Trio for violin, cello and piano

 The Festival is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach

At the beginning of his career Mikis Theodorakis had composed a significant number of symphonic and chamber music works: his first Symphony, the Symphony in three parts, the Carnaval, the Four Pieces for December, the Sextet for piano, flute and string quartet, were all written in the 1940s. However, the huge popularity of later compositions, mainly his songs and popular oratorios, cast a heavy shadow over the first compositions. The Trio for violin, cello and piano was written in February 1947 and, along with the respective works by Kalomiris, Skalkottas and Sicilianos, it holds a special place in the Greek repertoire. It stands out for the imaginative way in which the three instruments converse with each other, and it shows Theodorakis’ compositional skills in the demanding field of chamber music too. The work is performed by the Galan Trio, a new instrumental ensemble consisting of the musicians of the GNO Orchestra Marina Kolovou (cello) and Haralambos Karassavidis (violin), as well as pianist Petros Bouras.

Ministry of Culture and Sports

4th Greek National Opera Online Festival

Mediterranean Desert

12-26 April 2021 | nationalopera.gr/GNOTV/en

The Greek National Opera’s 4th Online Festival titled Mediterranean Desert and curated by Giorgos Koumendakis brings to our screen four special recitals via GNO TV. The Festival’s videos will be streamed via GNO TV for free from 12 to 26 April 2021, and will remain available to the public for 30 days after their premiere. The Festival is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) [www.SNF.org] to enhance the Greek National Opera’s artistic outreach.

Baritone Dimitri Platanias, pianists Stéphanos Thomopoulos, Lorenda Ramou, Sophia Tamvakopoulou, visual artist Leda Papaconstantinou, and the Galan Trio, present works by Labelet, Xyndas, Samaras, Kamilieris, Spathis, Kalomiris, Constantinidis, Xenakis, Theodorakis, Koumendakis in four filmed recitals. The 4th Online Festival will be streamed entirely via GNO TV, for free, like the three previous online festivals, and the videos will remain on the platform for a month after their premiere.

The Artistic Director of the Greek National Opera Giorgos Koumendakis notes: “For the 4th Online Festival we invited leading music and visual artists to present us their own readings of famous and lesser known works of Greek composers. The invisible line connecting all these works we will watch and listen to, is the sense of the sea and, for this reason, the Festival was named Mediterranean Desert. We invite you all to enjoy them, with your thoughts wandering like a light summer breeze.”