAT by Steve Martland of the Publishing House SCHOTT MUSIC, EIGHT LINES by Steve Reich and PRELUDE FUGE AND RIFF by Leonard Bernstein of the Publishing House BOOSEY & HAWKES were presented in the inside and in the outside of the House of Arts and Letters. The Artbassador provided the music material of the works on behalf of the aforesaid publishers.

Summer 2016

On June 18th, at the Odeon of Herodus Atticus, in the frame of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival 2016, the Camerata - Orchestra of the Friends of Music, under the direction of the multi award-winning conductor George Petrou, with the participation of the choir of ERT and the City of Athens, presented the most famous symphonic –chorus work of the 20th century: the beloved Carmina Burana by the German composer and music educator Carl Orff. The work was composed by Orff in 1935 for large orchestral and choral ensembles and three soloists. The Artbassador provided the Orchestra and the Choirs with the music material of the work, on behalf of the Publishing House SCHOTT MUSIC.

On June 27th, the Athens State Orchestra at their first concert given at the Odeon of Herodus Atticus, in the frame of Athens and Epidaurus Festival 2016, presented the work PIANO CONCERTO NO 2 IN C MINOR OP. 18 by Sergei Rachmaninoff with soloist the old acquainted and favorite of the Greek public, French-Canadian pianist Alain Lefevre. The excellent soloist and the Athens State Orchestra were conducted by the Artistic Director of the Orchestra, Stephen Tsialis. The Artbassador provided the Orchestra with the music material of the work on behalf of the Publishing House BOOSEY & HAWKES.

The Music Ensemble KYKLOS ENSEMBLE presented in the frame of Athens and Epidaurus Festival 2016 at the Athens Concert Hall, two concerts on 25 and 26 July where they performed musical creations which were determined as crucial for the development of the 20th century musical aspects. At the first concert, the soprano Lenia Zafiropoulou and at the second concert the baritone Dimitris Tiliakos travelled the journey of transformation from Romantism to Modernism. The works which were presented are METAMORPHOSEN of the composer Richard Strauss adapted by Rudolf Leopold for string septet of the Publishing House BOOSEY & HAWKES, 6 STUCKE OP. 6 for chamber Orchestra of the composer Anton Webern, SONGS OF A WAYFARER for medium voice and chamber orchestra of the composer Gustav Mahler adapted by Eberhard Kloke and SONGS ON THE DEATH OF INFANTS for medium voice and chamber ensemble of the composer Gustav Mahler adapted by Rainer Riehn, of the  Publishing House UNIVERSAL EDITION AG. The Artbassador provided the Kyklos Ensemble with the music material of the works on behalf of the aforesaid publishers.

Finally, a month later, from 16 to 19 August, in the frame of the International Festival of Molyvos at the island of Mytilene, which this year, with its theme "Crossroads" attempted to unite the East and the West, emphasizing the value of diversity, the work FIVE GREEK DANCES FOR STRING ORCHESTRA by Nikos Skalkotas was presented. The Artbassador provided the Orchestra with the music material of the work on behalf of the Publishing House UNIVERSAL EDITION AG