Αgli albori

The trio of soprano Maria Iliana Katsoura, violist Ilias Sdoukos and pianist Popi Malapani present a concert of an intensely reverential and devotional character. The first work on the programme, Lachrymae for viola and piano by Benjamin Britten, is a reflection inspired by John Dowland's 16th-century song If My Complaints Could Passions Move, and a notable reference is also made to the same composer's Flow My Tears. This is followed by Italian composer Fabio Mengozzi's compositions for voice and viola Agli albori, Axis mundi and Sator II. All three works are dedicated to Maria Iliana Katsoura and Ilias Sdoukos, with the last being inspired by the mysterious Latin palindromic text SATOR AREPO TENET OPERA ROTAS, inscribed on several buildings in Ancient Rome. The concert closes with two movements from the Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian's Four Hayrens for voice and piano, on poetry by Nahapet Kuchak.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Falcone Maria Iliana Katsoura

Soprano born in Volos. She studied violin (P. Sakellaridis), viola (Yiannis Vatikiotis) and later voice (Pavlos Raptis). For these musical studies, and after competitions, she received the support of the Maria Callas and Alexandros Onassis Foundations scholarships. She won first place in a competition for rising artists in Moscow organised by the New Opera Theatre. She collaborated with the theatre in La Wally and Maria Stuarda (Elisabetta) and gave concerts and personal recitals in Moscow, gaining enthusiastic reviews for her voice and her interpretations from the Russian press. She recorded for Russian State Radio with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra under the direction of Mark Ermler. She performed principal roles with the Greek National Opera in Eugene Onegin, Il trovatore, Nabucco, Il tabarro, Tosca, Cavalleria rusticana. She performed in Der fliegende Holländer with the Athens Municipality Symphony Orchestra. She performed in Ottorino Respighi’s Il tramonto under the direction of Alexandros Myrat, a work she also performed in Paris. She performed in Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saëns) at Thessaloniki Concert Hall. Her repertoire includes chamber music and oratorios, in which she sings parts for both dramatic soprano and mezzo-soprano. She gives concerts in Greece and Europe in music festivals.

Popi Malapani

Took piano lessons at the Municipal Conservatory of Kalamata with Stathis Gyftakis, Maria Papapetropoulou and Nelly Semitecolo. She continued with music studies at the Music Academy of Essen in Germany, with Michael Roll and Till Engel. She has attended masterclasses with Xaver Poncette, Alexander Schmalcz, Duo Ganev, Lilia Bojiadjieva, Domna Evnouhidou, Theodore Tzovanakis etc. She has performed recitals and chamber music concerts in Greece and Germany. She has collaborated with the Athens State Orchestra for the cycle “Music Promenades at the Museums” and for the recording cycle that took place in July 2020. She has overseen the production of the Aegina International Music Festival since 2021 and of the program “We Listen to the Young '' in collaboration with the Fondation Kaloy.  She oversees Contemporary Cultural Activities of the Diazoma Association as a member of the D-HUB thrust since 2023. She has been employed as an accompanist and piano professor at the Philippos Nakas Conservatory since 2014. She is a graduate of the Department of History and Archaeology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1995 – 2000).

Ilias Sdoukos

Greek-Czech, born in Athens in 1974. He studied violin with Yannis Tzoumanis and viola with I. Carter at Athens Conservatoire and Yannis Vatikiotis at the Hellenic Conservatory from where he graduated in 1997 with a grade "A". He continued his studies at Music Academy Essen with Sven Arne Tepl, with a scholarship from the Onassis Foundation. He graduated in June 2000 with grade "1". He was principal violist of the University’s orchestra for two years and principal violist of Deutsche Kammerakademie am Neuss for several concerts. He has appeared in Germany, Iceland, Australia, Cyprus, Turkey, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Czech Republic, South Korea and many cities of Greece.  He was a member of symphony orchestras such as the Greek Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of Colours. He has been collaborating as a soloist with the Greek Composers Union since 2000. Since January 2001, he has held the Principal viola position in the GNO Orchestra.